How to Save Money When Buying a Family Car

When you’re buying a new family car there are a lot of considerations to make and finances are usually top of the list. Obviously before you even start to look for a new car you’ll have a rough budget in your mind. Here are my top tips to sticking to it.

Buy a Car that’s Easy to Maintain

This probably won’t be your first thought when it comes to saving money on your car as the financial benefits to buying a car that’s easy to maintain won’t be immediate (at least we hope not). But buying a car you are more prepared to maintain yourself is going to save you a lot of money and time off the road over the lifetime of your new vehicle. Consider purchasing a car make you’re familiar with so that you’re more equipped to handle the simple maintenance tasks yourself. Also consider buying a more common make and model of car, this will help you a lot when you do get your car serviced, as your mechanic will be familiar with it and if you manage to get yourself into a more serious scrape then spare parts will be more readily available, meaning you’ll be back on the road a lot sooner.

Buy a Car that’s Fuel Efficient

Again, this won’t save you anything upfront but it will give you substantial savings across the lifetime of your new vehicle. You can check the fuel efficiency of your chosen makes and models online to compare them. Don’t simply trust your dealer or old owner (if buying used) when they tell you it’s fuel efficient. Because they will tell you that. Every single time. It’s important to do your own research so that you really know what you’re buying.

Buy the Smallest Car You Can

I know big cars are in right now for families but when choosing a new car you should really only consider your daily driving. Ask yourself if you really need that big Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV for your family of 4, or for holidays away could you simply get away with using a roof box to store all your luggage in. SUVs are fast becoming the top choice for families even though once upon a time a sedan was considered large enough. Buying a smaller car and I’m not talking about a mini or anything here, I simply mean a sedan over an SUV will save you money in the initial purchase and should save you a lot over the cars lifetime as it’s very likely to be much more fuel efficient.

Do Your Own Research

I can’t stress enough how important it is to do your own research before buying a car. Make sure you really do your homework on each make and model you’re considering for your family in order to save money. Its common sense not to trust a car dealer in the showroom but so often a deal seems really appealing on the spot so we take it in order to not miss out. While sometimes this can work in your favor it’s a risky tactic and will often end in disappointment. Do research online as well as talking to dealers and get information from as many sources as you can in order to choose the best car model to suit your whole family.