Researching Your New Car Before You Buy it

By: Tim Moore

What should you really consider when buying a new car? Judging
by the conversations of many would-be car buyers, the make,
model, and color of a prospective new vehicle are among the
first thoughts in a buyer's mind, followed closely by issues of
performance (transmission type and horsepower) and available
vehicle amenities (for example, leather seats versus cloth,
standard locks versus power).

However, as worthy (and sometimes fun) as these car purchase
issues are to ponder, there are other issues that are more
substantial and weigh in more heavily. What are those issues?
Let's start with a vehicle's warranty.

The purpose and function of a warranty, of course, is quite
plain. It serves as a good faith statement from a seller to a
buyer that a quality product has been sold. But what is a
"better" car warranty? And what makes one warranty better than
another? In all cases, the most basic criteria will be the
warranty length (i.e. the longer the better). Most vehicles come
with at least a three year 36,000 mile warranty, with an option
to purchase an extended warranty. But since the cost of
extending a warranty can be considerable, it may make more sense
to buy a car...with a longer warranty. And some automakers
actually offer a ten year 100,000 mile warranty bumper to
bumper. Now we're talking value.

Another car buying issue that is of equal importance is the
residual value of a car after its purchase. As everyone knows,
as soon as a car leaves a buyer's lot, it loses a portion of its
value. For this reason, it is definitely a good idea to research
the make and model of a vehicle you are thinking of buying. This
will provide information on its current value retention, as well
as information on how its been holding up in recent years. After
all, you aren't going to feel too good about that nice new set
of wheels if it takes more than the average 15% "hit" after it
has been driven off the lot.

Finally, here's a consideration for leasers. Make sure when you
lease a vehicle that you check for mileage limitations. On
average, these are 12-15 thousand miles per year--with a price
per mile penalty for anything in excess of that. The kicker is
some of these penalties are big and can add up to thousands of
dollars when turning in your vehicle. Also make sure you
purchase the available extended warranty to cover your lease
term; that way you aren't paying repair bills for a car that you
don't even technically own.

Selecting a car that has the look and feel you want will go a
long way toward guaranteeing that you stay satisfied with your
purchase. But doing a little research into your prospective new
car's resale value and warranty coverage may go even further
toward retaining satisfaction in the vehicle you end up buying.

About the author:
The author of this article is Tim Moore, who publishes a website
on Vitamins, herbs, and
nutrition which features a section on Antioxidants