Check out these car buying guides if you’re buying a new car or in the market for a used car to learn how to get a car while saving money.
POINTS TO NOTE
- The Consumer Reports Car Buying Guide provides in-depth guidance on finance, insurance, bargaining with dealers, and more when buying new or used cars. Additionally, it helps you identify the best bargains by offering reviews and ratings for each automobile type.
- The buying instructions from Car and Driver include advice on haggling, test-driving, and choosing a car that suits your requirements and price range. Additionally, they include a “What’s my car worth” option to determine the market value of your present vehicle.
- A helpful tool for evaluating electric vehicles is EVCompare, which offers information on battery size, range, charging time, and other factors. A charge calculator is also included to calculate the time and money saved on fuel.
The appropriate car purchase can result in significant financial savings throughout the course of ownership. You want to be sure you choose a dependable vehicle that meets your demands because your car is one of your most frequently used possessions. You want it to be durable, get amazing gas mileage, be environmentally friendly, have heated seats and mirrors, and even connect to Apple CarPlay or utilize Android Auto while you’re driving.
However, there are a few things you should know about purchasing a car before you visit the showroom. We’ve provided a selection of some top web resources for buying a car below that might assist you in making a wise choice.
1. Consumer Reports Car Buying Guide (Web): Advice for New and Used Cars
Consumer Reports has helped generations of readers make critical purchases for years. Before deciding on a new set of wheels, you must read their in-depth Car Buying Guide section.
You will find information on a variety of subjects in a series of articles, including whether to purchase a new or used automobile, auto financing and insurance, what to know before visiting a dealer, negotiating strategies, and how to take a test drive. Leasing versus buying and earning top value for your trade-in are two topics that Consumer Reports explores in depth that most others don’t. None of these require a Consumer Reports subscription to read.
This platform can be used to read reviews for the car you want to purchase. If you’re still unsure of what you want, you may filter cars using their interactive car finding tool by category, brand, price, and other factors. For each car model, you can read in-depth reviews and ratings that cover topics like performance, dependability, safety, fuel efficiency, and how much their owners like them.
After you’ve reduced your options, Consumer Reports can assist you in locating the greatest offers and avoiding fraud. They offer a service that connects you to nearby dealers who are giving discounts on brand-new vehicles. Furthermore, there are a few crucial procedures you need personally take when purchasing a used automobile online if you’re thinking about doing so.
2. Car and Driver (Web): Understand the Car Buying Process
Your go-to resource for useful information and resources to make wise car purchase selections is Car and Driver. Their website has a sizable part of buying tips meant to help visitors navigate the car-buying process.
These manuals provide advice on how to bargain with dealers, what to look for while test-driving a car, and how to choose the ideal car that satisfies both your demands and your budget. On the websites, you’ll also find in-depth analyses of various vehicles as well as side-by-side comparisons of models that are identical, making it simpler to compare alternative options.
Car and Driver has a helpful “What’s my car worth” function if you’re thinking about selling your current vehicle before purchasing a new one. Simply include information about your car’s mileage, condition, and any additional features. The website then determines the worth of your car using information from Black Book, a reputable source for auto dealers to analyze vehicle values. You’ll get two values: one for a private party sale and one for trade-in. The private-party sale value indicates what you can anticipate when selling your automobile to another person, whereas the trade-in value is what you can expect from a dealer if you sell your car to them.
3. EVCompare (Web): Compare Features of Electric Vehicles
Of course, you’ll think about environmentally friendly electric automobiles when purchasing a car. Visit EVCompare, which lists only electric automobiles and not hybrids or conventional gas-powered cars, to make your pick.
You can find all the information you require about any electric vehicle, including the type of charge port, average charging speed, battery pack size and range, acceleration and top speed, etc., in a well-designed infographic. Naturally, you can rapidly compare these aspects of other vehicles to reach a judgment or utilize them to narrow down options.
There is a neat charging calculator on EVCompare as well. Based on your outlets and amperage, you may use this to calculate the cost and duration of charging your electric vehicle at home. It’s a wonderful approach to estimate the potential fuel savings.
4. CoPilot (iOS App): AI-Assisted Car Shopping
CoPilot is another website with in-depth guidelines that offer important details and advice on how to pick, purchase, finance, and maintain a new or used car. It stands out from the crowd since it makes use of artificial intelligence to assist you in selecting the finest vehicle for your requirements, tastes, and financial situation.
This is how it goes: CoPilot investigates every dealership in your area, thoroughly examining each vehicle that is for sale. This is done by ranking automobiles according to their value using information from both public and private sources, guaranteeing that you receive the most for your investment.
This platform also has a useful function for comparing car models side by side. You may also read user reviews to gain insightful knowledge from other automobile shoppers. Another feature we enjoy is the Price Pulse tool, which notifies you of any price reductions for a particular automobile you’re interested in, enabling you to buy at the best possible time. Additionally, you’ll find a section on current market trends on the same page, which you can use to keep up with the dynamic changes in the automobile buying and selling environment.
A few Reddit communities offer guidance to those who are unfamiliar with cars on how to buy one. The most active subreddit of these is What Car Should I Buy (WCSIB), where you may expect to receive responses immediately.
To pose a question and adhere to Reddiquette’s fundamental guidelines, you must first register. At WCISB, unlike many other forums, new accounts are encouraged to post. Be sure to be specific about your needs. Perhaps a fast search will reveal that a similar query has previously been addressed.
Check out the r/UsedCars and r/CarBuying subreddits in addition to WCISB. Both of them offer sound guidance and pointers on getting a fair deal on trade-ins as well as purchasing, selling, and buying used cars.
Calculate the Total Costs of Owning a Car
You should be able to choose the best set of wheels for your needs using the advice from these many automobile buying guides. However, be sure to factor in the whole cost of ownership while shopping for a car and not just the sticker price. If you want to make a choice you won’t regret, you need to take into consideration a number of hidden costs.