Time for your next car? Part 1
Part 1 – the quandary : Where do I start? - Probably not where you think!
Is it time that you need to purchase a new car? There are many things that come into consideration when purchasing a new car. This blog post will explain the initial stages of the car buying process and why each element is so important to understand.
Know Your Why
The first step, the most important, is to understand the reason behind why you need a new car. By understanding this, you can make a great decision about your next car. Understanding the reasons for changing a car is key to getting it right next time. Factors which influence car change are many and varied including age, size, running costs, reliability, change in personal circumstances or just because you want a change. These are some of the most common reasons and one or more may apply to you. Whatever your reason, it should be at the forefront of your mind when it comes to evaluating your next choice.
A needle in a haystack
The next factor to consider is the make and model of car you want to buy. At the time of writing, there are 60 brands and over 380 different car models available in Australia through more than 3500 dealerships and showrooms. Buying the right car can be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but not knowing what the needle looks like!
On top of that there are over 30 different factors to consider when buying your next car. I’ve made a list of these in the FAQ.
However even once you’ve narrowed down the list to a couple of models you still need to figure out the features you need/want, which badge of which car has the best combination of these for the best price at the right colour and so on. For a new car buyer the choice of brands, models, badges, options, colours, etc means there are literally tens of thousands of possible combinations.
Just leave it to chance?
Of course it’s easy to bypass most of this process and just go with your gut, which is what a surprisingly large number of people do. This choice is often based on what you’ve been exposed to. Friends, co-workers, neighbours and family member’s cars, television (product placement can be quite lucrative), radio and online advertising, or just seeing cars on the road or what you may have driven.
Quite often where you park your existing car at home and work will influence your buying choice, even if you don’t recognise it. The inbuilt psychology in each of us means that when it comes to buying your next car, subconscious cues are all around and we pick up on them. Even if you’ve never looked at other cars in the car park before, when it comes time for a change, we all start seeing what’s around us.
With that in mind, it can then become difficult to differentiate between emotion and logic when it comes to buying a car. Of course depending on your needs and wants the perfect choice will lie somewhere in between these two.
Conclusion
As you can see, the car buying process is more complex and nuanced than first meets the eye. Having a third-party expert can help navigate this process alongside you, and help uncover your true needs and find a car that fits those perfectly. If you need help with understanding your reasons or need help navigating the huge array of options now available for your next car, we at Puredrive will be more than happy to help. Please get in touch with us here.