Five steps you must follow when buying a new car

Buying a car can be daunting, and to guide you through this process Santam has several helpful tips which are easy to follow.

• Click here to learn more about buying a car.

These tips aim to provide advice that will help you buy the right vehicle for your needs and budget.

Santam recommends you follow these five steps before settling on a car:

1. Make a list of what you need rather than what you want.
2. Once you’ve picked the car you need, research prices between dealerships to ensure the price you’ve been offered is fair.
3. Decide whether to pay with cash or credit – cash is usually ideal, but if not, look for the shortest payment term you can afford and the lowest interest rate.
4. Use your old car to help pay for the new one by either trading it in or selling it.
5. Determine the most affordable insurance price you can get on your new vehicle by comparing the different options on the market.

Throughout these steps, there are also extra measures you can take to ensure you get the most value from your car-buying journey.

For instance: if you’re trading in an old vehicle, make sure your car is clean and presentable – as this could improve the trade-in price you are offered.

You should also settle on a trade-in price before you tell the dealership which car you’re interested in. This is called ‘banking’ and ensures a fair price both for your trade-in vehicle and the new car.

Additionally, remember that dealerships and salespeople will often use various tricks to try and get you to purchase a vehicle immediately.

These tricks will include limited offers, freebies, and time pressure – but it is essential that you ignore these and only make the purchase when you feel confident.

Insurance

The final step of the car buying process is getting the right vehicle insurance, and this is where Santam can offer more than just advice.

Santam offers a wide range of effective vehicle insurance cover types: including comprehensive, third-party, and limited fire and theft insurance.

The premium you are offered will depend on the make and model of your car, your credit history and other rating factors based on the personal details you’ll supply when applying with Santam.

Santam insurance offers great value – so click here to learn more about what to do when buying a car.