A Broke Dude’s Guide to Saving Money for a Car (And Buying One)

Your current car decided to call it quits – not fun!

Or it’s time for your first car – congrats!

Either way, you are trying to figure out what car to buy and how much it’s going to cost you. Saving money for a car is one of the best ways to buy your car to have the ability to make a cash offer or to have a larger down payment.

Keep reading to learn how to save for a car no matter your finances and tips on saving on your purchase.

Guide to Saving Money for a Car

Buying a car is a big deal and can be a very important purchase you will make because it will be your transportation to get you where you need to go.

If you’re buying a used car you want to make sure you invest in a car that will be reliable and won’t leave you stranded. Imagine what a nightmare this would be if it broke down within 30 days of buying it?

How Much Can You Afford?

One of the first things you will have to figure out is how much you will be able to afford. How are you going to know how much money you need to save if you have no idea what your end goal is?

Sit down with a pen, paper, and a calculator and calculate how much you can afford to pay monthly if you decide to finance your car. If you decide to buy one cash then you have to calculate how much you can set aside every paycheck and deposit money into a savings account that you won’t touch.

If you decide to take out a loan but aren’t sure if you will be approved because of your credit score then you can look into bad credit loans. Make sure you know how much you can afford before applying and make sure to not overextend yourself when it comes to your monthly payment.

Automatic Savings

This is a great method to put away money that you won’t notice missing out of your accounts. Some banks have programs where they will round up your charges to the next dollar and put that change in a savings account.

You will be surprised at how quickly this spare change will add up. You can use these small savings towards your new car or towards the extra expenses you will incur with your new car. Don’t forget a new car requires insurance, tags, title, and registration fees.

Extra Features

You want to make a list of the features that you must have. Be careful because you don’t want to go overboard on your list and confuse features you want for things you need.

You might not really need a Bose surround system with the latest touch screen navigation screen. While it will be a nice ask yourself if you truly need it?

Flexibility Is Your Friend

Once you have decided how much you can afford and whether you will be financing or paying cash you will want to have an open mind to something changing. Being flexible during your car purchase will come in handy.

For example, if you are set on buying your car cash but a smokin’ deal that you can’t pass up comes up and it requires you to finance some of the cost then maybe doing a large downpayment and financing the rest is a smart decision. Especially if the car will be more reliable and hold its value longer.

Private Sellers

Buying from a dealership or an auto store isn’t your only option to buy your car. You can buy from private sellers and possibly save a ton of money doing so. Buying from a private seller tends to decrease the car price by a whole lot because there is no middle man.

A private seller also doesn’t have the same overhead as a dealership and they’re looking to sell their car they are not worried about maintaining a car sales business like a dealership.

You will also have the power to negotiate a better price when you’re dealing with a private seller. Make sure to go check out the car in a public place and also go with a friend that knows about cars if you don’t. This will ensure that you’re spending your money on something that will work and not fall apart.

Police Auction Shopping

If you want to find a good deal on your new car do a search in your city or nearby cities for a police auction. Sometimes people, have their cars confiscated and they aren’t able to get it out of the impound so these cars end up going to an auction.

When buying at an auction you have to keep in mind that normally you won’t be able to test drive the car. This means you need to know what you’re looking at or go with someone that knows.

Sometimes the cars are confiscated for simple things like an outstanding ticket or a DUI. Which means that the car is more than likely fine and was taken care of. But you still want to avoid something that is going to break down unexpectedly.

You might hit the jackpot and score a car that’s worth over $80,000 for only $10,000 – hey you never know!

Car Buying – Wrapping It Up

Now that you have learned a few tips above on saving money for a car and tips on saving during your purchase it’s time to implement our tips. Making your new car purchase will require patience because everything won’t happen overnight.

Once you’re driving around in your new ride it will be totally worth it.

Don’t forget to bookmark our site for more tips on financing other important purchases in your life!