Buying Your First Car

When buying your first car you have an advantage and a disadvantage. The disadvantage is simply being a newbie; the purchase process and all its hidden costs will be new to you and if you don’t have help there is room for many mistakes. Your advantage is that you have not developed any bad purchasing habits like the rest of us.

The number one mistake most people make is to get the proverbial cart before the horse, find the car they want to buy, and then make the necessary arrangements to pay for that car. This is backward by all definitions.

Would anyone consider it normal to visit the grocery store, gather all the items needed for the week, stand in line, let the cashier ring up the total, and only then check to see how much money one has in cash, or in the bank, or on a credit card? Then why do most people buy a car this way? Because it is the way it has always been done; however this does not imply that it must continue this way. Learn now to make all the money decisions before you become emotionally attached to a particular car.

Here are some buying tips in the order that the purchase should proceed. You can implement them yourself or you can ask for our help, which is free of charge. Either way you can avoid the mistakes even practiced buyers occasionally make.

Consider All Financial Features First.

Cash on Hand – If you can pay cash for the car without depleting all your reserves, this is the best method but there is a caution. Everyone, not just you as a first time buyer, should consider if it is prudent to deplete all financial reserves to pay cash for a car. No one knows what obstacles life will give us. It’s best to be prepared and have some reserve cash on hand.

If the purchase will deplete all or most of your nest egg you can get an auto loan for all of the purchase or any portion thereof. IAnglo has an Express Auto Loan where you can get auto financing with minimal information and no hassle. We have a link at the bottom of this section or you can use the navigation bar to start the application process. Both the link and the nav bar are named “Express Loan”.

Financing – Most people find themselves in this category. Cars that are dependable, fuel efficient and comfortable are expensive and auto financing is needed. For a full discussion on the importance of securing a pre-approval before shopping for your car please visit our page MLB/Pre Approval. Different model years qualify for different repayment terms. Some makes (manufacturer) also qualify for different interest rates.

Whatever financing institution you use, be sure they calculate your loan using the simple interest method. Especially if rates are extremely low be alert, not all methods of calculating payments are the same; some can be front loaded.

Insurance – Presumably you have some idea of the type of car you want to buy. Insurance rates are affected by many factors; some of these factors depend on the type car you choose. It is advantageous then to understand what options you can control and use this information before you make a final decision on a particular make or model. Click Insurance Quote and complete the form to receive estimates from local insurance providers on your perspective purchase.

Fuel costs – This will be a fluctuating calculation. Driving habits, highway or city driving, frequency of travel in mountainous regions all will make your experience unique, but we can give you a range. Go to our Contact Us Page and request an estimate or you can go to Gas Mileage Estimator enter in your car year, make, and model and get an estimate. If using the “Mileage Estimator” don’t forget to convert the table to km and liters in the box on the right; you can also enter in current fuel prices.

Maintenance cost – This again is a number which is very hard to pin down due to many variables (year, make, model, kilometers, and prior ownership). You will need to budget for:

1. Regular maintenance- oil/filter change and tire rotation, between 200 to 400 NIS.
2. Yearly inspection approximately 500 to 1000 NIS
3. Periodic maintenance reserve -1000 NIS for tires/belts/hoses
4. Second reserve 1000 NIS for unexpected repairs.

As you can expect, these are broad guess estimates but will put you in range.

If you think you will need financing to make the purchase click Express Loan and let’s explore what money is available for you and what it will cost per month. Then you too can make use of our database to find the right car to fit your budget.

Choosing a Car

For sure this is the fun phase of the car purchase, now that you know your budget. Before researching makes and models be sure and distinguish between your needs and wants.

You may want a car that is very stingy on fuel consumption, but if you travel mountainous regions frequently you’re going to need some power. If you intend to mostly travel with full occupancy you may want a sedan. What about cargo room, maybe you need a van type. Automatic or standard transmission? First consider the license you hold, but beyond that what will the daily use be? If you commute, an automatic may save your left leg after a hard day in the city. You may tire of seeing so many white cars and want a pretty dark colored vehicle. However, if you don’t have covered parking you need to account for the heat and paint fading factor; we are blessed with a lot of hot sun here.

Try to look ahead a minimum of 2 years. You will need to hold the car this long, especially if you finance it, before trading. Reason, Israeli’s tend to be very concerned with the number of previous owners. In reality the number of owners is not as crucial as how it was maintained; nonetheless there is this perception and you need to work with it.

If you buy a one-owner car it is now a two-owner car to the next buyer. The next buyer will expect to pay less even if you hold the car only for a few days. And while speaking of selling we suggest that you keep records and receipts of all repairs and maintenance; this will serve you well when it is time to sell.

We want to help you in all aspects of your car purchase and spoil you with our western style customer service that sometimes elude the business communities here in Israel, and it won’t cost you a shekel. Please visit our Buying Used Cars page to learn what benefits using a locating and buying service like IAnglo will bring to you.

Enjoy the process of buying your first car and driving it, you will wonder how you ever lived without it. If you just want some helpful hints of course you can just Contact Us.