If you have migrated to Canada recently, the first thing you are likely to be doing is looking for a car once settled here. However, choosing the right vehicle for your need can be a little overwhelming and daunting task with so many companies and models available in the market. So, we decided to make things a bit simpler for you and listed a few key points below, which could make your first-time car purchase experience a good one. After all, a car isn’t something you replace every month; hence you must not buy something which you’re going to regret in the later stage. Without further ado, let’s start with the steps you should follow.
1. Know your requirements: This is the very first step and the most crucial one as well, to decide what you’re going to use the car for. If you’re looking for a daily driver for your work and you’ll drive city roads, choose something frugal in fuel consumption and requires low maintenance. If your office parking has cramped space, choosing something long and big wouldn’t be a good idea either. If your work requires you to drive in new roads frequently, you should select something with sturdy built. If you’re going to carry heavy machinery or equipment, buying a sedan would be a terrible idea. Instead, a truck should be on your list in that case.
2. Research the models: Before you go to visit a dealer, open up Google and research the cars online. If you’re buying a sedan, and you have a particular budget in mind, just searching with the term “best sedans under $xxxx” would return a lot of resources to research about. Make sure to check the reviews from the owners, since they the ones who have practical experience with that particular car and nobody knows better than them. Once you narrow down to a few cars you desire most, research every pro and con of each of them before you enter the dealer’s premise, as dealers often misguide the first-time car buyers.
3. Car finance or lease – you decide: People in Canada rarely buy cars with full price, they usually go for loan or lease. Based on your requirement, you can’t go wrong with either way. Choosing car finance in Canada, you can get up to 100% of the price financed, and once cleared, the car is yours. The loan is perfect for those who are looking for long-term ownership. However, if you can’t stand the same model year after year and don’t want to miss out the newer models every year, you should use the lease option. You’ll still be responsible for all the maintenance, but you can easily replace your vehicle every year or two.
4. Know how deep your pocket is: Regardless you’re going with the loan or lease, you still will have to pay the monthly installment, as well as the regular maintenance cost, fuel cost, insurance premium, etc. There are many sites which offer online car payment calculator, and you can have a precise estimate of the future spending on the car you’re going to purchase.
5. Get a car insurance quote: Insurance cost will be one of the major portions of your total spending; hence it is advised to have a quote prior to visiting the dealer’s place.
