If you’re about to get your first car then congratulations on joining the world of drivers. You’ve passed your test, so you’ve done the hard part now. Of course, whilst you may know a lot about how to drive safely on the road, you may not know what you’re doing when it comes to actually buying the vehicle you’ll be driving. And that’s completely understandable because the automobile industry is a confusing one to understand. You need to think about insurance, road tax, maintenance costs, and a long list of other costly things that all need to be factored into your decision. It’s not good enough to simply find a car that you like aesthetically. It needs to be financially-viable, safe, and practical. There are questions that need to be asked before you get your first car. Here are a few of the main ones.

Is it the best deal possible?

This is the first question you should ask yourself. You’re anxious to get your first car and the dealer can sense that. They’re going to try to make the most money out of you that they can, so you need to be savvy. Don’t be afraid to ask for extras with your car purchase or to see if you can drive the price down when you see how desperate they are for that sale. In addition, don’t leap at the glitzy new car they show you. As suggested over at http://www.autoguide.com, you need to check the model year before you purchase a car. Is it this year’s model? Ask to see last year’s model because car manufacturers often change next to nothing from year to year other than the price. And it’s worth spending much less for a model that’s only one or two years older but with essentially no differences. Either way, you need to learn to haggle with the dealer. Don’t take the first offer they give.

Is it affordable?

The initial price might be affordable but you have to think beyond that when you’re buying a car. The upfront cost of a vehicle is only the first of many. Many people seem to ignore this fact when buying a car and get blindsided by good deals. You need to think about the cost of upkeep for such a vehicle. Petrol, maintenance, insurance, and other regular costs need to be factors that you take into consideration. As mentioned over at http://blog.credit.com, you need to do your homework. Do the maths, most importantly. Add up all the regular costs that you’ll incur with this car and figure out whether you can afford this car on top of all your other bills in life.

You might even want to weigh up the pros and cons of leasing rather than buying. You could save a lot of money by getting a decent car for a few years and paying in monthly installments for it. Of course, you need to be careful if you go down this route; whilst it may work out cheaper for a nicer car, you still need to be sure that you can afford the recurring bill that’ll be added on top of your rent, food, petrol, utilities, and other monthly costs. You could check out sites such as http://www.titleloansonline.com/ for options such as instant title loans if you really need a financial boost at the start of your car ownership. Using your new vehicle as collateral, you could borrow money just to cover the costs of your brand new car; credit wouldn’t have to come into consideration. The point is that there are many routes to financing a car but you just have to be sure that your bank account can take it. Plan ahead and think about more than the upfront cost.

Is it eco-friendly?

Let’s end with a question you might not have asked yourself yet: is the car eco-friendly? Perhaps you don’t consider yourself a tree-hugger on a quest to save the earth but you should definitely consider the environmental impact of your car before you buy one. It’ll save you financial heartache if you ‘go eco’, and we’ve already discussed the importance of reducing costs in whichever possible way when it comes to getting your first car.

For example, if you want to reduce road tax then you should look for vehicles with lower emissions because they are usually awarded a much lower tax price, as discussed on this site before. It’s a government incentive to help the environment, but you don’t have to worry about that; just think about the money you could save. In addition, eco-friendly cars are usually more economical because they use less gas, so such a vehicle will be financially-viable in that sense too.