Do Your Homework
The first step of the car buying process is argueably one of the most important, do your homework. It is to your advantage that you do preliminary research and assess your needs before contacting any dealers. While every persons car buying journey is unique, here are some general questions you may consider to start your search.
- Are you loyal to a specific brand, if not, which brands are you open to?
- Are you looking for a sedan, SUV, van, or truck?
- What is the distance you are willing to travel to acquire a vehicle?
Once you have these parameters defined, it will be easier to search for relevent vehicles within the distance you are willing to travel. We have a couple favorite platforms that you may find helpful at this early stage in your search.
Narrowing The Scope
Now that you have narrowed down your options, you can dive into the details that are important to you. As a next step, here are some important topics to explore for each model that are on your narrowed down list.
- The safety of the vehicle, IIHS is a great resource for standard crash & safety test results
- The overall reliability of the brand/model you are interested in
- Future maintenance expenses to be expected during ownership
- Gas mileage in relation to your driving habits
- Available trim levels and packages
Choosing a Dealership
There are tons of dealers to choose from, consider what is important to you when selecting one to work with. As we touched on previously, car buying can be a stressful process. It's important to know you can trust your dealer to be transparent, supportive, and efficient in your buying process. Here are some points to consider.
- Are they within the proximity you are willing to travel?
- Look up the dealer on Google and other social platforms, how do people rate their experience?
- Are they transparent with any purchase add-on fees?
- Do they offer any freebies with a vehicle purchase? ie: pre-paid maintenance, paint protectant
- What services do they offer that I can utilize after my purchase?
- Are they listening to your needs, wants, and any concerns or questions you may have?
- Are you able to test drive the vehicle(s) you are interested in, are they true to what was presented online?
- Ask about anything that may be included in your purchase
- Review the vehicle history report with your Sales Consultant
- What optional packages does the dealer offer, are they trying to pressure you into purchasing?
- What are the funding options they offer, do they align with your needs?
- When they assessed your trade, was their offer within reason?
