So, You Are Going to Buy a Car

Long gone are the days when buying of any car is considered as almost happiness. The problem of choice is often boiled down to a choice of one from three or four conventional models, or to the choice of colors – again, not too large. The current wide range of proposals will significantly complicate the issue of choice, in that there are new aspects.

How does it looks?

The interior of the car is seems to be not the most important factor of choice, but want to look beautiful and even to attract the attention of others. Also consider that it will serve you for several years, and therefore should be pleasing to the eye of the owner.

A bright, even brash exterior color may not like the man with conservative views, but it also has some pluses: it is more visible on the way even in the daytime and especially at night – this will reduce the chances of getting into an emergency situation. On the other hand, light and bright body requires more frequent and careful maintenance, since any dirt on it more visible than, for example, on the gray.

And anyway, whom will carry?

And not just whom, but where, what and how. Questions may be continued. In other words, why do we need a car? The way we answer this question depends in many respects on body type. It is clear that not everyone is able to afford a garage with several cars for all occasions.

Sedans is the most common type of body on roads, because it is quite universal. It is quite possible to go to a business meeting in a town, with the family (not very big) out of town. Sedan lets you to take plenty of baggage.

The universal body will help you to carry more baggage, including a sufficiently large (in a reasonable sense) dimension. This car may be well regarded as a family one.

Strictly city car is hatchback. It seems it is specifically intended for traffic in dense urban stream and parking on a small area.

Large family when choosing a car will draw attention to the minivan or station wagon – plenty of seats and more place for luggage to locate.

Everything said about the body is only the initial information for consideration. We repeat that the starting point is a clear definition of goals for buying a car. The more you work through this issue before you buy, the more fun you will have later.

What is under the hood?

The main technical parameters of any car are power and engine size, fuel consumption, speed and performance dynamics. We consider these options as from the perspective of use, and from the financial side.

Under normal circumstances in the city the power unit with capacity from 90 to 150 hp is quite enough. These engines are placed on small cars or hatchbacks. This power is enough for confident driving on urban roads, the fuel consumption at the same time within reasonable limits. If you love a speed, you pay attention to the car with a more powerful engine, but better dynamics and higher speed would require greater fuel consumption.

The financial side of the question will draw your attention to the car with a diesel engine. It is economical, can be used longer, but its dynamics is still lower than in a car with a gasoline engine.

The transmission also requires a choice. Mechanical one requires a fairly high level of skill of driving, but it allows better control the car. Automatic one makes the car easier to control, but with it car consumes more fuel and repairs, if necessary, more time-consuming.

Type of drive is another important characteristic of the car. All-wheel drive car, of course, is more expensive, but it is more reliable on the road. Rear wheel drive model is not inferior in reliability, but it is less powerful and requires, especially on slippery roads, increased attention. Front-wheel drive reacts well to the effect of steering control, but also increases fuel consumption.

Drive safely and comfortably

We remember that the car is a vehicle of high risk, where there is always a certain risk to life. It hardly needs to save money on security systems. The car should have at least a minimal set of passive and active safety inside.

There is also a rather extensive list of electronic features and options installed in the car that make the trip comfortable and enjoyable. The size of this list is determined by a modification of the car and, in many respects, a volume of your wallet.

Listen to others…

The showroom manager will tell you about the chosen model in great detail. But he, naturally, is interested to sell, so something accidentally or intentionally can not be overlooked, and look from the perspective of the seller is not always complete and fairly subjective. It is desirable to know the opinion of those who exploit the same car. Remember that you can conduct the test drive of the selected machine. There are a lot of relevant information in specialized magazines (they often carry their own test drive), correspondence TV programs or the Internet.

Remember: the more serious thought-out purchase, the fewer problems will arise. And finally, second thoughts…

by Aleksey Timkov