After housing, our vehicles tend to be our next largest expense. Let's talk about some of the ways to make a smarter decision about what kind of vehicle to get.

Cars symbolize freedom and mobility and control over our lives—my day won’t be dictated by a bus schedule! For some they are also status symbols and some have an undeniable sex-appeal. For others, cars are simply a means to get to work to earn a living or take the kids to soccer practice. Either way, in many parts of our country they are a necessity. And an expensive one.

Here are 3 common pitfalls when selecting a vehicle and how to avoid them.

Americans are pretty good at evaluating the purchase price of a car. We search for other similar vehicles to see what they are selling for, there are websites that help us figure out what the fair market price it, and some spend hours haggling for a better price. Some people take this savings hunting even further and will only purchase vehicles that are much, much older and cheaper.

Do you spend the same amount of time pricing out insurance premiums for different cars?

What if I told you that less than half (42%) of transportation costs comes from a vehicle’s purchase price? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’s report on Consumer Expenditures in 2017 the other 58% of the cost comes from things OTHER than purchase price - like gas, insurance, and repair costs.

And, what if I also told you that newer (and therefore typically more expensively priced) cars can actually have lower insurance premiums? Despite a common assumption that older, heavy metal “tank” cars are safer, the advanced safety features found in newer cars will protect you better in a crash. There have been huge advances in automobile engineering and safety features, even more so in the last 10 years, which can be reflected in lower premiums. Also fuel economy has jumped leaps and bounds, and newer cars tend to have lower miles and therefore lower repair costs. Newer cars also qualify for lower interest rates on loans.

The overall effect is that the cheaper vehicle is not always the best deal, or the safest.

So do your homework when shopping for a car. Compare fuel economy. Call your insurance company to estimate premiums (usually all they need is a make and model, or even better, a VIN number). Look at safety reports. Call a shop to get estimates for big ticket maintenance items and when they should occur. Find out differences in interest rates charged for older vehicles. Look at the whole picture of vehicle cost to avoid this pitfall!

It might seem an obvious fact that if you have 3 kids and a large dog, you shouldn’t get that 2 seater convertible. But, it happens all the time! In the excitement of getting a new car, people will tell themselves all kinds of silly things like, “the dog doesn’t need to go to the vet that often,” or “I can rent a SUV on soccer game days,” or “I never really liked grocery shopping anyway.” This usually ends up in regret and great financial loss.

This is an extreme example, but versions like it happen all the time: a big pickup truck that doesn’t fit in the garage, a stick-shift when your entire commute is gridlock traffic, a car that sits so low to the ground it won’t make it up your rocky driveway, etc.

Best way to avoid this is to identify, and separate, your needs versus your wants.

Can’t drive a stick-shift? You need an automatic. Like the feel of a stick-shift? You want a manual transmission. Have kids? A back seat is a need. Sunroof? A want. How about dual headrest screens with built-in DVD players? I'm sure I'll get some grief for this, but sorry parents, that is a mere want. Perhaps a very wanted want, but all the same...

At first some wants might seem hard to get while meeting your needs. Want the feel of a sports car but need the cargo space for your catering business deliveries? Despair not, my friends! Turns out there are a number of zippy turbocharged SUVs that might just meet both your wants AND needs. It also turns out to be a fairly easy process to add screens to headrests aftermarket. (Phew!) Broaden your search and you might be surprised! Ask us for some ideas.

We see articles all the time highlighting the “most reliable brand” or “vehicles with the lowest repair bills.” While we are not disputing that certain brands may have a lower frequency of issues, the fact is that each car is its own entity with its own history— put together by a different person (or robot!) at a different time, maintained by different shops, experienced different weather, previously driven by people with different driving habits and so on. A faulty bolt, a lead-foot driver, gaskets that sat out in the sun too long before being installed, poor quality gas, water in the antifreeze basin. All unpredictable events. Then factor in the fact that car manufacturers don’t necessarily make all the parts they use. The infamous Takata airbag recall effects 19 different brands, but even then it’s not universal—not all individual cars from each brand were affected. There is a lot of room for variation in the quality of individual vehicles, even within brands.

And then, consider all the computers and electronics in vehicles now. I find myself getting frustrated with computers every day (Spinning rainbow wheel, I’m looking at you.) Nowadays, your car may have 50-100 of these potentially infuriating computer systems in it! If something goes wrong with your car, likely as not, it will have at least a partial electrical component to it, and these computers are often made by other companies.

So what does that mean for you, the educated consumer, doing your due diligence and lots of research?

Pay attention to the statistics, but take them with a grain of salt. Any car can break down at any time, regardless of the brand. The best plan is to try to find a vehicle that fits your needs (see #2) and that looks mechanically well taken care of and protect it with a service plan.

So there you have it. You now have knowledge you can use to help you select your next vehicle with confidence. Let us know how we can help!

If you liked this post, we would be very grateful if you help share it! And please contact us if you or someone you know is in the market for a new or used vehicle of any make or model. We are a referral-based family business providing advice and other concierge-style auto purchasing services.