Buying a Car for the First Time

posted by Stacie on November 22, 2017 // 38 Comments »

Buying a Car for the First Time

As a family of five (plus two small dogs), our car is pretty important. It is vital to the function of our family. We drive a carpool every day. All three kids are Scouts. They are also at three different schools, in various activities, and want to meet up with friends or attend the occasional birthday party so we spend a lot of time in the car. We travel constantly from activity to activity and what we drive needs to serve many purposes. We hope that this Buying a Car for the First Time post inspires you.

Our car has to be able to handle a road trip as easily as a car full of cheerleaders who all need to charge devices. It needs to have navigation and a backup camera. There are just features that I want to have and there are some that would be nice to have knowing the difference makes it much easier to shop.

Currently, we have a Ford Flex and a Jeep Wrangler in our family. However, we have a kid who is just months away from getting his learner's permit so car shopping is top of mind in our family. For now, the plan is to let our son drive the Jeep so I can look for a vehicle. I am loving the brand Kia so I added them to the list to check out along with Ford and Jeep. I was pretty open to mid-size SUVs and just wanted to see how each car handles.

Before buying a car and or heading to the dealership (as I would have done in the past; more on that below), there are a few things that I do to get myself organized. Here are our 5 Ways to Make Car Buying Easier which was written as part of our partnership with CarMax.

Buying a Car for the First Time

Choose the right car.

Did you know that 23.4% of people think they bought the wrong car? I have been there and that is the absolute worst. I had to drive a car that I loathed for three years. It was not a good experience so choosing the right means taking your time and making certain that your car fits your lifestyle.

Do your research.

When I first decide to look for a car, I narrow it down to 3-4 cars that I would like to test drive and seriously consider. There are many things that I take into consideration and this post 12 Smart Tips for Buying the Right Used Car is a great place to start.

Set a realistic budget.

Did you know that 1 in 4 respondents (25.5%) say the worst decision they have made when buying a car was having paid too much for a new car that depreciated? This is why research is important when it comes to buying a new car just as much as setting a realistic budget.

Get your trade-in ready.

This is one thing that my dad always had us do when we were ready to trade in a car. We would thoroughly wash the car on the inside and out. This includes vacuuming, waxing, shampooing carpets, cleaning leather seats, changing the oil, and more. We wanted the car to be in absolutely perfect condition because my father believes that the better the car looks, the less work the dealer will have to do and the more money you should be able to get in the trade. I completely agree and have always done this since being on my own. Check out our Spiffy mobile car cleaning review where they came to clean our car right in our driveway.5 Ways to Make Car Buying Easier

Shop at CarMax.

CarMax has made shopping for a car so much easier and less stressful. There is no longer the negotiations or back & forth because when you shop at CarMax, the price you see is the price you pay. In addition As the nation's largest retailer of used cars, CarMax offers over 180 locations across the nation. They offer:

No haggle pricing
Stress-free, flexible financing
No obligation to ship from store to store (see a car across the country at another CarMax? They will ship it for you)
Fast, free appraisal of your car in as fast as 30 minutes
And much more.