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Getting a new car is a major expense, and if you’re on a tight budget, you may be looking for a few ways that you can save. The good news is that there are tons of things that you can do to get a beautiful new car on the cheap. Sometimes, it’s about choosing the right vehicle or dealer. There are also a few tricks that you can use to get the vehicle of your dreams for a lower price. Let’s look at a few affordable ways to enjoy a stylish new car.

Consider Buying a Slightly Older Vehicle

You should first ask yourself if you actually need a new vehicle. If all you want is a car that looks like the latest model, know that most car manufacturers only redesign their vehicles two or two times per decade. This means that you could get a vehicle that is two years old that will look exactly the same as the latest model and will basically have the same features. It will also have taken most of the depreciation hit already. This means that you’ll not only pay much less for it but you could unload it after one or two years for roughly the same value.

Only Get a Vehicle You Can Pay Cash for

Taking a loan with interest on a depreciating asset like a car is not the best financial move. This essentially means that you’ll be losing money on both sides. If you can, consider getting a less expensive vehicle and see if you could buy it cash instead of getting it through financing. You’ll already be paying a down payment, so why not subtract it from the car’s value and look at ways that you could save instead?

Shop for Financing

If you want to go with financing, don’t make the mistake of automatically going for dealer finance. Don’t dismiss it either as there are cases when the dealer could get you a better rate than if you got a loan independently. The best thing you could do would be to get pre-approved for a loan to see what kind of deal you could get. You’ll then be able to shop around and compare auto loan rates from various providers including your dealer.

If you want to get the best rate possible, we suggest that you look at what credit unions have to offer around your area. They have some of the best deals for car financing and like giving out these types of loans since there’s an asset attached to them, so give a few credit unions around where you live a look.

Negotiate

Also know that you can always work out a deal with a dealership. The sticker price is never the definite price, and dealers have a lot of margins to play with. Once you know that, you can use that to your advantage.

One of the best tricks you can use to drive down the price of a car is to not look too interested. Even if you love the vehicle and it’s the only one you want to buy, you should do your research on some of the negatives about it. You can then point them out while you’re looking at the vehicle.

Showing indecision when buying is actually a great thing for you as a buyer. The seller will try to do everything they can to seal the deal, and this is where you’ll get them. It also helps if you learn about a few other models in the same category and give them the idea that you’re considering them as an option.

Get a Lease

Also, know that you could always get a lease instead of buying the vehicle. Leases have many advantages that you need to look at before you write them off. Taking a lease means that you won’t have to think about depreciation or selling the car once you’re done with it. You also will be spending less on your monthly payments than you would on financing. This is why you should strongly consider the option and see what kind of deals there are out there.

Getting a lease would be an especially good option if you are thinking of buying an electric vehicle. This is because they tend to become outdated much more quickly than other types of vehicles since technology moves so fast in that space. Selling a used electric vehicle is also not always easy.

If you want to learn more about electric car leasing and electric vehicles in general, ElectriX have tons of information about the costs of buying and maintaining an electric vehicle along with how you can get a cheap electric car lease. You’ll also learn about the benefits of electric car lease deals and how to tell if an electric vehicle is truly the option for you.

These are all things that you can do to drive down the price of a new vehicle. The worst thing you can do is take the first deal you come across, so shop around and don’t be afraid to haggle a bit until you get what you want.