Should You Buy Brand New, Used, Or Lease?
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When it comes to getting a new car, you’re always going to be met with a wealth of options. So it’s important for you to be really thinking about what is going to suit your lifestyle best. And this can be tough. Because you won’t always know. You won’t always know right off the bat which option to go for. Yet, it’s easy to think that you know what’s best. You’ll get an idea in your mind of what you want to do, and then you’ll start to think about selling your car to make room for the new one. But at this point, can you really say that you’ve considered all of your options? Do you truly believe that you know what’s best for your current situation right now?
Sometimes, it’s easy to be persuaded. By the options of others, by salespeople, by good deals. And it can be hard for you to actually work out what is right for you. And so you kind of just go along with the path that you find yourself on. But, it is much better to stop, to take a look at what’s going on in front of you, and then make a decision that is much better for what you want and need. And this is why you should consider buying new, buying used, and leasing, just to make sure that you know what’s best. So let’s consider some main lifestyle factors to help you here.
Budget
To start with, you’re going to want to work out what you can actually afford. Because this will often be the biggest determining factor for you. And here, you will want to ensure that you are budgeting for a car properly, including all of the costs that come with the car, and not just the price that you’re seeing advertised. We will go more into this a little later on.
Need
Then, it’s handy to keep in mind what your actual car needs are. What is it that you require most out of a new car? Do you need something reliable (more on that next) or secure? Cheap to run? Great on long distance journeys? To fit the family in? Your actual need for the car can be a big indicator on which option will be best.
Reliability
From here, you’re going to want to ensure that you can choose the most reliable car for your budget. You will also want to ensure that you can actually find a reliable used car, if this is the route that you’re going down. Because there can be worry about what you’re actually buying. You may want to also look into reviews of the most reliable new cars on the market right now. But also, you might want to work out if leasing could be more reliable for you, because of the benefits.
Average Lifetime
But then also, this is quite a key thing for you to be thinking about. Do you know how long you tend to keep a car for? Do you think that you might actually want to end up having a car for only a year or two before it breaks? Or do you tend to keep them for years and years and years? If this is the case, then you might want to think about which purchase option is going to be the most cost-effective based on the period you’re likely to keep it for.
Suitability
You’ll also want to ask yourself how suitable the buying choice is for your lifestyle right now? Are you going to worry about paying so much out in one go or is a monthly instalment better? Just think about what is going to be much easier on your lifestyle right now.
Adaptability
From here, you may find that you want to actually modify the car. If the car that you want isn’t quite right, then what’s the total cost going to be? You will want to find out more about the parts you need and the buying process. Then try to get an estimate. It might end up costing you more to adapt one car, when you could just buy another instead. So here, make sure you’re aware of the true cost of what you want.
Safety
And then, we have safety to be thinking about too. Because if you know that your main aim is to have a safe car, then you will need to find out the best car for this. Then, you may find that your actual car choice then dictates how you buy it.
Additional Costs
But then also, you might want to keep in mind what the ACTUAL lifetime cost of a car really is. Because you may think that it’s the best price on face value, but is it really? Or should you be thinking about the differences in insurance, road tax, the amount (and cost) of the fuel that you’ll use, and all of the additional costs that can actually mean that you’re paying more for one car over another!
Upkeep
And, of course, there’s also the upkeep to be thinking about. And here, you are going to want to understand how much maintenance you need to do yourself, and what that could cost you. Some leasing deals will involve great benefits in terms of the upkeep. And, generally speaking, new cars don’t need much either. But what about the used model? So keep this in mind.
Cost Per Year
But then also, another great factor here is to consider the actual cost of your car per year. Do you find yourself spending A LOT of money on your used car each year because it keeps breaking and its actually unreliable? Do you spend a lot of money on a car upfront, but then have nothing to show for it when it comes to sell? Then you may find that leasing might be a better option for you if it works out as more cost-effective on a year by year basis.