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Buying your first car
Buying your first car is a rite of passage. No more having to beg for the keys or wait till the ‘rents are ready to drop you off - it means independence! But buying your first car is also the first encounter most of us will have with a rather serious expense, and the first real chance for people to get into serious debt. With that in mind, here are 5 essential tips for buying your first car:
Save rather than borrowing. This way you avoid paying interest of anywhere from 13-20% per annum and also avoid paying any fees. For someone living at home working 15-20 hours a week it can take as little as 6 months to save up $5,000 - 6,000.
Don’t spend all the money you’ve saved up for the car. Leave about $1000 to make sure you have enough money to pay for all the “hidden costs” of running a car, like your warrant, registration, insurance, petrol and servicing.
Be patient! A car is something you’ll keep for a while so take your time when choosing it. Research and compare prices online, spend a couple of weekends going to car auctions and ask around for plenty of advice on what kind of car will work best for you.
Don’t be afraid to haggle! Lots of people NEED to sell their car due to private circumstances and a lot of them are quite easily haggled down. So offer a price lower than what they’re asking for!
Get a fuel efficient car. With petrol prices so high, and the chance they could go higher, it’s going to save you a lot of money in the long run.
If you create a list of all the pros and cons the decision should be a lot easier to make. And if a second job turns out to be too much, this great article on budgeting might be able to help you get some of things you want!
As young women, we owe it to ourselves to have at least a basic understanding of things like credit, hire purchase, student loans and tax – because it’s not something we learn in school! That’s why we’ve hooked you up with Laura Tighe from SavY. She’s 24/7 Girl’s money guru – and she’s here to dish out advice and answers to your questions. Got a question for Laura? Click here!
Who is SavY?
SavY was set up by a group of Auckland University Business School students to help young Kiwis like us get a better grip on money matters. They run work-shops and courses in schools and for school leavers.
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