March 21, 2010

Buying a car can be hard enough; do I want a hatchback, saloon, 4-door, 2-door, convertible, four-wheel drive? How much can I afford to pay for insurance? Furthermore, being given the hard sell in the dealership showroom can add more pressure. However, do we need the hard sell or have we already subconsciously made a decision on the car we would like to buy?

Studies have shown that many customers do not need the hard sell, but instead just a picture to show off the features of the car. Weve all probably seen an advert on television or a picture in a magazine or newspaper, which has made us look at the car and want to have one on the spot! Obviously, it aids the customer if the picture is of something sleek and stylish rather than a rust-bucket, which is why the desirability of vehicles such as a sporty hatchback is high.

Manufacturers are clever in the way that theyll do this. Youll notice on more occasions than not with car adverts that the price provided is not for the car you are seeing. The picture of the car will be the top of the range version with all of the possible extras, but in fact the price youll be told is the starting from price for the lowest car in its range. The price for the actual car you are viewing will usually be in small print at the bottom of the advert.

Do, however, the roles of celebrities come into play in persuading us to purchase a certain make or type of car? I believe that they do.

Take a look at the BMW X5 for example. Since the release of this car, every celebrity and their dog have one. I believe as a consequence of this, the amount of non-celebrities driving this car has risen dramatically. The same can be said for a few cars, which brings the assumption that we, to some extent, base our lifestyles on celebrities, who influence us to purchase cars that are deemed fashionable and popular by them.

The bases for buying a certain car by many will be will my friends laugh at me? and will I look cool in it?. After all, the technological strides of manufacturers recently have meant that the reliability and performance of vehicles is very good, and certainly more than adequate for most drivers using city and country roads. So what else can there be to influence the decision of car buyers other than the cool factor?

Maybe, the running costs and fuel consumption is prominent somewhat; especially for the four-wheel drive and high performance vehicles. However, the celebrity power has certainly persuaded many in their car buying decisions, and will almost definitely continue to do so.

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November 28, 2009

1. Money: Make sure you know what is your budget. Never exceed the amount you can afford. For instance if your income is 50,000$ USD, you shouldnt spend more than 25,000$ on the car because the car will may become a finical problem to you.

2. Personal need: Ask yourself what is the purpose of the car. Decide whether you want a 4 door sedan or a 6 people van. Look into what class and what kind car you want. If the purpose of the car is just purposely transportation, then dont look into luxurious cars such as Benz or BMW. Or whether the car is for family purpose or personal love of car then you can decide whether you want a SUV or Sports Car.

3. Difference Brand: Once you decide what type of car you want. Look at different brands that has similar cars. For instance, if you are looking into the Lexus IS, also look into the Nissan G35, BMW 3 series, Acura TL, Cadillac CTS. You get the point. The reason why is because the price range from the same class can range from 30,000 to 45,000 which is a lot of money. Therefore, you should go test drive and find out exactly which car you want.

4. Buying it New or Used. After you decide what car you want. Start researching online on how much does the new car and the used car cost. Make you sure researching on many dealerships as well. You can save up to 1,000$ USD. Personally, I would like to buy a new car over a used car, but if theres a good deal on used car, then you should reconsider and decide yourself.

5. Finance. Try to reduce the finance rate as low as possible to benefit you more. Try to look for the best plan for you and communicate with the dealer.

6. Communication with the Seller. Now this is the tricky part. Dealers usually jacked up the price of the individual car because they can make more money if they make sales. Therefore, to prevent spending extra money, you should do your homework by reaching how much your car is really worth and make offers to the dealers instead of them making offer to you.

7. Mileage. There no doubt that the price of gas will continue to go up. Therefore, it might be a good idea to consider how much you are willing to spend on gas. You want to find a good car with good mileage.

8. Insurance Cost. Different car also have different insurance rate even when they are in the same class. The insurance cost should definitely be a factor to consider when you are comparing with other cars.

9. Maintenance Cost. Maintenance Cost for cars also varies for different car. For instance Benz will charge over 100$ just for an oil change while Toyota may charge 25$.

10. Warranty. This should be the last thing you look at when you buy a car. Look at what the warranty covers and compare with it other car companies

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