Monday, November 28, 2016

Asked and Answered: What to Look for When Buying a New Car

This month, we're posting a little differently. We wanted to talk about what people might think about when looking to buy a new car, specifically young people.  We enlisted the help of a young woman who's name is Catey C. and we were pleased with the well thought out questions she came up: 

Hi, I’m Catey, your friendly Millennial who’s in the market for a new car, and I have a few questions, besides which shade of pink should I pick. I’ve put my Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte down long enough to research them, so here’s my three top questions about cars from a Millennial.
  • What’s the best feature(s) should I be looking for in a car? This is going to vary from person to person, obviously. I don’t really like taking selfies and posting them on Instagram all that much, therefore interior wifi isn’t a huge concern for me. However heated seats and backup cameras are a must for me. I live in Minnesota (I don’t think that needs any further explanation). Also, I have the wonderful skill of managing to hit either a tree or the only car in the parking lot. I completely joking, I’m not that bad of a driver. Overall, the features that are going to keep you safe and not bumping into trees are going to be your best bet. If you can afford the leather seats and the massage feature, go for it. Otherwise focus on what's going to be more practical and what’s going to pay off in the long run. 
  • Which car is more fuel-efficient? Bankrate.com has a list of the most fuel-efficient cars in their category. Once again, it depends on what you’re in the market. For me, I’m leaning towards a compact SUV, because I like bigger cars, but I don’t want to become an Uber for my sister and her friends. Bankrate.com suggests the Toyota RAV4, it 23 MPG in the city and 30 MPG on the highway. It also has 176 hp and it’s starting price is $24,350. Just because the RAV4 was suggested by one website, doesn’t mean that is the car I’m going to chose. I probably pick which ever car is going to get me to Canada the fastest after the election. 
  • Should I Lease or Buy? Here’s the thing for me. It would be more cost effective for me to lease a car, however I can’t surpass the set mileage. I mentioned before that I have a younger sister who has a tendency to make spontaneous plans that usually involves quite a bit of mileage, and guess who my parents are going to send to drive her all over the place. However, I really don’t have the funds to purchase a car, and I would like to avoid taking out a loan. It would be easier to buy a car since I have the tendency to bump into things (Once again, I’m joking). Overall, I will be leasing a car, because it’s more cost effective for my situation at the moment. Yes, the limited miles is going to be a pain, but I would rather be able to drive a newer car every few years than being stuck in the same car. Because what may have been cool seven years ago, will be outdated and impractical. 

You made it through all my jabber! If I could give you a cookie, I would! I don’t speak for everybody, especially for Millennials. I’m just a kid in the market for with a couple of questions. I hope you all can take something away from this, or at the very least, enjoyed my ramblings. Thank you for reading.


If you were in the market for a new car, what are some of the questions you would want answered? 

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