A Guide To Buying And Insuring Your First Car
It’s time. You’re ready to buy your very first car. While the entire situation is in no doubt exciting, it’s also a nerve-wracking experience. The prospect of having to spend out or finance a car can seem daunting and while unsecured bad credit loans are available in emergencies if it all goes wrong, you need to make sure you’re making all the right decisions early. From the key questions you need to ask yourself, to buying and insuring your new car, here’s everything you need to know:
Ask Yourself:
- What Can You Afford?
First thing’s first, you need to work out a decent budget. Can you buy a low-cost second-hand car outright? In some cases, you can pick up older cars that still run perfectly well for as little as a few hundred pounds but even this can be a bit of a stretch for first-time drivers. If you need to go for a finance plan, how much can you afford a month and is it feasible? You don’t want to max out your wages every month, so always budget for less than you can afford to ensure you have a buffer – after all, you’ll need to pay for insurance, too. - A Dream Car, Or New-Driver Friendly?
Once you’ve worked out your budget, you then need to ask yourself what kind of car you want to go for. There are thousands upon thousands of cars on the market that are ideal for new drivers both in terms of cost and in the ease of driving it but when you’ve had your eye on one particular model through all of your lessons, it can be disheartening to go for anything else. Work out what will work for you and your budget best before heading out to buy. - New Or Used?
Following on from the point above, you’ll need to work out whether you want a new, or approved used car. As you might expect, used cars are typically much cheaper than their new alternative and can be a great way to get hold of a first car, but in some cases, financing a brand new car can actually work out in your favour, with insurance included as standard.
Find A Seller
So, you have a car in mind and you know whether you’re looking for new or used – time to find a seller. If you’ve gone for a new car, you’ll want to head straight to the dealership but if you’re buying second-hand, this will all come down to where you can find the best deals. If you have friends or family that are selling a car, this can be the best way to go about it but if not, you could opt for choosing an independent dealership, a manufacturer’s dealership or, of course, buying privately.
If you’re buying privately, make sure you check over the car. If you’re unsure on what to look for, see if you can invite someone with more experience to take a look at the car with you to make sure it runs well and there are no issues before you even start.
Getting Insured
Once you’ve found the perfect car and made that exhilarating purpose, you need to get it insured before you can take it out on the road. First-time drivers insurance is notoriously expensive, but with the right research and flexibility, you can often find some good deals. On average, a new driver can expect to pay around £1,220 for an insurance policy, though this can be reduced by a black box policy, which will track your driving and adjust your costs accordingly. You should always compare insurance policies, however, in order to get the best price.
Anything Else?
In order to legally drive your car, you’ll need more than insurance – you’ll also need to pay road tax. This can vary dependant on the car that you have and in some cases, there may not even be road tax at all. Do this kind of research before buying a car, as a year’s tax can be over £140 in some cases.
When doing your budget, you’ll need to factor in fuel costs, maintenance costs and even the cost of parking in some places. Picking out a car that’s got good fuel efficiency will help reduce overall costs.
Buying and insuring your first can be nerve-wracking but with the right guidance and support from your family and friends, picking out the best car for your budget can seem much simpler.
