How to buy a car on a tight budget

Proud of your first family car purchase, you proceed to drive you and your family around in it for the next five or so years. But now that your twin daughters are born, your car feels a lot more cramped. So, you start to think about selling your existing car and getting a new family car. However, your budget may not agree with your assessment.

A New Family Car

It is a well-known fact that cars can prove to be pricey. That is why a lot of families think twice before deciding to make the purchase. And with that said, you need to be in sync with your family so that everyone knows the changes that are about to happen.

To help you avail a new family car, Alpha Car Finance presents you a few ways you can get a car without emptying your pockets.

Create and Assess Your Budget

Vehicle purchase is not something to take lightly. You can’t just decide to buy a car, go to the dealer and drive away. It’s not that simple. There are many factors involved, most notably your current budget.

Raising a family means taking into consideration your current expenditures on other things. That can include food budgets, school tuitions, and everyday expenses among others.

Have an idea in your head on how much you’re looking to spend on the car you wish to purchase and try to move your budget around and see if the idea to buy a second vehicle is even remotely feasible at your current financial situation.

Used vs New

Once you’ve determined that you can afford a second car, it is now time to see if you can get one used or new. There are pros and cons to buying a used car. Such as:

New vehicle

Pro: First owner, no history of breakage, will drive well

Con: Costs a lot more

Used car

Pro: cheaper, can get the job done, looks fairly decent

Con: possible history of breakage, no guarantee it will always drive well, petrol usage

Think about its other pros and cons before deciding to purchase either a used or new car.

Shop Around

After you’ve created a budget and decided if you want to go with a new or used car, it is now time to shop around.

There are a lot of dealerships that can offer you a great deal on the vehicle. When shopping around, remember to ask them everything you can about their payment policy and their interest rates among others. This can give you a gauge on how well they can treat their customers.

Downsize Your Current Car

If you’re looking to upgrade to a newer, more reliable family vehicle, selling your car might be an option. Of course, you will need to take into consideration its current condition. If you’ve kept it well maintained over the years, you can sell it at a great value. You can then take the money and add it to the funds for the new family car. However, if your car is a wreck, you can still get some money for that too. 

Consider a Lease

Finally, you should also consider other options for getting a new car. A good choice is to think about leasing a car instead of buying it. A hired car is pretty much renting it for a set number of years. If you’re only interested in the new vehicle for as long as your children are still young and need to drive them around, a lease may be a better option. Because of its lower costs in maintenance and monthly payments, it is the perfect option for those who don’t have a lot of extra money to go into a vehicle.

Getting a car on a tight budget is very tricky. But if you cover all your bases and do your research thoroughly, there is a high chance that you can end up with the bests deal for your new vehicle.

*This is a commissioned post 

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