With so many car options out there, determining which brand, make and model is the right choice for you can be daunting. Whether you’re looking for a pickup truck for work, an SUV to take the kids school, or you’re just looking for something that’s great on gas to get you from A to B, there are many factors to consider in order to find the right car for you.
Aside from the features, you’ll want your new car to be the right choice financially. Before shopping around for dealers, it really helps to get in touch with CarCostCanada, so you’ll know how to get great car deals in Canada, thanks to our handy dealer price report where you could save up to thousands on a new car. Keep reading to learn more!
Steps to Picking the Right Car for You
Step 1 – Consider your needs: It’s easy to think about what you want in car, but it’s a little more challenging to think about what you actually need. Thinking about the functionality of your car isn’t as exciting as thinking about the colour or the features, but in the long run it’ll help you get the best use out of it. The following are some things to to keep in mind when looking for a new car in Canada:
- How many passengers do you have on a daily basis?
- How much garage or parking space do you have?
- Will you be using children’s car seats?
- Do you have a long commute?
- Is fuel economy important to you?
- Do you need require a lot of cargo space?
- What safety features are you going to need?
- Will you be driving in ice and snow?
- What type of roads will you be driving on: highway, surface streets, off-road?
- Will you be doing any towing?
- Do you need all-wheel drive?
Step 2 – Determine Your Budget: If you’re planning on either leasing or financing your car, you’ll need to think about how much you can afford to spend on a monthly basis. Generally, you should plan to spend about 20 percent of your monthly take-home pay on the monthly payments for your car. Also, don’t forget to budget for gas and other expenses such as safety, license renewal, oil changes, and other repairs.
Step 3 – Choose Between Leasing or Buying: Once you’ve determined your budget, next you have to consider whether you are going to lease or finance your car. Leasing and buying both have pros and cons, and weighing both options can help you determine which is the better option for you.
Leasing requires very little to no money down with lower monthly payments, but once your lease is up you have to find a new car all over again. On the flip side, financing a car is more expensive, with the down payment and the monthly payments, which are higher than the leasing rates. But when the loan is paid off, you own your car and can drive it for as long as you want.
There are many other factors to consider for leasing and financing, such as:
Leasing
- You can get a more expensive car for less money.
- You can drive a new car, with the latest technology and features, every couple of years.
- You don’t have to worry about trade-in hassles at the end of the lease.
Financing
- Once the loan is paid off, you can sell the car.
- You can make modifications the car.
- There are no mileage penalties.
- In the long run, your car expenses will be lower.
Step 4 – Consider Other Cars in the Class: Are you set on a specific make and model? A lot of new car buyers are, but in a world where there are always new cars being released, you might just find a car that’s perfect for you that you never considered.
Having a quick review of other comparable vehicles in the same class is a great way to make sure you haven’t overlooked a better choice. You can do this by choosing the same vehicle type on different manufacturers’ websites. This way you can easily compare information on pricing, specifications and features.
Step 5 – Weigh the Costs of Ownership: Some cars might start off cheaper to buy, but turn out to be more expensive to own. This is because with two cars that have a similar price point, one may depreciate faster in value or cost more to insure and maintain. Again, taking the time to review different cars and talk to your insurance provider may help to shed light on this.
Step 6 – Find the Best Price for Your New Car: In the past, you had to find a dealership and visit it in person to find out what inventory was available and at what price. Now, using the car buying tools online like CarCostCanada, you can quickly find out exactly where your ideal car is and how to save money on it. The free dealer invoice price reports from CarCostCanada tell you exactly what the dealer paid and what rebates you can get to save money and negotiate a better price off of your new car.
Step 7 – Set Up a Test- Drive: When you’ve found a car that seems a good fit for you, you can go to the dealership and take the car out for a test-drive. It’s always a beneficial to take the car you’re considering out for a test drive. This way you can get a feel for the car and whether or not you’ll enjoy driving it.
Step 8 – Time to Buy Your New Car: Now that you’ve done your research, chosen your car, and printed out your free dealer invoice price report from CarCostCanada, you can go to the dealership and get your brand new car. We even tell you which dealers will accept the best price on the CarCostCanada report, making it even easier for you to get a great deal on your brand new car in Canada.