4 Questions to Ask Yourself When You’re Trying to Save Money on a Car

There are a lot of questions you’re going to want to ask yourself before buying a new car, but there’s twice as many when it comes to trying to save as much money as you can when buying a car (new or used). In general, cars are expensive; even the ones that seem to be in fairly bad condition also tend to be fairly expensive. But the expenses don’t even end there; they practically just begin. So in general, you need to make sure that this is a smart financial decision.

There’s the whole other financial aspect of owning a car, not just refueling it on a daily basis, but there are tune-ups, car washes, and the list goes on and on. Since a car is both costly to buy and costly to own, there’s going to need to be some questions that you ask yourself when you’re trying to save as much money as possible on this car. So, here’s exactly what you need to ask yourself!

Does My Current Budget Allow for a Car?

Even if you have a particular model or even colour in mind for your car, or even before you start looking up “Hyundai near me,” you’ll need to figure out if your current budget even allows for a car. Remember, it’s not just buying one; there’s the whole aspect of work that needs to be done on it, too. So, before you start browsing for cars, it’s essential to determine how much you can afford. 

You’ll obviously have to set a realistic budget that includes not just the car’s purchase price but also ongoing costs such as insurance, maintenance, fuel, and registration. So, be realistic with yourself if you have a budget for it and for the monthly upkeep, too. If you need to plug a short term gap in your finances then you can look at lenders such as https://www.spotloan.com/why-spotloan. Of course, always make sure you are comfortable with the repayment terms and interest rates whenever you are borrowing money.

Can You Afford One That’s New or Only Used Cars?

This is usually one of the easier questions to ask yourself: can you afford that tens of thousands for a brand new car, or are you going to have to limit yourself to only the second-hand market? While new cars come with warranties and the latest features, used cars can offer substantial savings. Your choice will greatly impact your budget.

Can You Afford a Fuel Efficient Car?

So, this one is usually one of the biggest struggles because you can’t only think about the upfront cost of the car itself; you’ll also need to think of the long-term cost of the car. Fuel-efficient cars are pretty expensive; even those in the second-hand market are also pretty expensive because they’re so high in demand. So, you’ll most likely spend a lot in upfront costs, but you won’t have to worry as much about fuel and fuel-oriented tune-ups. 

But on the other hand, cars that aren’t fuel efficient are usually way cheaper, but at the same time, they’re more expensive in terms of upkeep. So it’s something you seriously need to think wisely about. 

Can You Afford the Total Cost of Ownership?

You’ll need to consider all costs associated with owning the car. This includes insurance, taxes, registration, maintenance, and repair costs.  This is especially true when it comes to used cars. A used car may be cheap in price, and maybe a few hundred knocked off the price due to the fact that it needs to be fixed up, but sometimes the repair cost and the general total cost of ownership can potentially be too much money to spend.