10 tips for buying a new car
Keep these tips in mind so you can drive away with a better deal.
Key takeaways
- It’s sometimes said that car dealers can smell an uninformed customer when they walk in and will start circling them like sharks.
- Depending on what your local dealership is like, this might only be a slight exaggeration. You don’t have to be a car enthusiast to be a well-informed, hard-haggling customer.
- Paying attention to these ten quick tips can make a real difference to your car and your wallet.
1. Buy a car at the end of the month or at the end of the financial year
Plan your purchase, but don’t sign on the dotted line until near the end of the month. Many car dealers operate on monthly sales targets and may be more likely to offer discounts and free extras around this time to help meet their targets.
You can save a lot by purchasing a car during the EOFY car sales. The automotive manufacturers and dealers offer special deals and also throw in optional extras worth thousands of dollars for free.
2. Be serious about safety
ANCAP safety ratings are no joke. These ratings determine how likely an accident is to injure or kill you, and the differences between safe and unsafe cars are enormous.
More importantly, it can also affect the cost of car insurance. If you’re after a more cost-effective drive and you want a safe vehicle, avoid settling for less than a 4- or 5-star ANCAP rating.
3. Do your homework on the car you want
Learn about your chosen car's typical drive-away price before you buy, as well as which extras are tacked on and how much these are really worth. This gives you a baseline against which to haggle and consider “free” extras.
It also lets you determine how much haggling room is left when you’re quoted a price. You probably won’t get a good deal if you don’t take this step and if you do, how would you know?
4. Know the haggling dos and don’ts
- Do keep your expectations realistic. You probably won’t haggle much off an already-discounted price.
- Do keep it friendly and polite. Good manners go a lot further and sometimes a deal simply comes down to how much they like you.
- Do leave your phone number, even if you walk away. They might come back to you with a better offer.
- Don’t be afraid to walk away. If they’re not budging, find someone who will.
- Don’t try low-balling them unless you’re ready to climb back up the price ladder.
5. Make dealers compete with each other
A lot of dealers might turn down an offer without hesitation, but would accept the very same offer when asked to match a competitor’s price. There’s always a better deal out there somewhere and dealers know it. Try to be in touch with more than one dealer before buying and let them compete for your business.
Know what car you want? A Car broker could save you money
With an established network of dealers, a car broker can source the vehicle you want and negotiate on your behalf to save you money.
6. Always do a test drive
There’s no substitute for a test drive. If you’re still deciding between different cars or models, test drive them all if possible. Never buy a new car without test driving it first.
7. Beware of unwanted extras
Dealers are always ready to generously throw in extras for free or at cost, to sweeten the deal. Think about the extras you actually want before buying and try to resist walking out with something you didn’t want.
Some of the extras you almost certainly don’t want are an extended warranty, rustproofing and paint protection. A new car already has all of these in some form and these extras are often just a sales trick.
The cost of car insurance changes a lot depending on what you’re driving. Common new cars, even the latest models, are often cheaper to insure than one would expect thanks to the availability of spare parts. Meanwhile, cars that don’t have more recent safety features such as auto braking or traction control, or cars with a poor ANCAP rating, can be considerably more expensive.
8. Check the fuel consumption
Check a car’s fuel consumption with the yellow sticker on the windscreen. This allows you to you to compare efficiency between vehicles and can give you a reasonable idea of what the car's operating costs might be.
9. Make sure all the boxes are ticked before you buy
Check off these tips before buying for better luck finding a deal, but when the pen’s in your hand and the dealer is salivating over your shoulder you should ask yourself whether you have:
- Understood the terms and conditions. Make sure you know exactly what you’re signing up for.
- Been to multiple dealers. If you haven’t, then you’re almost certainly not getting the value you could be.
- Know what is and isn’t included. Be certain that you aren’t paying for unwanted extras and that you won’t be missing anything.
Your new car will need CTP insurance, and if you’ll be depending on it you might want to consider comprehensive car insurance instead of one of the more basic options.
10. Compare all your loan options
If you're planning on using a car loan or other form of finance to purchase your car, it pays to do your research. You have a lot of options when it comes to car finance, so it pays to understand how they differ, and what makes a loan more competitive than another. Along with the banks, many dealers offer car loans, and it's important to compare both to find the one that bests suits your needs.
Compare car loans for buying a new car
Compare other products
We currently don't have that product, but here are others to consider:
How we picked theseFinder Score for car loans
To make comparing car loans even easier we came up with the Finder Score. Interest rates, fees and features across 200+ car loan products and 100+ lenders are all weighted and scaled to produce a score out of 10. The higher the score, the more competitive the product.
Compare car insurance side-by-side and get quotes
Compare other products
We currently don't have that product, but here are others to consider:
How we picked theseFinder Score for car insurance
We analyse over 30 car insurance products across insurance providers, and rate each one for price and features. We collect up to 36 quotes per product, for male and female drivers in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia. Quotes are collected for 20 year olds, 30 year olds and 60 year olds, assuming an excess of $850 for a 2020 Toyota Corolla 4 door sedan model, with an average 15,000 kms driven each year. While we are not allowed to display actual quotes, our Finder Score aims to serve as an indicative guide to how cost and feature competitive a product might be for you.
Our feature score assesses each product for more than 15 features across loss and damage coverage, repairs and assistance coverage, personal items coverage and policy coverage. Features we assess include but are not limited to legal liability, essential repairs, new car replacement, car hire events, roadside assistance, agreed or market value, windscreen damage and natural disaster coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Image: Shutterstock
Sources
More resources on Finder
Ask a question
More guides on Finder
-
Credit Concierge Car Loan
Get a secured or unsecured loan from a range of lenders with the Credit Concierge car loan.
-
Harmoney Car Loan
Looking for a car loan that’s fast, flexible and 100% online? Check out the Harmoney Car Loan here.
-
BCU Bank Car Loan
Get behind the wheel faster with a competitive low rate and no monthly fees.
-
Bank Australia Car Loan
Concerned about the earth but still need a car to get you around? The Bank Australia Car Loan comes with a competitive rate and trees will be planted to offset the greenhouse gas emissions produced by your car for the term of your loan.
-
Compare car loans for classic cars
Want to buy a classic car but don't have the ready money? There are still financing options available for classic vehicles. Find out what loans you have to choose one and which one will work best for you.
-
Tesla Superchargers Map: Where you can charge in Australia
Find out the extent of Australia's Tesla Supercharger network with our complete map of every charging station.
-
People First Bank Discounted Personal Loan (Car Loan)
You can finance a new or used car with this loan from People First Bank and you could enjoy pre-approval, no monthly fees and a lower interest rate.
-
Community First New Car Loan
Find out if you might be eligible for a loan offering a competitive variable rate to help you finance your new car purchase with low monthly fees.
-
Westpac Car Loans
Purchase a new car or refinance your current used vehicle for a competitive rate with Westpac. There's a range of flexible features on offer, so find out if you're eligible to apply for one of its competitive offerings.
-
NAB Car Loan
This NAB secured car loan offers loans of up to $100,000 for new and used vehicles less than 12 years. It has a fixed interest rate with loans of 1 - 7 years, but no penalty if you repay the loan early.