The Buyt Desk
There are so many cars in the Indian market available in all ranges and varieties. It might be confusing to start with and understand your needs. Let’s make it easy.
Selecting some things can be very difficult as the field may not be our expertise. Narrowing down to one car to buy as a first-time buyer is one such tedious task. This can be a harrowing experience even for experienced individuals buying a car again. In India, buying a house and marriage are the biggest expenditures in one’s life and next comes buying a car. The value of a car depreciates year on year, so you should plan it well. The car becomes very much part of a family where many memories are made when on leisure drives and trips. Selecting the right car is very important as it should match your taste and your family along with fulfilling our parameters. For first-time car buyers, it can be really tiring and confusing to finalize one car that fits all their needs. To make this experience easy and smooth, we have compiled a guide which covers a few important parameters to be considered. Below are things to be considered as top priorities.
Decide on the budget for a new car
The preliminary step to deciding on your first car is to decide on the budget that you can afford to buy a car. Also, decide on the payment you would like to do either EMI or a one-time payment. Understand if you want to go for car loans and how much EMI you can afford. Decide on the range of down payment you can do when you buy the car. Consider your existing loan EMIs and potential expenses in the next few years, when deciding on the budget. Rather than just the showroom price of a car, you need to consider fuel cost, road tax, maintenance and insurance. Do not dent your savings account or disturb your emergency funds while buying your first car. The new car’s EMI should not disturb your current commitments and expenditures.
Decide on the car body type
Now that you know the budget you can allocate for your new car, you need to decide on the body type of your new car. Hatchback, sedan, SUV and MPV are the options available in India based on the utility, space, design and look of the car. Consider your family size, utility, purpose, who will use it most, and how frequently you take the car out for vacation. Based on all this you can decide on the type of car you need. Be cautious and do not go overboard or underdetermine the usage of the car you are going to buy. Do not go for a big size when you do not need it as you will be wasting your resources.
Determine your everyday usage and distance
You need to decide where you will be driving every day and your usage. Based on this you can decide what car to buy. To buy a petrol car, diesel car, electric car or hybrid version is the biggest question. This can be decided only based on your usage. Go for a diesel car when the running is too high as diesel fuel price is lesser than that of petrol. Calculate your usage wisely so that you can rightly decide on the type of car.
The resale value of the car
A car will be one of the very expensive things (after the house) that one will buy in their lifetime. But its value depreciates as years roll by and it has a high depreciating rate. A car worth Rs 55 lakhs will be sold at Rs 10 lakh after 8-9 years. So consider this value too when you are evaluating budgeting. It does not matter even if the car is as new as the day it was brought, its value will still depreciate every year. So you do not want to lose much of your hard-earned money on this depreciating asset. It is advisable to go for a car that has high resale value.
Know the Vehicle better
You are aware of various parameters and what you need in your car. You might now know the price range of your new car, body type, brand, fuel type and other requirements. Now you can easily narrow it down to 2-3 cars from the big collection of cars you want. Do deep research online, read reviews and test drive. Discuss the car with the owners of the car to know better. Check the factors like vehicle height, ground clearance, seat adjustments, steering experience, visibility, gears and pedal while on a test drive. Test drive in city traffic, bad roads and highways and then decide on the car.
