The real world doesn’t always give you that time. Whether your old car simply died a quiet death or suffered a violent one in a natural disaster or accident, sometimes you need a new car fast.
If at all possible, borrow a car temporarily from a friend or family member. Failing that, rent a cheap car for a week, perhaps through a peer-to-peer rental platform like Turo.
“If you have to hitch a ride to the dealership from a friend or Uber, you’ll buy from a place of desperation,” noted Brian Meiggs, personal finance expert and founder of My Millennial Guide . “Professional car sales reps will smell that desperation all over you and charge accordingly.”
Calculate Your Monthly Car Budget, Including ‘Hidden’ Costs
It costs an average of $12,297 each year to own a new car, according to AAA’s 2024 Your Driving Cost study. That comes to $1,024.71 a month — Ouch.
Not all of that is the monthly payment, of course. Cars come with many ancillary ownership costs, including auto insurance, maintenance, repairs, gas and registration.
Look at your current monthly budget and figure out exactly how much you can afford for transportation. Then research how much you should expect to spend in your state and ZIP code for insurance and registration, and estimate annual maintenance costs. Come up with a monthly average for these costs, and subtract them from your monthly transportation budget.
That’s how much you can afford on monthly car payments.
Pay Down Your Credit Card Balances
The higher your credit score, the lower your interest rate on an auto loan. And there’s no faster way to increase your credit score than paying down your credit card balances.
If you can’t afford to pay them off in full, pay them down below 30% of the credit limit. “The magic threshold for credit card balances is 30%,” explained Meiggs. “Above that, balances start hurting your score.”
Don’t let the car dealers do hard credit pulls, however, because the inquiries will reduce your credit score slightly. Instead, get informal quotes by verbally providing your credit score at first. You can pull your credit report for free at credit bureaus such as Experian, but the “educational” credit scores provided by the credit bureaus and other sites differ, sometimes dramatically, from the scores auto lenders use. Among the most common they use is the FICO Auto Score, which you’ll have to pay to access.
When you know the interest rate you’re likely to pay, you can then calculate how much car you can afford, based on the monthly payment.
Research Online To Narrow Down to 3 Models
Conduct your own research to find three car models that fit your price range. Start at the Kelley Blue Book website, where you can look up expert reviews, reliability ratings and pricing.
Consider including at least one new and one used car model in your final three options. Perhaps you can afford a new Hyundai or a used Acura, for example. You can then test drive both to see how you feel about each. Just remember to raise your repair budget for used cars.
Schedule a Day for Test Drives Only
Go and test drive each of your three finalist car models.
“Don’t be afraid to push cars hard when you test drive them,” advised Meiggs. Car & Driver recommends testing acceleration to make sure the car can merge safely, and taking several corners over rough surfaces to evaluate how the transmission responds to “spirited” driving.
“You don’t have to tiptoe around the sales rep’s feelings — you do need an honest appraisal of each car’s performance,” Meiggs said.
Whatever you do, don’t let a sales rep talk you into buying on Test Drive Day.
Check Used Cars’ Histories
If you buy a used car, make sure you check the vehicle history report. You can order that on the Kelley Blue Book website or on a platform like AutoCheck.
Negotiate From Strength
Coming full circle, you want to negotiate from a position of strength, not desperation.
Dozens of dealerships can sell you a car that fits your needs. Once you select a model, get several haggle-free quotes online, and consider visiting several dealerships if you do want to haggle. Tell them up front: “I’m going to buy a car today. But I’m not going to settle for anything less than an outrageously low price.”
Show them your price quotes, and ask them if they can beat them.
As a final thought, avoid dealership financing and add-ons. Dealers sometimes accept low margins on cars — but then make them up with 300% markups on add-ons.
Skip the maintenance package and pull out of the lot with nothing but a beautiful car.
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