Choosing a new vehicle - 5 steps on how to decide what's right for you

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For most car buyers, choosing a vehicle that suits their lifestyle is what matters most.  For example, maybe you are new parents and need a safer vehicle with more room and easier accessibility. Or, you might be a student or daily commuter looking for a car that is fuel efficient and affordable.  Or, perhaps you’ve always wanted a convertible sports car.  Whatever the case may be, here are some questions to ask yourself to assist you in deciding which vehicles would be a good match.

Step 1: Evaluate your needs.

It is important to evaluate what you really need rather than letting the emotion of seeing a beautiful vehicle because you to rush into buying something that won't work for you.

Step 2: Select a price range.

Once you have an idea of what type of vehicle you want, figure out what you can afford and establish how much money you want to spend on it.

Step 3: Narrow down the field.

Now that you know exactly what type of vehicle you want and how much you want to spend, it's time to narrow down the field of potential vehicles.  Surf the web, visit consumer car buying sites like Canadian Driver (www.CanadianDriver.com), Consumer Reports (www.consumerreports.org) and manufacturers' web sites to come up with a short list of cars or trucks that will potentially suit your needs.

Step 4: Test drive the candidates.

Reviews of vehicles are great, but they are no substitute for the test drive.  When visiting dealers to look at vehicles, make sure that you explain that you will not be purchasing anything that day.  You don't want to get sucked into making an expensive purchase like a new vehicle without thoroughly researching how much it should cost.

Step 5: Make your decision.

By now you have all the information that you'll need to decide what vehicle is right for you.  It's time to make your choice, research what a fair price for it is, and look into how you want to finance it.

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