Narrowing down a car search
My husband and I tend to buy cars for reliability and safety and then drive them until they beg for mercy. Not kidding. We retired our last car - a Toyota - at over 360,000 miles. I can’t even tell you the precise number of miles because the odometer literally wasn’t made to go past 299,999. Longest final mile ever. :)
So car shopping had been on radar for us ever since that odometer hinted to us it might be time. But what do we even test drive? How on earth are we going to fit that in amidst our regular routine of shlepping kids around? I knew we needed to focus fast and whittle down the list of possibilities to a reasonable number to test drive and then commit. Does this resonate with you?
Take a deep breath. We’ve got you covered.
Tips from our car purchasing adventure
I’ll give away the punchline here and tell you it all ended pretty happy. We bought a brand new car, that met our parameters, under list price - and it is serving us well as we are racking up miles at record speed. Sigh.
What values matter the most in your purchase decision?
Is it style? Comfort? Utility? Reliability? Having something unique? Safety? Energy efficiency? Horsepower or handling? Saving money? I recommend you start the process here. I’ll admit that I made assumptions about what mattered most to my husband on this purchase - and it got us into a sticky spot with each other at times. We’ve ALWAYS valued safety, affordability, and reliability in our past purchases. Why would this be any different? This time, he was MUCH more interested in environmental friendliness than affordability, and that threw me off. <Insert challenging conversations here> ;) Good news. We worked it out and still like each other.
What are deal-breakers for you in a model and trim package?
Does it need to have third row seating? Does it need to be this model year? Enhanced safety features? Leather seats? Moonroof? Hash out what’s a must have, what’s a nice-to-have, and what’s a dealbreaker. For us, we needed energy efficiency and safety - and a lot of other things fell in the nice-to-have column - like leather seats. And it had to fit in our garage. A model that was too long or too wide for the space we had would be an automatic no-go.
Research your options
Thank heavens for the internet, manufacturers’ websites, Consumer Reports, JD Power, etc. We spent a while narrowing using data available online with the help of a spreadsheet (see below), but we could do this on lunch breaks or while the kids watched TV. We didn’t need to shlep all over town in bad weather, we didn’t need to avoid salespeople, and we didn’t have to get much kid coverage - compared to if we just worked our way through all the dealerships in town. We narrowed to three cars we wanted to see in person and drive.
Y'all we really are this nerdy. This is what happens with Laura the Perpetual Problem Solver Life Wife marries an engineer. We geek out like whoa.
Test drive and see what you like
Call first and make sure the model you want to see is in stock. Maybe you can imagine the trim package (nicer wheels or a different safety feature), but you want to see how the car fits you, your stuff, and your family - and how it actually drives. We drove one car and liked how it rode, but man was it ugly. Like so ugly. Like I’m a pretty confident person and I didn’t want to be seen in this thing ugly. Stylishness wasn’t one of our driving values (there I go again with the pun), but this definitely made us less-than-enthusiastic about handing over a chunk of change. So we pressed on to another manufacturer that made the other two models we wanted to try. Y’all - they were utterly unavailable to get. They sold before they ever got unloaded off the truck. We were super frustrated and sad, thinking we had to either commit to buy without driving one - or start at square one. Thankfully, we were persistent and got a chance to drive ONE of the models that came in on a trade. As it turns out, this is what we bought, as we never got to test drive the final option. Womp womp for my husband because the model we couldn’t get was his first choice, and the one we bought was my first choice. No, I’m not smiling behind this understanding expression.
Figure out where you’re making the purchase and how you’ll pay for it
We didn’t end up buying the same car we test drove because this dealership tried to mark up the price significantly because it was rare. We chose instead to take a road trip to a neighboring state to pick one up where they were plentiful. I did homework to locate several dealerships near each other that had different variations (colors, trim packages) of the model we wanted. I asked them for their best price and told them I was looking at neighboring dealerships - and it was a race to earn my business.
Once we made our decision, the hunt was on!
Also, I learned in speaking with so many people, that I could get a sizable manufacturer’s rebate if I leased the vehicle. Nope - only buying for us - or so I thought. I did my due diligence and learned that I could sign a lease, pay the first payment, get the rebate, and then pay off the car the next month! We ended up coming in significantly under list price - even with warranties we wanted to add. Flashback to a few years ago - we knew our ole’ trusty car needed to retire, so we started putting away the equivalent of a car payment each month so we would have money to purchase the car at once. I recognize this is not possible for every family, and I’m sensitive to the privilege we have in being able to pay outright versus paying interest on a loan. Do whatever works for you - the point of this is to think creatively.
Sell or donate your old car and update your registration and insurance
Bet you’re not suprised that I shopped for offers for my old car online too. Given its age and ahem...maturity… I didn’t want to sell to anyone privately because I truly didn’t know how much more life it had left in it, though I suspect the answer is plenty. I got a cash offer of $1,000 at a big box dealership and did the deal with a smile. That sweet ole car didn’t owe me a thing at the end of 360,000+ miles, but what a nice final parting gift!
Ready, set, go and test drive!
I hope these car buying pointers are helpful to you as you think through a major financial decision. But if you need more support in determining your values, learning what’s out there, and finding a model to drive or buy, shoot me an email. I can help!
We can help with major purchasing decisions - and so much more!
At Laura Kassner Consulting, our mission is to reduce your mental load so you can pursue things that bring you joy. From devising systems to make your home function smoothly to research and planning skills to make memories or navigate big life decisions, we are here to support you. Book a free 15 minute consultation and let’s discuss whatever is weighing on your mind.
