Finding And Financing Your First Car As A Young Driver
Posted on: 18 January 2019
As a young driver, it can be hard to get the financing and insurance that you need to buy a used car. Is there anything that you can do to improve your chances of getting behind the wheel of your very own car? Here, you'll find a few tips that may help you make your dream a reality.
Choose the Right Car
You might picture yourself driving a sports car, but realistically, what you need to be looking into is a nice, safe, reliable car. If you were to try to finance and insure a sports car, you'll need a really, really good job and no other bills — it will suck up a good chunk of, if not all of, your income.
As you shop for a car, look for cars with four doors that are loaded with safety features. The safer the vehicle, the less it will cost you to insure it.
If you want a car with zip that isn't considered a sports car, look into vehicles like a used Nissan Altima for sale. These are considered family cars with all of the safety features you need but have the zip of a little sports car when you need it.
Be Aware of Financing Schemes
Anyone can get financed for a vehicle as long as they have a job and a license. Unfortunately, just because you can get the loan doesn't mean that you should take the loan. You need to read the fine print — and actually read every word! Things to look for include the following:
The interest rate: You will have a high interest rate if you don't have credit established, but make sure that you won't end up paying more in financing charges than you will for the car.
Pre-payment penalties: Some financing companies will charge a fee for any loans that are paid off early. This is because they were counting on you paying that high-interest rate for the entire length of the loan. If you pay it off early, they earn less in interest.
Repossession: What happens if you're late for a payment? Will the car be repossessed after just one day? Will you get a week? Find out the grace period for payments so you don't find your car missing from your driveway if you fail to make the payment on time.
Talk everything through with your local auto dealer. Hopefully, he or she will be able to get you into a car without it costing you more than it should.
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