What is the Right Car for Me? 10 Questions to Ask Before You Buy a Car

Which Ford or Toyota Vehicle is Right for Me?

Not long ago I wrote an article entitled “15 Things to Do Before You Buy a Car” to give readers an overview of all the things they needed to consider and research before actually making a trip to the dealer lot to purchase a new car, truck, SUV or crossover vehicle. Among the fifteen items were a couple dealing with selecting the actual vehicle that is right for you. Since the article was an overview of the many things you need to do, I did not go into detail as to how to actually decide which vehicle is right for you. That’s where today’s post comes in.

In today’s post I will focus on looking at a number of questions to ask before buying a new car. These are questions you should ask yourself before you begin to narrow your search down to specific models of Ford or Toyota vehicles (you will, of course, be buying a Ford or Toyota product, right?) in order to determine what type of car, truck, SUV or CUV is the best fit with the expectations and desires you have for a new vehicle.

To begin with, a great way to get a solid overview of what is most important to you is to use this handy car buying checklist. This list will help to give you a good idea of your main automotive priorities. Once you have an idea of which of these basic qualities you consider most important you can then move on to considering all the other qualities to be found in a vehicle and use them to pin point the specific models that best fit your automotive needs.

Narrow Down Your New Vehicle Search

There are a number of questions you can ask yourself to make sure you are considering the right car. Answer these questions and then find the vehicle that most closely corresponds to your answers. You can even call your local dealership and ask a salesman or manager to help you in determining which of their vehicles is the best fit with your answers. If they are a dealership that is at all concerned with pleasing their customers, they will be more than happy to assist you. Or, if you would like, feel free to use the ask Brad form and I will help you to narrow down your search to find the perfect vehicle to fit your needs.

Now on to the questions.

10 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Car

1. What size vehicle do I need? Do you have a big family that needs a lot of room or are you a single urbanite? Do you have a need to be able to haul a lot of stuff for either work or recreation? What is the highest number of people I will need to transport regularly? Do I just prefer large vehicles regardless of need?

2. How much power do I want? Do I need enough to haul a trailer or just enough to get home from the grocery store before the ice cream melts? Do I do a lot of highway driving where I find the need to be able to pass other drivers? Do I just plain dig that V8 rumble or am I more concerned with question number 3?

3. What fuel mileage will I accept? Is your primary concern commuting, traveling, family oriented or just joy riding? What kind of weekly mileage do I log? can I live with 18 mpg or do I need 30? Might I be happier and feel more responsible with a hybrid?

4. What type of ride am I looking for? Do I need a car that handles well and sticks to the road during high speed cornering or do I prefer to feel like I’m floating on a cloud while I ease down the highway? Am I a serious driver or a laid back cruiser?

5. Do I care whether a car is front or rear wheel drive? Or do I prefer AWD or 4WD? What are my normal driving conditions? Do I ever drive in snow, ice, rain? Do I ever stray from the pavement?

6. What safety features do I need to feel comfortable on the road? Do I have a need for child seat anchors? Can I live without side curtain airbags? Are things like ABS and traction control systems features that I want?

7. How long will I have the vehicle? Do I plan on trading in every couple of years or am I looking to drive it until the wheels fall off? Is re-sale value a priority? Will the warranty see me through my ownership or do I expect to be driving the car well past the coverage?

8. Do I crave all the latest technology? Do I want to use my MP3 player? Do I need hands free phone features? Would I like my kids to be able to watch a movie, or eight, on the cross country trip to Grandma’s house? Do I need a navigation system just to find my way around the corner?

9. What is my style? Do I prefer sleek or muscular styling? Am I a fan of rounded or boxy bodies (auto wise, of course)? Do I prefer modern or classical lines? Am I minimalistic or do I like it flashy?

10. What do I consider a reasonable amount to spend on a vehicle? Am I willing to sacrifice any of my other preferences to save a few bucks?

Do Your Car Shopping Research

Now that you’ve got all your criteria ironed out its time to research. talk to people, read articles and call dealers in order to figure out which cars fit the answers to your questions. When you take the time to answer all these questions and have a firm idea of what you want in a new vehicle not only will the buying process be much less stressful, you will ultimately have a much better chance of being completely satisfied with your purchase.

I hope you enjoyed today’s post and that you will find it helpful when you find yourself in the need for a new automobile. If you are presently considering buying a new automobile I am always available to provide you with a quote through the quick quote function. I will also answer any questions you might have about this or any other post if you leave it as a comment or contact me through any of the other available channels.

Until tomorrow, have a great day!

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