8 tips for buying your first car
Thinking of buying your first car, but not sure where to start? Our eight practical tips will guide you step by step to make the right choice.
You will never forget your first car. Whether you get it as a gift for your 18th birthday or you pick up an old family car, bringing your first car into your life and the freedom that comes with it is a real rite of passage. Should I take a petrol or a diesel? A manual or an automatic? The choice can be difficult, so here are our tips to help you start your search for the perfect car.
1. Buying a new or used car?
Even if it means surprising you, we believe that everyone should opt for a used car . And we have several good reasons for thinking this: first of all, used cars are cheaper than new ones, which is a real “plus” for anyone starting their adventure in the world of vehicles. They are also more numerous: you therefore have access to a wide choice of vehicles and more chances of finding the car you are looking for at the best price.
2. What budget should I plan for?
Popular wisdom recommends starting with a car that has run its course and that you will find at a few hundred euros. This is not our point of view: we believe that buying and maintaining a vehicle is expensive, especially for young people, so it is better that you drive in a car that you like and that meets your needs.
If you drive regularly and take long journeys, we recommend that you opt for an efficient and comfortable car with a large petrol or diesel engine. You will find models of this type from 12,000 euros, or less than 200 euros per month thanks to our car financing solution .
If, on the contrary, you drive little and only use your vehicle to do some shopping, it is better to acquire a small city car. You will find excellent cars from 8,000 euros, or from 120 euros per month if you opt for car credit . Added to the purchase price is new driver insurance, which can quickly become expensive. We will come back to this later.
3.what kind of car should you buy?
Broadly, there are many types of car. Couples with children readily prefer SUVs and station wagons, which they appreciate for their spacious volume and the large capacity of their trunk. But young drivers rarely need so much space, so they often choose a sedan.
City cars have the advantage of being smaller, just as efficient, and yet cheaper to buy and run than other cars. They nevertheless offer up to five real seats and a trunk large enough to store your shopping.
If you want to treat yourself and your budget allows it, you can also opt for a nice model like an Audi or a Volvo .
4. What are the cheapest cars to insure?
In general, the smaller the model and the less engine it has, the less expensive it is to insure (and the lower its repair costs in the event of an accident).
Other parameters are taken into account when calculating an insurance policy: your place of residence, your job, your frequency of use, the number of kilometers you travel or even the place where you park your vehicle (in a box, a street, a parking lot, etc.) are taken into consideration. Rates can vary significantly from one insurer to another; so don't hesitate to ask for a quote and compare before buying the model you want.
5. What are the costs of using my car?
In addition to insurance, you have to think about maintenance and fuel costs. These costs depend on the car, but also on how you use it.
The most polluting vehicles are subject to a malus tax called "ecological". This penalty is calculated according to the CO2 emission rate per kilometer and you will find it on the registration certificate (grey card) of the vehicle.
Added to this are routine maintenance costs (such as engine oil change, fluid check, brake check, headlight check). Overall, the complete overhaul is done once a year and costs around 200 euros. This price varies significantly from one region to another and of course depending on the size of the vehicle.
Finally, your gas budget depends on how many miles you cover and how you drive. Driving with correctly inflated tires, having a well-maintained vehicle, driving more slowly, traveling light, cutting off the air conditioning from time to time, are all simple tricks that can limit fuel consumption.
6. Petrol, diesel or electric?
The gasoline engine remains the most common and the favorite of the French. It is true that it has many advantages: petrol cars are light, less prone to breakdowns and quieter than diesel cars. They are also generally less expensive.
However, if you regularly do long journeys, a diesel engine might be more useful to you: diesel cars tend to be more fuel-efficient and because they are robust, they are tireless (or almost!) on long journeys. highway journeys.
Electric cars are often much more expensive to purchase than petrol or diesel engines; recharging times are also long and require a minimum of organization. However, if you can easily charge your car and you plan to make relatively short trips, an electric car is surely the best option for you.
7. How do you know if a car is reliable?
New cars receive a safety rating from an independent body: Euro NCAP . Before that, each car is subjected to a succession of crash tests at the end of which it receives a rating ranging from zero to five stars. The higher the number of stars, the more reliable the model is considered. Euro NCAP also takes into account "advanced assistance", in other words, the latest cars are equipped with technology that can detect danger and act more quickly than you would on your own.
The Euro NCAP classification therefore allows you to reasonably estimate the safety of a given vehicle. Of course, we must not lose sight of the fact that technological progress helps cars to be more reliable and safer; as a result, a five-star model from 2020 is likely to be safer than a five-star model released six years earlier. But above all, the safest car is the one whose driver is sure - no airbag will change that.
8. What is the manufacturer's warranty?
The "manufacturer's warranty" is the manufacturer's promise to you to repair certain parts of its vehicle in the event of a problem during the first few years. This warranty covers parts that should not wear out, not wear items such as tires or clutch plates, which the owner will inevitably need to replace from time to time. Most cars are covered by a three-year warranty. Consequently, if you buy a vehicle that is two years old, you remain covered by the warranty for another year.
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