Five Ways to Make Your Car Shopping Experience Easier

Finding a car to purchase does not have to be a dreadful experience. Even though you might not look forward to it, you may not have a choice. We all need a car to get around. Fortunately, there are smart decisions you can make which will help you get a good deal on a vehicle. You will also end up with a vehicle that satisfies your demands and needs for it.

To make your car shopping endeavors less painful, below are 5 tips which can help you.

1) Get Prequalified Financing

Car dealerships will try to push their financing options on you. These are options that have high-interest rates. They do this because the dealerships get a small commission on these loans from the lenders. That is why they want car buyers to get financing through them. However, there is no requirement that says you must get financing through the dealership. Search around for other financing and get prequalified for them. Then, you can go to the dealership and know how much financing you have available to you.

2) Figure Out What Your Criteria Are

What type of car do you want? Station wagon? Sedan? What are your requirements for horsepower, fuel mileage, cabin size, etc.? Do you care what brand the car is? Maybe you're interested in extra features like USB ports, Bluetooth, smart technology, etc. Write down all your requirements on a list before you shop for vehicles. This will help you narrow down your search a lot when you visit these dealerships. If you fail to make this list, it will be much harder to find the car you want because there are so many cars to search through.

3) Figure Out Your Monthly Budget

You should not go to a car dealership until you know how much you can spend per month. Do you have enough money in your budget to afford $400 per month? Don't just go on instinct because you think a certain amount doesn't seem high. Know how much you can afford to spend on your car per month. It is recommended that you don't spend over 20% of your total monthly income on a car. This not only includes your monthly car premium, but also your registration, insurance, repairs, and fuel.

4) Find Out the Trade-In Value

If you want to purchase a new car, you'll likely want to trade in your current vehicle for it. Don't rush to do this until you know the trade-in value of your vehicle. A lot of buyers fail to do this research and end up losing thousands of dollars. Dealerships love to give you a low trade-in price on your vehicle. If you can find out the trade-in value prior to the deal, you can request this value for your vehicle. If they don't accept, then say you're not interested in buying the new car. Most likely, they would rather give you the real trade-in value if it means striking a deal.

5) Request Online Quotes from Multiple Sources

You can do all your car shopping online nowadays. This means you can get online quotes for several dealerships without having to drive to each one in person. You should only visit a dealership after you've already gotten a quote from them. This will make the negotiation process a lot simpler. Alternatively, you can call the dealerships on the phone to get quotes or even negotiate prices too.