At the beginning of the year, my plans were to help my oldest daughter to purchase her first car. When she turned 16, she didn’t care too much about driving. At 18, driving was still the farthest things from her mind despite pleading with her numerous times. In August of last year, she decided that want to learn how to drive and done it really quickly. She eventually got her license in November and drove one of the three cars at home. After Christmas, she said she wanted to save money to buy her own car starting this year. We started to save money and I agreed to go in half on whatever she wanted. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic hit, and we had to change our course. Here are 3 ways to save money to purchase vehicle during pandemic.
See What She Like and Create a Budget
First off, we considered of what type of vehicle she was looking for. We also wanted to create a budget of what she could afford for a monthly payment if she chooses. There are many place to go to calculate and crunch numbers to see how much you’re spending. When they see the figures in front of them, they know what route to take and decide.
Cash vs. Financing
Seeing I’ve told her that I’ll go in half, she can weight on how she wants to pay for the vehicle. We started building her credit when she got her first job at 17-years-old. As of now, her credit score is a 748 which means she can get whatever she wants. If she chooses the financing path, she can calculate how much money from her hourly or weekly pay. This will help her in knowing what she can and can’t afford when she’s paying for insurance and car maintenance.
New vs. Used
When we think about our first vehicle, we envision something really nice and fancy. Unfortunately, that doesn’t turn out to be the case when we actually purchase it. We have ridden around to various dealerships to get an idea of what she wants. When we leave, she always said she didn’t know that cars were that expensive. I’ve explained to her that when she’s more stable, she can get the vehicle she’s wanted. They say a new car loses up to 11% of its value the minute you drive it off the lot. When checking out the used vehicles, she noticed that they were just as good for half the price.
There are other ways to save money while looking for a new vehicle, but these three are a start.
