Buying a car is usually the second-biggest purchase you’ll make in your lifetime. Whether you want to own a top-of-the-line model or something more practical, it’s important to do your research before making any decisions.

Start by whittling down your wish list to include only the features you really need. Once you’ve done that, you should check out pricing guides and websites to see what vehicles are selling for in your area. To learn more about used cars read the article below.

Cars are one of the biggest purchases most people will make in their lives. For this reason, it is important to carefully consider how much you want to spend on a vehicle and make wise decisions when shopping. Creating a budget for a used car can help you determine how much to spend and what type of car is right for your needs. You can also save money by paying with cash. This is a great way to avoid a hefty car payment, and it is also hard for dealers to turn down cold, hard cash!

Generally, used cars tend to depreciate less than new vehicles. However, due to the COVID pandemic and a global shortage of microchips, many used cars have become more expensive than they were when they were new. This has prompted some shoppers to consider buying new, as they can expect to pay less for a car over time.

While calculating your car budget, remember to include the cost of ownership and other fees. These can include insurance, title and registration, delivery charges, and sales tax. You should also save for unforeseen expenses such as gas and parking costs. It is also a good idea to set aside money for maintenance and repairs.

Once you have established a car budget, it is important to stick to it. Your goal should be to buy a reliable and safe car that is affordable for your lifestyle. You should also look for a model that has received positive reviews from professional automotive review sites and owners. You can also use online tools such as Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book to find a list of the best-selling models in your price range.

It is also a good idea to open a separate savings account for your car purchase. This will help you stay focused on your goal and reduce the temptation to dip into that account for other purposes. Keeping your car savings separate from other funds may also make it easier to track your progress. You can also add a small deposit to each paycheck to build up your savings even faster.

Safety

Safety is an important factor for many car shoppers, especially families. While new vehicles typically feature the latest in crash protection technology, you can still get a safe vehicle for your budget by buying used. Carmakers and third-party nonprofit authorities, such as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), conduct rigorous crash tests to evaluate a vehicle’s safety. The results are published, and the higher the score, the safer the vehicle.

IIHS and NHTSA have comprehensive lists of recommended affordable used vehicles with excellent ratings. These vehicles excel in both the IIHS’s original moderate overlap front, side, and roof strength tests and earn four or five stars in the NHTSA’s overall rating. They also have good head restraints and a low center of gravity to enhance driver control during crashes.

If you’re interested in one of these cars, try to visit the seller in person and take it for a test drive. This way, you can see how it feels to sit in the driver’s seat and feel its acceleration and braking responses. You can also check how the backseat legroom and cargo space measure up to your needs.

In addition to checking out the mechanical condition of a car, you should learn more about its history. This can help you determine whether the owner tended to keep up with preventative maintenance and how often it was driven. It can also help you understand what types of roads and weather conditions it has been driven on, as well as the severity of any accidents it has been involved in.

A private seller may be able to tell you more about the car’s history, including any repairs it needed and if it was a daily driver or a family vacation vehicle. However, if you’re going to buy from a dealer, it’s essential to run a VIN through NHTSA’s recall database to find out if the vehicle has any open safety problems that haven’t been fixed. It’s illegal for a dealer to sell you a vehicle that hasn’t been fixed under an open recall, but some dealers continue to do this.

Reliability

When you’re buying a used car, one of your top concerns is reliability. You want to avoid the headaches that come with having a broken-down vehicle and the subsequent repair bills. This is why it’s crucial to do your research before making a purchase. You can use websites like Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds to find cars in your price range with high reliability ratings. Additionally, you can look at J.D. Power’s Vehicle Dependability Studies and KBB’s 5-Year Cost to Own reports to see how much a particular model costs over time to own.

In addition to checking a used car’s history, you should also make sure that it is certified pre-owned (CPO) by the manufacturer. This means the car has passed a multi-point inspection and is usually below a certain mileage threshold. CPO vehicles typically offer a limited warranty as well, which can give you peace of mind that a used car will last longer. Regardless of whether or not a used car is CPO, you should still get a vehicle history report from a reputable company and have a mechanic evaluate the car before purchasing it.

If you’re looking for a used car that has a reputation for being reliable, consider the Toyota Camry. This sedan has been a best-seller for years and is known for going the distance with its drivers. If you want a more stylish alternative, the Volkswagen Jetta is another popular choice that’s affordable to own and has excellent fuel economy.

There are even some fun-to-drive models that are dependable, including the Mazda3 and Mazda MX-5 Miata. These cars have some of the highest reliability ratings around and are perfect for anyone who wants to get some zip into their commute. For a luxury-feeling ride, you could also check out the Acura TLX, which is Honda’s luxury arm. You can find a used TLX with either a four-cylinder or V6 engine and an eight- or nine-speed automatic transmission. You can browse these used cars here.

Sustainability

The carbon footprint of any car, regardless of its type or age, can have a major impact on the environment. Vehicles produce pollutants in their operation and also require a substantial amount of energy to make and transport them to car dealerships, where they can be sold. Buying a used car, especially one that’s in good condition, can help reduce harmful emissions.

The energy needed to manufacture a new car comes from burning fossil fuels that can have a harmful effect on the environment, as well as using non-renewable resources for things such as aluminum and steel to create components. Many of the metals and minerals used in vehicles are sourced from countries mired in conflict, such as cobalt, copper, and nickel. Buying a second-hand car means these precious materials are kept in circulation for longer and can be recycled into new cars once they’re no longer suitable for use.

In terms of fuel efficiency, smaller vehicles tend to be better for the environment because they produce fewer harmful emissions per mile. However, it’s worth remembering that the level of harmful emissions depends on the kind of fuel you’re driving the vehicle on. EVs can be more sustainable than traditional gasoline or diesel-fueled cars, as they do not produce any harmful gases at all and therefore don’t need any sort of blending with other fuels to function.

Purchasing a used vehicle can also have a positive impact on the environment because it cuts down on the number of new cars being made. New cars need a lot of raw materials to build them, as well as fossil fuels to power the factories that make them and transport them to car dealerships. In fact, studies suggest that if people held on to their cars for 10 percent longer before trading them in, it would save more than three million tons of CO2 emissions—the same as taking every single person in the United States off the road for a year.