Financial Considerations When Buying a Car

Things to think about before heading to a dealership.

Time to buy a car? Short of buying a house, this is one on the most important purchases you will make. It’s also one that you might be making several times through your life, comprising of thousands – sometimes tens of thousands – of dollars.

If you think about it, you can probably imagine other things that you might want to prioritize, ranging from saving for retirement, buying a home, or even some lifestyle purchases, like travel. Not to mention that having more money on hand will likely be handy if you have sudden need of an emergency fund. Thankfully, there are many options for saving money by avoiding spending too much on your next car. Here are some things to think about.

Buying a new car? It may not be the best value; a brand-new car loses roughly 20% of value over the first year and about 10% of that happens the moment you drive it off the lot. Buying used might require more research and test driving, but under the right circumstances, it can be a considerably better value.¹

A trade-in might not always favor you. A dealership has to make a profit on the vehicle you are trading in, so you will often receive far less than the Blue Book value. A better value may be to try to sell your vehicle, yourself, directly to another person. If you do attempt a trade-in, avoid any major expenditures on the old car beforehand, like major repairs or even a detailing. Focus on getting the best price for the new car and leave the trade-in for the end of your negotiation.²

Leasing vs. buying. Leasing a car may only be advantageous if you are a business owner and able to leverage the payments as a tax deduction. While you can get a brand-new car every few years, there are many hoops to jump through; you need excellent credit, and there are many potential fees and penalties to consider when leasing, which you don’t face when buying. In many ways, it’s akin to renting a car for a longer period of time, with all of the disadvantages and responsibilities.³

Shop around for interest rates, but consider credit unions. Credit unions tend to have more favorable rates as they are member owned. At the average American bank, the interest rates are 4.5%, according to Bankrate.com. Meanwhile, you can often get rates in the neighborhood of 2.97% through the typical credit union. There are a number of other benefits to credit unions, including being based locally as well as user-friendly practices, such as options to apply to a credit union at the dealership. There are many financing options, though, so make credit unions only part of your research.⁴

An automobile is a big-ticket purchase. It’s worth taking your time and making sure that you’ve covered your bases in terms of making the most responsible purchase.

Todd A. Gaswick may be reached at (402) 672-3781 or [email protected].