By Max.
Keep in mind…
In this post we’ll walk through the main points for buying your first vehicle, as well as all that goes into actually obtaining it! I’ll cover two common ways to purchase a vehicle, since I have experience with both. I want to preface this with by saying that both of the cars that I purchased were used vehicles. This information may not apply fully to new cars.
Method 1: Dealership
This is the most common route to take for a first car. The cars sold at dealerships tend to be more reliable than those you may find from a private seller, which we’ll get into later. Vehicles from a dealership are often newer and more expensive. Personally, I have only purchased used cars. For my most recent time buying a car, I went to a used car dealership that allowed me to make my monthly payments toward my vehicle through them.
My experience buying from a dealership
When searching for the right vehicle for my needs, I went to the dealership a few times with a family friend to view different cars and look at prices. Thankfully at this place all of the cars were around $4k to $6k depending on the year of the vehicle, which is very cheap. There’s no shame in a used car.
After viewing cars, I picked out one that I was comfortable with. This was the second time around for me, and I was mainly looking for something reliable. I went with a 2003 Ford Taurus. I chose it because it was cheap and in good condition for its age.
Next, I went into the office and sat down with the salespeople. They walked me through the paperwork and explained what my down payment would be. In my case, it was a $1,500 deposit. As for my payment plan, my rate was $200 a month. Because the car I bought only cost about $4k, it will be paid off within a year!
After the paperwork was completed, they ran my card for the down payment, and then I had the temporary tags put on. I was able to leave the lot with the my new car the same day.
Method 2: Private seller
It’s a bit harder to find something good with this method, but if you like projects and don’t mind putting a little work into a vehicle, this is the way to go!
My experience buying from a private seller online
Before my dealership experience, when I was ready for my first car, I was obsessed with vans. I spent my days on Facebook marketplace and Craigslist eyeballing different vans I might want to invest in. I looked up the average price for the vans I was viewing on KellyBlueBook as I was looking at listings. Even older and used vehicles will often have an average price which you can usually find online.
After searching around, I found one that was in decent condition. It didn’t have a lot of miles on it for its age, which is good. Plus, it was being sold by someone local. If you’re taking this route, after you’ve found your car, you can reach out to the seller! Message them and ask if it’s still available. Most importantly, ask if you can set up a day to go view the car. When viewing the vehicle, you’ll want to make sure that you have someone who knows a little bit about cars to go with you, if you don’t know very much about cars yet. Ensure that there doesn’t appear to be anything major wrong with it.
After finding and viewing a car you like with this method, here’s the tough part: paying. In my case, I didn’t have the cash to buy the van outright from the seller. My parents went to a local loan place and took out a small loan for the purchase. The van itself was around $1,450. It was also 26 years old at the time! My parents took out a loan for $2,000 total, so that we could spend the remainder of that sum on new tires and any other necessary fees, like vehicle registration and tags.
If you need a loan, you can get one through your bank or a local lender. My parents went through a company called One Main. If you’re unfamiliar with loans, here’s a simple explanation: you give the lender (which is what we call the company giving you the loan) a down payment, which will be a portion of the loan amount that you ask them for. After that you’ll be making monthly payments on that loan over time until it’s completely paid off, including the interest you’ll need to pay.
In summary:
- Look for a car
- Find the price
- Figure out your budget and finances
- Apply for loans if necessary
- Fill out paperwork
This post was originally created by Max, on December 18th, 2022 in The Homeschooler’s Discord server, and edited by Anne. Learn more about Max and Anne on our About Us page. Cover photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash.
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