7 WORST MISTAKES WHEN BUYING A CAR - AND HOW TO AVOID THEM!

Buying your next car can be one of the most exciting things you can do, especially for a car enthusiast! However, cars cost a substantial amount of money and you want to ensure you are not going to fall into a money pit and at least have your car be worth the money you laid down for it in the first place and ensure that you get some money back when you eventually trade it up again to get an even better car!

Buying another car is most of the time based on emotion. You have a vision and dream of rolling up to your car park with your newly purchased car, have plans on mods and what you're going to do with it. Essionally, the "honeymoon phase", but you don't want to be in a position whereby you regret your purchase as you figured out a few months after having the car that it constantly breaks down, or that you have spent far too much on it when you could have saved a lot at the time of purchase!

Here are 7 of the worst cheap car buying mistakes that a lot of people unfortunately make:

• Tracking the make and model of the car you intend on getting before you buy it: When you decide to buy a specific car, ensure that you track many listings of the same make and model and similar mileage of many offerings to ensure that you are aware of the average price that they go for to know what is and what isn't a good deal for the same car.
• The cheapest isn't the best: Just because you think you have done your research and found a number of listings and spotted the cheapest car doesn't make it the best one to buy, find cars with the best VALUE, not the best price.
• Be open to change: Just because your mind is set on a specific make, model and even variant, don't be close-minded as to what other cars are right there in front of you that might end up being a far better buy in the long run.
• Enjoy the process: Car buying can become very stressful and play on your emoti9ns as you don't want to be making a huge mistake, but it is very important to keep the excitement up, provided it doesn't compromise your decision making. Having fun while you browsing around will also help you swing better deals when negotiating with sellers.
• Know what your current car is worth: Just because you're ready to sell your current car to make way for your next purchase doesn't mean you should settle for anything less than what it's worth, don't rush this process and ensure you're getting the right bang for your buck.
• Ensure that you get a pre-purchase inspection: If you're not too clued up on the technicalities of cars, make sure you either get a professional company or someone who knows what to look out for when making a purchase of your next car to ensure that everything is mechanically sound or that the seller is not hiding any defects that were not listed in the original add.
• Not factoring into account the total cost of ownership: This is a big one and one of the most important topics in this list. The initial price of the car is only a fraction of what it costs to own the car. You have to research maintenance costs, insurance costs, running costs and of course, any taxes involved (depending on where you might live and what the rules and regulations are for owning and driving cars in that country might be).

Take a look at the video below by the YouTube channel: Ideal Cars on the 7 Worst Cheap Car Mistakes!

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