Car Shopping Tips

Finding the Right Car

Whether you live in Mobile or Huntsville, finding the right car for yourself and/or your family can be a stressful experience and lead to a long-term mistake if you don't take the time to educate yourself about the car-buying process in advance. Following are 10 tips you should keep in mind during your car buying experience from start to finish.

1. Look for the right car: When you're looking at buying a new car, make sure you are looking at buying the right type of car for your needs. If you're a young teen with a new license and in the position to buy a vehicle, that sports car may look hot but remember your friends are going to be looking for a lift to the beach or the lake or out with you to the movies and you will not all fit (legally) in that sleek little two-seater.

2. Get pre-approved: Whatever you do, do not go shopping for a car relying on dealer financing for the vehicle. The rates you get at auto dealerships in Alabama are some of the highest available in the nation and not at all worth it unless you have immaculate credit.

3. Research the cars you’re interested in: This means talking to friends and family as well as looking on the Internet. If there are a few cars you're interested in (and there should be at least a few), try Googling them and reading up on what owners from around the nation have to say about their ownership experiences.

4. Know your limits: Once you get approved for a loan for a vehicle, don't take that to mean that you should spend that much on a vehicle. Your approval amount is a maximum. Try to find a car that costs less if you can, or haggle for one once you get to the dealership.

5. Don't get sidetracked at the dealership: Auto dealerships are professional places designed to amaze and delight people who walk on to them with tens of thousands of square feet worth of shiny metal and cool features. Know your vehicle before you walk on the lot. Know your price range, and get to it. Please check out our car buying scams to avoid page before you go to the dealerships.

6. Be willing to walk away:A common tactic at many dealerships is to try to sweet-talk or browbeat customers in to buying extra features they don't need or even cars they're not interested in. If you are being subjected to a high-pressure sale and not getting exactly what you came for, don't be afraid to shake the salesperson's hand, get up and walk out. There are other dealerships with the vehicle you are interested in who will treat you with more respect.

7. Don't rely on your trade in: If you have a vehicle you are interested in trading in, don't count on getting too much money for it or using it as your down payment. It won't be worth nearly what you could get for it from a private sale on your own.

8. Come up with a down payment: Work as hard as you can and as long as you can to come up with the biggest down payment for your vehicle as you can possibly muster. This will not only give you greater bargaining power at the dealership, but it will also save you from paying hundreds or thousands of dollars in interest on your loan.

9. Shop around:The closest dealership isn't always the best one. In fact, in Alabama, the choices of auto dealerships are so great, the odds are that the closest one to your home isn't the best one for you. Look around and make phone calls to find the dealers best able to meet your personal needs.

10. Consider an Internet purchase:In this day and age it is even possible to buy vehicles online without ever setting foot inside a dealership. These Internet deals are often less expensive than traditional dealership purchases due to the savings on overhead that can be passed on to customers.