Comparison Shopping for a New Car

Typically, when you have decided that it is time to purchase a new car, you do not go out and buy the first one that you come across. Pretty much the only people who can do that seem to have some serious cash to spend. Most people however, make at least a cursory attempt at looking around and comparing different vehicles before making their final decision on what they are going to purchase.

In order to change that cursory attempt into a serious one, there are some simple things that anyone can do. These are not major lifestyle changes, or anything really earth shattering, but rather things that are simple and more common sense steps that you can do. Next time you are getting ready to make your purchase, then just use these four simple steps and you are going to be ready to go, and have all the information needed to make the proper decision.

• Homework. Prior to purchasing your vehicle, you are going to have to do some homework. This homework is along the lines of determining and narrowing down your selections. You probably have a vague idea in mind of what you want to get, prior to making your purchase, though, you need to narrow down your selection. The best way to do this is to decide what class, make, and model of the vehicle you want. Chances are thought, that you are not going to be able to make your final decision right now, so narrow your selection as much as possible. If at all possible, narrow your selection down to about four different vehicles, which when you have, you proceed to the next step.
• View and Compare. After narrowing your selection to about four different vehicles, go take a look at the different vehicles. I would suggest that you do this task either on a Saturday night, or anytime during the day on Sunday. These are the days and times when a dealership is typically closed, so you have the chance to look around as much as you want to without fear of high pressure sales tactics. By doing this you are also given the chance to compare the prices, looks, features and so on at your leisure.
• Test Drive. There comes a time thought that you are going to need to buckle down and actually test drive your choices. This enables you to actually see and handle the vehicles that make up your final choices. You cannot make a final decision without knowing how the vehicles handle on the road. Just because something looks good, does not mean that it is going to drive well. As everyone knows, each car handles differently, so you are going to want some first hand experience to base your final decision on.
• Think it Over. After you have test driven all of the vehicles, take some time to think over your decision. Use this time to go over all of the various information that you have collected. Compare all of the vehicles information that you have, think about it, and then sleep on the decision. This is not something that you want to rush into, so have no fear of taking your time. If you rush, there is only one winner, and that is the car dealer.