Buying a Used Car

Buying a new car is one of life's pleasures ...

There is a sense of excitement in driving away from the showroom and looking at the clock and seeing a couple of miles registered. While your head should rule and not your heart, if that was the case we would all be driving the same boring car. So if you can afford it go ahead and do it! Life is too short and there is not much point having the car of your dreams when you're too old to enjoy it. Most importantly to maximize your enjoyment make sure your comfortable with the repayments.

Internet motor sites

There are a number of excellent internet motor sites where you can quickly establish what is available, be it new or secondhand .There are also the distributors main sites which can often provide you with additional detail .Some sites are highly interactive like www.mercedes.ie , useful for those of us fortunate to be buying a new Merc. The most popular general sites are www.autotrader.ie www.carsireland.ie, www.carzone.ie www.cbg.ie

Magazines

Look at specialist car magazines, A number of car magazines are available from your newsagent, most of which are published monthly. Several of these magazines publish detailed reports on new models that become available, and compare their merits with those of comparable models from other manufacturers, in terms of price, performance, road-holding, safety and comfort. Some of the magazines also publish tables of new and used cars by price bracket, which make it easier for you to see, within your budget, which models you should consider.

Dealers

In almost all cases you'll buy your new car from a motor dealer. Dealers usually have a franchise to sell vehicles from only one manufacturer, although some dealers may have a franchise to sell vehicles from two smaller manufacturers. So you need to narrow your choice down before you start calling on motor dealers, unless you have unlimited time available!

Its also a good idea to visit dealer web-sites to find out about different models and also to check out which cars they have in stock before visiting the dealer.

Before making your final choice, do take some cars for a test drive. Most dealers will be more than happy to arrange one for you and driving the car yourself is certainly the best way of seeing how comfortable the car is and how it feels to drive.

Buying a car online

It is now possible in some countries to purchase new cars from dealers, directly over the Internet. In America, several such websites are already operating, and the arrangements are very straightforward. You simply specify the make, model, features and equipment you want. These details are sent to the relevant franchise dealer in the customer's area, who contacts them with an offer, normally within 24 hours. The offer is usually below the published price for the vehicle, because the dealer gets the business without incurring any advertising costs.

Trading in your present car

You will probably get the best price for your current car by advertising it in the local paper. The benefit of this direct route is that you should get a price very close to the car's full retail value. The drawback, however, is that you might have to wait for some time before you make the sale. On top of that, you will have all the hassle of staying in to show people the car, only to find that some of them don't even bother to turn up. Then, when you think you have sold the car, you may well find there is a delay while the prospective buyer has to sell their own car. As a result, many people find it much more convenient to trade-in their current vehicle to the dealer from which they are buying their new car.

Guarantees

You should read the manufacturer's guarantee carefully, to check what it covers and for how long. Then, once you have bought the car, you should comply with the terms of the guarantee, or else you may not be covered.

Drive safely!