Next to buying a house, purchasing a car is likely to be among the second most expensive purchases you’ll make in your life. Thankfully, new drivers can take advantage of the diversity in our new and used car markets to find a safe, reliable, and reasonably priced vehicle to help them get around.
The real question is, how do you make sure you’re actually spending responsibly when buying your very first car? Here are just a few tips that’ll help drive your car purchasing journey with confidence.
Buy a Top-Rated Used Car
With some excellent used car financing options available at the moment, the time has never been better to buy a used vehicle. Australia has a great used car market, and you can either buy used from a dealership or via a private sale. You might even be able to snag a great deal on a late model, as buying used doesn’t always mean buying a rusty old jalopy. Sometimes you can even find used vehicles still within their manufacturer’s warranty period, which can give you added peace of mind that you’re making a secure investment.
In all cases, however, it definitely helps to look at specs like ANCAP safety ratings and consumer sentiment reports whenever you’re thinking about purchasing a used car. This can help you avoid buying makes and models with known safety or mechanical issues, like weaker transmission shafts, poor fuel efficiency, or even high rollover accident risks – just to name a few.
A bonus tip here if buying privately: book a mechanical inspection for the car you’re interested in, provided the seller consents. They should if they’re confident that nothing is wrong with the car that they’re selling. This inspection will look for any mechanical defects or issues with the vehicle and is worth the cost, as you shouldn’t rush into buying a used car on the private market.
Factor in the Costs of Maintenance
Aside from insurance and fuel, ongoing maintenance is one of the major expenses associated with car ownership. For most internal combustion engine-powered vehicles, you’ll need to book a service every six months. So when choosing a make and model for your secondhand vehicle purchase, it definitely pays to do some research and ideally choose a car that is cheap to maintain.
For instance, most Korean and Japanese models have lower maintenance costs than European cars or performance cars, namely because you can anticipate import costs for replacement parts to be a lot lower. Similarly, parts availability is another key consideration when factoring in maintenance costs. Can you expect to have repairs undertaken straight away, or are parts so hard to source for your vehicle that you may even anticipate it being in the workshop for weeks on end?
You’ll save some money by buying a reliable model that isn’t fiddly or finicky, or sorely underrepresented in Australia’s spare parts market. If in doubt, you can also always ask your local mechanic for their insights into parts availability for any of your shortlisted models.
Fuel Economy and Efficiency
Aside from the purchase price, maintenance and insurance, fuel is usually the most expensive element of owning a motor vehicle. Filling up can hit your hip pocket pretty hard, especially if a car has poor fuel economy.
Fuel economy is a rating of how much fuel your vehicle consumes per 100 kilometres. Ideally, a low consumption per this distance is ideal for a first-time car. After all, how many other expenses do you have? Probably a fair few, such as rent, groceries and other bills, and saving money at the pump means that the saved dollars at the browser go right back into your weekly budget.
So, as a new driver, look for vehicles with decent fuel economy and pay attention to the manufacturers’ claims, but also be sure to do your own independent research online too. Often, internet message boards, Facebook groups or platforms like Reddit will have some anecdotal evidence of fuel consumption for the make and model you are considering purchasing. All savvy spenders know that the power of anecdotal evidence must never be underestimated, as people will have direct experience with the car you’re considering.
You can get all your facts in order by making a spreadsheet or list of all the different models you’re considering for purchase. This spreadsheet can also be used to see how all of your shortlisted models rate against each other in terms of stated and reported fuel consumption. You might save a decent amount of money this way.
Consider a Hybrid or Electric Vehicle
Speaking of fuel costs, why not consider purchasing a hybrid or electric vehicle? An electric vehicle (or EV for short) uses an electric motor over a traditional combustion engine. EVs are powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack that powers the car during acceleration and maintains speed. The battery may also charge itself via braking using a technology called regenerative braking.
Depending on the type of EV, the electric motor and battery will either complement a conventional fuel-powered combustion engine, as is the case for a hybrid or plug-in hybrid, or it can even power the car fully without the need for fossil fuels such as petrol or diesel – this is when the car is fully electric. These can be charged at public charging stations. One of the key benefits of EVs is that they have lower emissions, in the case of hybrids, or no emissions at all, for pure EVs.
However, environmental benefits and carbon footprint aside, pure electric vehicles are also much cheaper to run than traditional fuel-powered vehicles because they don’t require fuel or lubricants (such as motor oil) to run. Switching to an EV or hybrid vehicle could save you a lot of money on fuel throughout the year, and it is our final tip for savvy spending, new drivers looking to buy a car.
Spend Confidently as a First-Time Car Shopper
From buying top-rated secondhand vehicles to factoring in the cost of maintenance, and fuel economy, there are plenty of different strategies for ensuring your car purchases always go smoothly.
But keep in mind too that there are steps you can take to also ensure your car maintains its value as much as possible during your years of ownership. For instance, sticking to your vehicle’s servicing schedule and keeping your car clean, can not only help keep your car in good working order, but will also ensure your vehicle can be sold at a good price once you’re ready to upgrade down the line, which means you can expect your next car purchase to be very well-funded.
Be sure to follow these spending tips to save your hip pocket both on your next car purchase, as well as all the vehicle purchases you can expect to make over the rest of your lifetime out on the open road!
The above article is paid content, and any information presented should be independently verified before making any decisions as a result of the content. This article does not constitute advice of any kind, nor does it represent the opinions of the website publisher.