Buying A New Car

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Choosing the right car

YOUR NEEDS

Buying a car requires commitment. The two of you are going to be seeing a lot of each other, so it's best if you're happy. There's a lot of money at stake, so you don't want to be disappointed. Follow this advice to make sure you choose the best car for your motoring requirements.

Cars provoke emotional responses. The reasons for this are complex; even carmakers sometimes get their target markets wrong. Buying a car is exciting - great - should be satisfying. And you want to end up with a car that says something about who you are - that's fine, too. But you still need to choose the right car.

Choosing the right car is the first step towards easy car ownership. To tackle this critical task, put your rational head on and examine the ownership issues listed on the next page.

There's no 'right' way to choose a car - we're all different, with complex and often contradictory needs. That's why Insider Guides give you the low-down on thousands of models. Once you're equipped with the facts and figures, and know what you really, really need, one of those vehicles will be your next car, and the best car for the job.


FIRST ESTABLISH YOUR NEEDS AND PRIORITIES

  • What vehicle type and body style suits my typical motoring?
  • What's my budget?
  • Will running costs be an ongoing issue?
  • Do I need car with cheap insurance?
  • Would I be happiest buying a new car or buying used?
  • Will choice of fuel type influence my decision?
  • What must-have features will ensure my convenience and comfort?

Vehicle Type, Size, Body Style

Your passenger and load-carrying needs, your lifestyle and your personal aspirations combine to lead you towards a certain sort of car - whether it's a sports car, an ultra-compact mini for running around town, or a roomy no-nonsense family estate.

Your choice of vehicle type is driven largely by how many people/pets/things you need to transport from A to B. Analyse your typical space and comfort requirements, and try to map them on to different sizes and types of vehicle.

If it's just you, your partner and your child doing local motoring most of the time, a small family hatchback will probably fit the bill nicely. If you sometimes need a bigger vehicle for special occasions and longer journeys - an eight-seater MPV for those motoring holidays with the inlaws, for example - it's almost certainly more cost-effective to hire one.

 

Choosing the Right Car

Determine which body style might meet your needs:

  • MINI:
    3- or 5-door hatchback; easy to park and drive in town; tight fit for larger adults; not much load space.
  • SUPERMINI:
    3- or 5-door hatchback; easy to park and drive in town but bigger and roomier than MINI; adequate load space for two, restricted with rear passengers; seats four adults in reasonable comfort.
  • FAMILY HATCHBACK:
    Usually 5-door; plenty of room for four adults or two adults/two kids and their luggage. Huge choice - it's the biggest market sector.
  • SALOON:
    4-door; room for four adults; spacious, secure load space in boot; small models not popular with UK buyers; large saloons are the norm in the executive and prestige sectors.
  • ESTATE:
    5-door with same benefits as hatchbacks but more load space; occasional 7-seater capacity on some models, though rearmost seats tend to be child-sized.
  • PEOPLE CARRIER/MULTI-PURPOSE VEHICLE (MPV):
    5-door; 5- to 8-seater capacity; may have third row of seats (often cramped) and luggage space can be limited with all seats in use; 5-seaters not much more practical than an estate though more fashionable.
  • 4x4/SPORT UTILITY VEHICLE (SUV)
    3- or 5-door; all the advantages of an estate in a chunkier, higher-riding body.
  • COUPE:
    2- or 3-door; sporty styling, often at the expense of practicality; rear seats are small or non-existent; load space may be an afterthought.
  • CONVERTIBLE:
    2-door; as coupe with a fold-down roof; often two-seater, though soft-top versions of popular saloons like BMW 3-Series and hatchbacks like Peugeot 307 have reasonable rear space.

Fuel Type (Petrol vs Diesel)

It boils down to petrol versus diesel fuel. Modern diesel cars are quiet, clean and quick - and they took a quarter of the UK new car market in 2003.

New or used, diesel cars tend to cost more than petrol models but hold their value better. Typical fuel economy is 65 mpg for a small hatchback, 50 mpg for a medium family car (against 45 mpg and 35 mpg for petrol equivalents). Fuel cost savings are £250-£300 every 10,000 miles. For more information on fuel economy check the prices and specifications section of the website.

Priorities and Equipment

What comes top of your checklist of essential features and equipment that your next car has to have depends on how motoring fits into your life.

Do you dream of driving a prestige car or sports model? Love driving and spend your time looking enviously at other people's alloy wheels? If so, you'll probably tick 'ESSENTIAL' in the boxes for image, looks, comfort and performance.

Or do you view a car as more of a commodity, something that gets you from A to B, and find motoring just another of life's chores? Then you'll give high scores to reliability, value, ease of use and economy.

In real life, we all fall somewhere between these two extremes. To help you come to your own conclusions about what's essential in your next car, what equipment you'd like if the budget stretches that far, and what you can definitely live without, why not print this table and fill it in:

MY CAR SPECIFICATION PRIORITIES

FEATURE Essential
Desirable Unimportant
High safety rating      
Strong image/status      
Manufacturer Reputation      
Modern design      
Good fuel economy      
Good reliability      
Lively performance      
Low road tax      
Low company car tax      
Low insurance group      
Fun to drive      
Low CO2 emissions      
Value-for-money      
Room for five adults      
Lots of load space      
Comfort      
Ease of use      
Long warranty cover      
Good fuel economy      

EQUIPMENT Essential Desirable Unimportant
Flexible seating/load layout      
Lots of airbags      
Automatic transmission      
Power steering      
ABS      
Sunroof      
Air conditioning      
Electric windows      
Deadlocks      
Alarm system      
Central locking      
Satellite navigation      
High-spec audio system      
Alloy wheels      
Electric seats      

Setting your budget and thinking about running costs

Before you start looking for your next car, spend some time working out how much you can afford to spend on it. Planning a budget for your motoring needs in advance will save financial worries in the longer term.

It's not just the price of the car that counts when determining your budget. What are the ongoing running costs likely to be - tax, insurance, petrol and servicing? How much are you likely to lose because of depreciation? How much to set aside each month to cover car finance repayments if you take out a personal loan or sign up for an HP agreement or PCP to buy the car?

The information on this website is designed to help you identify your vehicle's running costs. You can then input your budget and identify the most appropriate cars.