Buying your first car

Thursday 21st Nov 2024

Buying Your First car: 4 Important Steps for a Successful Purchase

After completing your driving lessons and passing your test, purchasing your first car is a coveted rite of passage.

The feeling of driving away from the dealership in your shiny new vehicle will stick with you forever; an exciting, memorable milestone. By making sure you’re well informed and do your due diligence, it’ll be memorable for all the right reasons.

Here are four key steps involved in buying your first car, and the essentials you need to consider during each.

Step 1: Setting Your Budget

When setting a budget for buying your first car, it’s important to factor in running costs, too. Set some funds aside to use for essentials like insurance, road tax, fuel, and maintenance (e.g., MOT) (Chiarelli, 2024). At this point, it’s also worth considering whether you want to buy your car outright or look at finance plans.

Step 2: Searching for Cars

Once you have a budget in mind, it’s time to start looking for your ideal car. You might have some requirements and preferences in mind already, but here are five vital things you must consider.

What insurance group is the car in?

In the UK, every car is placed in an insurance group based on factors like price, cost of repairs, security features, and performance (Horsman, 2020). With insurance premiums being significantly higher for young people and newly qualified drivers, it’s wise to check which group a car is in before committing to a purchase.

Smaller cars like the Toyota Yaris, Vauxhall Corsa, Nissan Micra, and Ford Ka+ are typically in insurance group one or two, making them popular choices for newly qualified drivers (AA, n.d.). Even better - you can get a rough insurance quote for a car before you buy it using a comparison site.

How safe is the car?

As a rule of thumb, the newer the car, the safer it will be. Look for features like an Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and Auto Emergency Braking (AEB) (AA, n.d.). Most popular car models are also assigned a Euro NCAP star rating. To get this, cars must undergo a range of real-life crash test scenarios. Following these tests, they’re assigned a rating out of five (one being worst, five being best) based on their ability to protect occupants (Group 1 Automotive, n.d.).

What is the car’s fuel economy like?

Choosing a car that can run for more miles per gallon of fuel will help you save on costs. When looking at miles per gallon (MPG), the higher the number, the more economical the car (Lewis, 2022).

Is the car being sold by a dealer or private seller?

Buying from a private seller might be tempting due to lower prices, but going with a dealer is often a smart move when buying your first car. When you purchase from a reputable dealer, you’ll have more protections and legal rights if something goes wrong shortly afterwards. Dealerships might also offer perks like free breakdown cover or a free first MOT (AA, n.d.).

What is the car’s history?

As a minimum, always check a car’s age, service record, MOT history, mileage, and number of previous owners (AA, n.d.).

Step 3: Taking a Test Drive

Once you’ve found a car you like the look of, the next stage is to go and see it. If possible, take a trusted friend or family member with good motor knowledge with you (Chiarelli, 2024). Buying your first car can be daunting, and they might pick up on things you miss.

Taking a test drive is always a good idea. If you’re buying from a dealership, they’ll have special insurance coverage in place for this. If you’re purchasing your first car from a private seller, you’ll need to organise your own insurance for the test drive (AA, 2019).

Test Driving Tips

Make sure the engine is cold. Feel the bonnet before taking your test drive – if it has been pre-warmed, the seller could be trying to hide a problem (AA, 2019).
Adjust the car so you feel comfortable. To get a true feel of your comfort in the car, take time to properly adjust the seat and mirrors before setting off (AA, 2019).
Test the dashboard buttons and controls. Make sure everything works, and check you can reach the buttons comfortably (AA, n.d.).
Take your time. Don’t feel rushed – take enough time to drive the car at different speeds and on a variety of roads, especially road types you use regularly (e.g., motorways, town centre, or country roads) (AA, 2019).

5 Green Flags to Look out for During Your Test Drive (AA, 2019)

The brakes are responsive and instil confidence.
The engine is quiet (no strange noises).
The steering is smooth with no vibration.
The gears are easy to engage and don’t ‘crunch’.
The clutch bites a good while before the pedal reaches the top.

Step 4: Completing the Purchase

Once you’ve test driven a car and decided it ticks all your boxes, it’s time for the exciting part – making it your own! If you’re purchasing your first car from a dealership, make sure to confirm any warranty provided by them.

You should also check the car’s logbook, make sure the handbook is present (these can be expensive to replace), and check that details like the VIN and engine number match those on the car. You’ll also need to have insurance and road tax before driving home (AA, n.d.).

Ready to get on the road and enjoy newfound freedom with your first car? Call, text, or WhatsApp us today to book your course of driving lessons with a trusted local instructor.

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