Buying The Right Car For Your Needs In Your Senior Years

Shopping for a car is a challenging experience for nearly everyone, but can be even more so for seniors who may not be familiar with current models, features, and sales tactics. Finding the right car for your needs involves research, test drives, and patience if you want to find the one that is the best overall fit for you.

What Do You Want?

Car lots are notorious for salespeople who push you to make an immediate decision about buying a car. You can avoid this common issue by taking just a bit of time to think about what you want and doing a bit of research before ever setting foot on a car lot. Here are some things to consider:

• Interior space – How much interior space do you need? Do you regularly carry additional passengers or do you most often drive just yourself and/or your spouse? Do you have pets you’ll be taking in the car with you? Do you plan to travel with the car and so need more space for luggage and the like?

• Entry and exit – Do you have any limitations or difficulties getting into or out of a car? Looking into the future, what are you likely to need if or when your ability to easily get in or out starts to decline?

• Visibility – How easy (or hard) is it for you to turn your head and look in all directions when you are driving? Do you want larger outside mirrors to help you see better around the car?

• Cost – What is the price range you can afford? Do you plan to pay cash for the vehicle or finance it with a loan? How much do you feel comfortable spending on operating costs (fuel, tires, maintenance, repairs, etc.)?

• Size and shape – Do you feel more comfortable in a larger car? Or do you prefer a smaller car that is easier to maneuver and park? Do you want to sit up higher (such as in an SUV) or do you prefer to sit lower (such as in a sedan)?

Once you have this list of wants and needs put together you’re ready to start the process of research and comparison.

Research and Compare

There are many great tools available to help you research and compare vehicles based on all sorts of features and characteristics. A few of the very best sites that offer the most objective information include:

• www.Edmunds.com
• www.KBB.com
• www.NADAGuides.com
• www.ConsumerReports.org

A number of other web sites are more focused on selling cars, but they also contain some nice tools for identifying cars by features and making side by side comparisons. Some examples of these include:

• www.Cars.com
• www.CarsDirect.com
• www.AutoWeb.com
• www.AutoTrader.com

Take notes on the vehicles that seem to be good matches for your wants, especially paying attention to quality ratings, reliability ratings, and price range. Pick three or four models you think are most likely to meet your needs and get ready to go see them in person.

Try The Cars

With your research information in hand, go to local car lots and see each potential match for yourself. Make it clear to the salesperson you are not going to make a purchase at that time, but you are doing research to decide with vehicle to buy in the near future. Ask for the car to be unlocked so you can do the following:

• Open and close all of the doors
• Get in and out several times
• Check dashboard controls to see how easy they are to reach and adjust
• Check dials and gauges to be sure they are visible
• Adjust the seats and mirrors
• Practice looking around as if you’re driving to check visibility

Take notes for yourself on all of these things, and if you like the car well enough then ask to take it for a test drive. It’s a good idea to allow at least an hour for each vehicle you want to check out on this initial trip. After getting some hands on experience with each vehicle you’re ready to go home and think about it.

Do some more research about reliability and quality, and check pricing from various sources. This process may take several days, so don’t rush it. You may even go back to the dealer for some more hands on research. Once you have found the vehicle that best meets all of your needs you can move into the buying and negotiation phase with the knowledge that you have thoroughly researched the marketplace and have selected the right car for you.