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Tips For Buying A Car

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We recently upgraded from a 4 door sedan to a minivan. We have 3 kids and it was a little tight for the 3 of them in the back seat. So we finally decide that it was time to get a minivan. Here are some tips that may help you when you are considering purchasing a new vehicle.

First, if you need to get a car loan you need to figure out what you can afford. Go over your budget and set a maxim payment amount you can pay each month for a car. Make sure you also know the length of the car loan. Some car loans give you 72 months to pay off. In my opinion, that is too long to make a car payment. Get the shortest loan length that you can afford.  If you are buying a used vehicle, you want to make sure you also budget some money for minor repairs.

Will you buy a new car or a used car? We would all love to get a brand new car, but sometimes it is not affordable. A new car quickly loses its value, so when we were thinking about a new minivan we decided we wanted something used, but in good shape. It had to have low miles and it had to be well-maintained.

Figure out your top 5 vehicles that you would like to purchase. We knew we wanted a minivan and we liked all the options that were out there. We wanted it to have Stow & Go seats for more cargo room. We also wanted (but it wasn’t necessary) that it have leather seats. With 3 kids – it’s much easier to clean leather than fabric.

Do some online research. If you are buying a used car, get a Carfax. This will tell you if the car has been in an accident. Also get a general idea about what the cost is for the type of vehicle you are interested in buying.

It is also a good idea to shop at the end of the month. You are more likely to get a better deal since they have a quota to meet.

In the end, we bought a 2008 Chrysler Town & Country. It is the cheapest minivan option. I love the way it looks and it only had about 37,000 miles. We even got leather seats. It is very roomy and the kids are so happy they are no longer squished in the back seat.

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