Tips on Shopping For a Car: Needs vs. Wants
Buying a new car can be thrilling. There’s a special kind of excitement that comes with getting behind the wheel for a test drive and learning all the new and dazzling features of a new and dazzling vehicle. On the flip side, car shopping can also be incredibly stressful. You want to drive home in a good vehicle, but you don’t want to spend every last dollar you have in order to make that happen. You certainly don’t want to spend endless hours hunting for the right option at dealership after dealership, negotiating your way past salespeople and managers and the finance office just to realize the deal can’t come together in your favor after all.
It’s important to stay on your toes when shopping for a vehicle, and not let the exhilaration of the hunt cloud your judgment. When the time does come for you to start vehicle shopping, you’ll want to have as many of your ducks in a row as possible. Dealerships know you have the option to shop anywhere, and some of them are entirely comfortable with keeping you in their lobby and beating you down until you just give in if they think they can close the sale. These are old school bully sales tactics that are still used today because they still work. Here’s a bit on how to avoid getting stuck in that scenario.
Know What You’re Shopping For
Going into a dealership with the idea of needing a new car, truck, or SUV, but not knowing what that looks like is a recipe for disaster. If you show up with very little idea of what your new vehicle should be, you’re essentially handing the reins of your car search over to the dealership. This gives them the opportunity to sell you something based on your emotions in the moment, rather than logic, and could land you with a vehicle that doesn’t work for your daily life. Worse, it could be something you don’t even want once you get it home.
Just like you should never go to the grocery store hungry, you should never go to a dealership without a plan of what you’re shopping for. Before you ever set foot on the lot, write yourself a list of Needs and Wants for a new vehicle. Be discerning here: Needs should be absolutely non-negotiable items for the vehicle, and they can range from the drivetrain to gas mileage to paint color (or a color you absolutely will not buy). Your list of Wants are the sprinkles on top that would be nice to have once the needs are met, but won’t stop you from buying if they’re not all there.
Trust me when I say having just this amount of information prepared beforehand makes a world of difference when shopping for a new vehicle, and could very well save you hours, if not days, of hunting for the right car for you.
