Owning a car is not only liberating, it also helps make everyday life so much easier. What’s more, with fantastic car finance deals available to more people than ever before, nobody is missing out. Car finance is one way to purchase an affordable car, and we’ll be looking at that in more detail a little later on, but what else can be done?

Buying a car is generally not cheap, and it’s certainly not like calling in at your local supermarket for a pint of milk and a loaf of bread. Buying a car can be an expensive ordeal, which is why we’ve compiled this article. If you’re on the lookout for a car and want to keep your costs low, here’s a look at a few tips on how you can snag a great bargain and buy an affordable car.

Purchase a car at least a year old

If you’re looking to buy a brand-new car, you should ask yourself whether it really does have to be brand new, or whether you could cope with a car older than one year old. You see, according to recent research, cars that are at least one year old are considerably cheaper than cars that are brand new. The second you drive a brand-new car out of the dealership it begins losing value. Cars, other than classics, are probably the worst investments you could make in terms of finances. Within the first twelve months, cars lose as much as 27% of their total value. Therefore, if you buy a car roughly a year old, it will still have very few miles on the clock, but will now be a great deal cheaper and more affordable. We’re not talking hundreds of Euros here, we’re talking several thousand.

Car finance

We touched on car finance earlier on, but now we’ll elaborate. Car finance is seen by some people as a rip-off, but that’s not true. Sure, once upon a time, car finance interest rates were extortionate, but times have changed. Now, finance companies have to be more competitive than ever, which means offering low interest rates so that people go with them in the first place. If you want to buy a reliable and fairly-new car, rather than a clapped-out old banger, car finance is ideal. Car finance lets you purchase a fairly-expensive car and pay a small amount each month over several years, plus a little interest.

Choose the right time to buy

If you are buying from a dealership, it may be worth planning your visit carefully. You see, dealership salespeople have targets to meet in order to snag bonuses, and typically they are based upon sales made quarterly. December, March, June, and September, towards the end of the month, are typically good times to visit. During this time, the more cars they sell, the more commission they will earn so they will be likely to do a better deal with you. Needless to say, don’t be afraid to haggle, especially as you have nothing to lose, while they have everything to gain.