10 Steps to Finding the Right Car for You(Part 1)

1: What kind of car do you need?

If you examine your needs rather than wants, you will quickly discover what the right car is for you. Take a moment to think about what you use your car for. How many people do you need to transport? What kind of driving do you most often do? How long is your commute? Is it important that your next vehicle get good gas mileage?

In too many cases people choose a car because it has an eye-catching style or it is a trendy favorite. If you go in this direction, you may either break your budget or have to go car shopping again soon. Let your needs, not your wants, drive your decision.

Here are a few other questions to keep in mind when you begin your car-buying process:

>>Do you want a manual or automatic transmission?
>>Do you really need four-wheel drive? Or all-wheel drive?
>>What safety features do you want?
>>Do you require a lot of cargo-carrying capacity?
>>Will you be doing any towing?
>>Will the car easily fit in your garage or parking area?

2: How much can you afford?

Regardless of whether you decide to buy or lease your next car, establishing a realistic monthly payment that will fit into your budget is a crucial first step. How much should this be?
A rule of thumb is your total monthly car payments — whether you own one car or more than one — shouldn't exceed 20 percent of your monthly take-home pay.

3: Should you lease or buy your next car?

A lease requires little or no money up front and offers lower monthly payments. But when the lease ends you are left without a car and a need to replace it.Buying a car is more expensive initially and the monthly payments are higher. But at the end of the loan, you will own a car you can still drive or sell.

4: Have you considered all vehicles in that class?

Today's new car (and truck) market is filled with great products. Most shoppers have difficulty keeping up with all of the vehicles manufacturers introduce and the changes they are making to their older vehicles, so it's important to do your research. Use Internet sites like Edmunds.com and Edmunds.com New Cars and Trucks Buyer's Guide to research all your choices before you hit the showrooms.

On Edmunds.com you can pick a specific car and bring up a list of similar cars in the same class. If you already have a car you are considering, this will be your starting point.

5: Have you considered all of the costs of ownership?

Here is an often overlooked fact of car ownership: one car might be cheaper to buy, but more expensive to own. Why? Even if two cars cost about the same to buy, one can depreciate at a different rate or cost significantly more to insure or maintain. Before you commit to one car, you should estimate the long-term ownership costs of the vehicle you are considering. These include depreciation, insurance, maintenance and fuel costs. The Edmunds.com Web site has a feature called Cost to Own, which presents this information in an easy-to-read table.