January can be a great time of the year to buy a new or used car, but it can also be a period when people looking for a bargain can make mistakes by rushing their decision-making process.
Therefore, here we’ve listed some of the pitfalls that lay in wait for the unwary car-buyer at the start of the year.
Failing to set a proper budget
We get it – the excitement of ‘new year, new you’; and you’re probably thinking, as one of your resolutions, that you’re going to get yourself a shiny new motor to go with the fresh start. Well, that’s all fine in principle, but don’t over-extend your finances just to get something flashy on the driveway or parked outside your residence. And we don’t just mean from the initial purchase perspective: remember to focus on the long-term running costs, beyond simply how much the vehicle will cost you in either finance or loan repayments to buy it in the first place. So, how much will the car in question be to tax each year? Insure? For servicing? Bear all of these numbers in mind and do some proper balancing of the books before you hurry on down to your local dealership to sign on the dotted line.
Short days, long nights
This one is more for the used-car buyers than those seeking new or nearly new, but although the nights are already drawing out from the winter solstice on December 21, January is still a month where it’s pretty much dark by the time everyone is leaving work. And if you’re looking to purchase something a little bit older from a private buyer or smaller dealership, where you need to give the vehicle a thorough visual inspection outside and in to check for any obvious defects, it’s probably best not to be doing it in the evening, and/or when it’s tipping it down with rain. Therefore, unless you work from home and can make time in the daylight hours, don’t arrange to see a prospective replacement car during the week after 4pm – instead, see if the seller will meet in the middle of the day, giving you the best chance to give the vehicle a once-over.
Bewitched by the new plate
If you have enough budget to either buy a brand-new car outright or alternatively finance it through something like a PCP deal, you’ve probably got your heart set on a 261-plate car that’s all shiny and fresh, unused by any other. But are you missing out on a bargain, just for a couple of rectangles of plastic which are fixed to the bodywork? With trade-ins thick on the ground as part of the new registration cycle, you might find dealers are trying to shift stock wherever they can – and this can include ex-demo and lightly used examples on previous plates (such as 251 and 252). Realistically, if the model you are considering hasn’t just had a major facelift or technical update, which makes having the latest version an ‘essential’ because some feature on it isn’t possessed by its predecessor, then buying a low-kilometres 252-plate car at a significant discount is going to save you plenty of cash over the same thing on a 261 reg – and the vehicle you end up with won’t be missing anything you want or need.
Ignoring older used cars
Assuming you’re not that bothered by the newness of a car, great second-hand bargains can be had in January for a reason we mention above – this is where the tide of used vehicles washes into dealerships, as people part-ex older motors while picking up their new 261-plate wheels. And this glut of two- and three-year-old vehicles means greater choice for a savvy buyer, while they can also be heavily discounted by dealers eager to meet targets and clear the decks of a used-car surplus.
Eschewing the test drive
You might well have done all your research online and really love the look of a particular vehicle, but don’t ever turn down a pre-purchase test drive – this counts doubly for older cars, where such a journey allows you to listen for faults and defects (noisy turbos, rattling timing chains, graunching gearboxes, squeaking brakes, thumping suspension and whooping wheel bearings all being prime examples), but it applies to new cars as well. What might look good to you on a review site, where it has won glowing praise from a critic, could actually turn out to annoy you in some way. So, does the driver’s seat adjust enough for your height and build? Are there any blind spots caused by your driving position and the design/positioning of the vehicle’s windows? Do all the various controls and ancillaries fall into easy reach for you, or are they a faff to use on the move? Bear in mind any car you buy, used or new, is probably going to be with you for a number of years, so you want to make sure it works for you in more ways than simply getting you from A to B – it needs to be comfortable to drive and comfortable to operate, too, otherwise it’ll just annoy you in the medium-term.