First Time Car Purchase
Buying My New Car!
For as long as I can remember, anything that has to do with cars makes me feel nervous and ill prepared. My Dad has always been able to help me and make sure I don’t get scammed, and my Papa even helped replace a light or two when I was closer to Havasu than I was to home. An oil change more often than not involves a call to my dad to make sure the prices are fair and what they’re asking to fix or replace is actually necessary. Buying my first car by myself in Phoenix was a huge jump, head first, into handling vehicle things on my own (as you can see by the call logs from the two days I was at the dealership, my parents were extremely helpful).
Buying a car involves a lot, which is expected, but somehow it involves more than expected. Recently, I’d been stuck between a rock and a hard place regarding the Patriot and its age. Having an old car in a big, HOT city was causing me more stress than was probably necessary, but I was getting a bit nervous. So, I’ve been looking at cars for a while, and when my check engine light came on, I headed to the dealership to get more information. Originally, I just wanted a trade-in estimate on the Patriot and to check out the cars I had researched online. However, I would get more than expected for the Patriot and I have been preparing for this.
I spent my first year of work saving “car payments” from every check to get used to losing the money and the build a down payment. I felt confident in my ability to make this decision.
Being a first time car buyer is hard, especially with little to no established credit. Car dealerships want to sell to you so badly, but you still have to jump through hoops. Luckily, my parents are able to help and support me, and my mom was willing to co-sign with her amazing credit. With that, along with some negotiation on my part (which I’m proud of), I was able to get a deal that I felt good about. Everything included, I still spent more than I would’ve preferred, but cars are expensive! Despite that, I am very happy with the way it all turned out.
This felt like such a huge step into being an adult. Having a car payment will be an adjustment, but I know I can make it work!
What I Have Learned
Now, I’ve owned my car for six months and I have learned a lot. So, let me tell you!
- Car insurance is almost just as much as a car payment. Be prepared to spend a lot more a month than the quote the dealership give you. I paid for my insurance in full for six months and saved almost a hundred dollars!
- The extended warranty on certified used cars is expensive, but worth my peace of mind. I have already taken it in for an oil change, and while the dealership is a grueling experience, it is nice that it was included in my warranty package. It feels good to know that I’m covered if anything goes wrong.
- Seek outside loan options to bring with you to the dealership. I ended up still using the loan servicer that the dealership partners with, but having other options, especially ones with better interest rates, was very helpful when it came to negotiating. Because I had a better offer elsewhere, the dealership was able to lower my interest rate and get me a good deal!
- Upgrading my car from a 2010 to a 2022 made everything feel like a luxury. However, I made sure to sty logical and not go crazy when it came to looking for features. I had a few things on my list that I made sure to get, and everything else was a bonus or not missed. I would say now, the best features are the gas mileage and the wireless CarPlay!
- Having a car payment is a manageable expense as long as you make manageable decisions. Putting money away prior to buying the car helped me prepare for the blow my account would take each month, and I found that as long as I set the money aside for bills first, I can make do with everything else.
