Are you really thinking about owning your first car? Perhaps you’ve been relying on public transportation for a while, or you have a good car pool system downpat but you still want a little more freedom. There’s a lot of push behind giving up one’s vehicle and just riding your bike or otherwise getting around on your own power. Some people turn to big carpooling rings that split gas and maintenance costs. No matter how you get from point A to point B, one thing is clear — you’re going to need to figure out your options. Getting a car is something that we don’t suggest that you take lightly, but the truth of the matter is that now isn’t the time where you want to be paralyzed by all of the decisions that you have to make. The truth is that owning a car is a great thing, and we don’t think that everyone should avoid owning a car just because of a few blog articles. The reality here is that you are definitely going tow ant to make absolutely sure that you focus on the bigger picture — and the bigger picture right now is making sure that you can get working transportation for yourself.
There is a certain freedom in really making sure that you have what you’re looking for in terms of the car you want. However, that’s not quite what we’re focusing on today. You see, you’re going to need to really think about the type of expenses that will come along with the car.
The first is obviously the maintenance required with the car. While a lot of people dream about a luxury car, they often forget that these high end cars are highly electronic. That means that if the electronic system goes down, you’re looking at a lot of money that will need to be shelled out in order to keep that car on the road. So you will want to look at your budget and really make sure that you can afford the payments as well as the maintenance.
The allure of buying a car in the holiday season is all of the year end offers that come up. You will need to crunch the numbers and determine how much car you can afford, and then estimate your payments. Do you want to get to a point where you’re having to pare down your grocery bill in order to really be able to take care of your car? Nobody wants to make that type of decision, and it’s best not to put yourself in that situation.
Gas is another issue that you’re going to have to face when it comes to the overall expenses with your vehicle. Gas prices come and go, but they tend to rise over time. If there’s an increase in demand — such as around the holiday season — then your costs are going to go up. Of course, that’s something that you already plan for.
Don’t forget about taxes, registration, and other issues of that sort. You don’t want to find yourself not being able to get things done just because your car tags are busted. These aren’t emergencies in the traditional sense — just things that you might overlook.
Another thing that you will want to keep in mind is that insurance needs to be as high as possible for a new car — which can throw off your costs. Always get an insurance quote for a car before you sign on the dotted line. The insurance and the taxes and the car payment might be a little too much for you to handle and it could lead you to losing the car in the long run.
Keep all of these things in mind and you’ll have a much smoother experiencing owning your new car!
