May 09 2012
New or used car shopping
A guest post by Shelly G
My father is a mechanic, so from a young age he was teaching us about cars. My brother, sister and I knew how to change the oil by the age of 13. Before we were able to get our licenses, he made sure we also knew how to change the tires and check all of the gauges as well. Of course, at age 13 I wasn’t really interested in learning about cars. I wanted to hang out with my friends, wear make-up, and dance. That’s all I cared about. Now that I am married, I am so grateful that my daddy taught us how to do all of that. I’m glad that he taught us what to look for when buying a car.
I remember the first time I went car shopping alone. It was a little stressful.. maybe even overwhelming. There is definitely a lot of sales pressure out there. There is a lot pushy salesmen, who will not take no for an answer. My daddy taught us to stand firm when buying a car (or buying anything else for that matter). I can remember the day I went car shopping like it was yesterday. I was 19 years old and, like most young people, I thought I knew what I wanted. I went to a few Trusted Dealers in my hometown, just browsing the inventory. I test drove a few things. Some cars that I tested, I knew I couldn’t afford, but I still wanted to say that I sat behind the wheel of a Ford Mustang GT.
I continued my shopping, test driving different cars, trucks, jeeps. I finally spotted the car I fell in love with. At that time in my life, I was rebellious, so I wanted a car that was out of the ordinary. Something that could be spotted from a mile away. The car I ended up getting was a 1993 Chevy Tracker. I absolutely loved it. It was bright yellow, black pin stripes, and black soft top. It had wonderful gas mileage and for it to be a pretty small car on the outside, it was rather roomy on the inside. I had to get a loan for the car, but my payments were very cheap. (only $150 per month) I had that car for about 3 years when I traded it for 1996 Mazda 626.
I would like to give a little advice to anyone who is car shopping now or in the near future….
~Do your research, know what kind of car you have in mind before stepping foot onto a car lot.
~Test drive everything.
~Check the gauges.
~Look under the car.. make sure that there are no leaks.
~Look under the hood when the car is running.. you don’t want anything smoking.
~Make sure you read what you’re signing.
~Know your budget limit. Don’t let anyone talk you into something you can’t afford. You don’t want your car to get repossessed 6 months down the road.
-Checking out some online resources such as trusteddealers.co.uk before shopping never hurts!
This blog is strongly breastfeeding-centered, but I understand the feelings of moms who find themselves forced to (or more keen on) bottle-feed instead.
