Every Girls Guide To Buying A New Car

Buying a new car can be very stressful, but armed with the right knowledge you can wrangle a great deal.

A few weeks ago Miss WW decided that it was time for a new car. Her cute little car was getting on in years and was heading down the path of being a sink hole for cash that she would never recoup.

She had made a list of all the possible choices that are available in the small car category that she was interested in and in true University student style, she researched everything you could about each car.

With finance sorted she had one day free in her busy week to test drive her final list of favourites. Together with a friend she hit the car dealers without me there as I simply could not get that day off work.

I could feel the dealers rubbing their hands together when Miss Blondie walked in, thinking this would be an easy deal. How wrong they were!

She might have been feeling a little under the weather after discovering she had shingles just days before, but she was prepared for battle.

It’s a done deal!

***

The initial plan was for her to do the test drives, get the prices and then we would go together and score the best deal. But the best laid plans can often be thwarted….

Little did they know that Miss WW knew practically everything there was to know about each car, so they could not pull the wool over her eyes.

Her action plan went like this –

* Use the online ‘build a car’ planner available on every car manufacturers website to get the RRP of each model.

* Troll through CarSales.com for all the prices and models currently offered by dealers around Brisbane.

* Watched independent reviews of each model by car experts online.

* Checked the ANCAP safety rating for each car. Two models were immediately crossed off her list because they only got a 4 star rating instead of 5.

* Goggled reviews by the public as they are quick too complain if things are not right.

* Made a list of all the stats and inclusions including features, fuel consumption and optional extra’s etc.

* How many years warranty are offered and do they have fixed price servicing.

* Set your budget limit and do NOT go over it.

* Shop for a new car toward the end of the month, dealers that need to fill their quota’s will be more prepared to cut a good deal.

***

After each test drive she reported back to me with her discoveries.

It was down to 3. The Toyota Yaris, the Kia Rio and the Mitsubishi Mirage.

The Mirage was her least favourite of the three, a cheaper price point but a very basic car.

The Yaris was in second place, simply because of Toyota’s reputation for building cars that last.

The Kia Rio really won her over, due to it’s fabulous finish, well equipped cabin, and a long list of positive reviews from Kia owners.

So the dealing began.

The salesman had verbally agreed on Miss WW’s price. But when it came down to the crunch her $500 refundable deposit was no longer going to be refunded, in effect she would be paying $500 more than when had been agreed upon.

She rang me most distraught and I could tell she was ready to cave, and I told her she had to walk away from this deal right now as this dealer was simply trying to take advantage of her.

And walk away she did.

She then rang another Kia dealer and explained what had just happened and if they could offer her the original quoted price she would drive over right now, if not don’t waste my time.

Not only did they match it, they ended up knocking another $500 off the price for a brand new Rio that had 14 km on the clock!

She is now the proud owner of a new car that she just loves to bits.

This was no easy feat for a 19 year old to tackle, but it proved to be a valuable lesson and has grown her confidence in making adult choices like nothing else she has done in the past.

So damn proud of her!

When did you get your first new car?

Sharing for #FYBF at With Some Grace