New Car Buying Tips

It’s Car Buying Season! Bearingstar discusses how to quickly prepare for the process with a few new car buying tips.

There are so many things to love about a new car – spotless interior, no dings or dents, and that new car smell. But how can you hold onto those new car good vibrations for as long as possible? The Bearingstar team would like to share a few tips that may help you get, and stay, in your happy place with your car for a long time. In addition to following these steps, it’s also always a good idea to contact your Bearingstar agent before signing any paperwork.

Negotiating The Best Deal

Right now, if you are considering a new car, you may be torn between having the car you’ve been dreaming of, while also keeping your car payments and related expenses manageable.  Below we share some advice we’ve researched on how to successfully get through the price-negotiation process.

Here are the 3 key steps recommended you take to get to a place that feels comfortable financially for you:

• 1. Establish your “target” price by consulting online price guides like NADA or Kelley Blue Book to determine both the MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) and the invoice prices of all models under consideration, including their options
• 2. Investigate any and all incentives, from those located on the automakers’ websites, to special incentives for military or recent college graduates to “secret rebates” that automakers may have given to a dealer
• 3. Use the Internet to compare offers from multiple dealers and pit them against each other until you’ve reached the lowest possible price

One word of caution – typically the more popular the vehicle you are choosing, the harder it is going to be for you to negotiate down from the sticker price.

New Vehicle Financing Facts

While you may do a slam-dunk job negotiating the final price for your car, you could still end up paying more each month than you can afford if you don’t get the right financing terms. So what can you do to affect that?

We consulted Cars.com to find out the key factors to focus on when seeking a car loan or financing for a lease:

• Know what your credit score is and do your best to get it to good, or better yet, excellent (generally, a 720 or up according to nerdwallet.com) before negotiating
• Clear your other debt as much as possible so that your debt-to-income ratio looks reasonable to a potential lender
• If you are buying, then consider putting a sizeable down payment on the vehicle as the smaller the number you need to borrow, the more favorable your loan terms may be
• Shorten the term of the loan as much as possible to appear a “good bet” to the potential lender
• You can also shop around for the lowest interest rates, including consulting automakers’ websites to see if they have any financing deals available

Insuring your new vehicle

Prior to making any auto purchase decision, Bearingstar strongly recommends you speak to your insurance agent so you can understand in advance how your new car may affect your insurance premium. Your new car doesn’t necessarily have to cost any more to insure than the one you are about to trade in; it all depends on several factors.

We are discount detectives

When you work with a Bearingstar agent, you can be certain that we are checking for any and all available discounts, like bundling your home with your auto under the same insurance carrier, Good Student, Student Away, Automatic Bill Bay/Pay In Full, and Military Away. We also make sure that these savings roll over from your current policy to any renewal or new policy. Please note that coverages and discounts offered may vary by state and carrier.

Bearingstar Insurance also offers additional auto insurance options like Accident Forgiveness and Disappearing Deductible that can have a long-term positive affect on your premium.

Auto Loan/Lease Gap Coverage

Finally, by consulting with your Bearingstar auto insurance agent prior to finalizing your new or used car purchase, we may be able to save you hundreds of dollars with our Auto Loan/Lease Gap endorsement. This important coverage does exactly what it sounds like it does – fills in a gap between what the insurance will pay out for an accident that causes a total loss of your vehicle and what you still owe on your car. This coverage applies whether you got a car loan or leased your vehicle. Please don’t let the dealership strong arm you into getting this coverage through them as it can be at a much higher price than the price we can get for drivers in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

We hope you found these new car buying tips helpful and just in time for you to get a great end-of-year deal. Please know that Bearingstar is here for you during your entire car-buying journey. Call us today if you are in the market for a new vehicle or if you would like us to see how we can lower the insurance premium on your current vehicle.

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