Hurdles must be crossed if you wish to save for a performance vehicle. Money is one thing. But what about if you have a speckled driving history (for example, find out if DUI is a felony?) and you are concerned over which cars might bring more attention to you? Once all things are considered, it’s time to save…
Narrow your choice down to one model
Car brands come in tiers. Lower tiers include affordable every-day run arounds that many people use for the school run, commuting, socializing, and grocery shopping. These cars are nothing fancy. They simply get the job done, and when their time comes to be scrapped, it’s no big deal, you just get another one. Then there are the mid range cars. These cost a little more, but they give you more power. More horses under the hood. More up-hill oomph. These mid range vehicles mean less struggle against the slopes and curves around where we live and work, and that makes us feel good about ourselves. And then there are the brand new high models, direct from the manufacturer…
When you buy a car direct from the manufacturer, sometimes the sales garage will put on a little show when you come to collect. They reveal the car from under a silk sheet, and you’ll be offered light refreshments while somebody takes photos. It’s all very ‘red carpet’. If this sounds good, you need to choose the car you want so that you can work towards saving an exact figure.
Make a month by month savings plan
Now is the time to be honest with yourself. No more ‘yeah, I could get one of those cars if I wanted’. This is the time. Don’t forget, new car models are like new phone models. They happen frequently. If you set yourself a 4 year savings plan, you’ll be saving for a car that is 4 years old when you finally get it. How much can you save each month? If that figure isn’t nearly close enough to what you need to buy the car within about the next 12 months, you might need to save for a while before starting this plan again (or you may wish to make car payments – which costs more but will mean you get your car faster).
Make sure you check the cost of insurance
Don’t forget that there are other costs involved with buying a new car. Insurance is a big one. High end models cost more to insure because fixing or replacing them is expensive. You need to do your research and factor in these costs.
Take the plunge
Singing the paperwork on a high end purchase like a performance vehicle may be something you just can’t bring yourself to do – that’s how you know you’re out of your financial depth. Only go ahead if the decision feels right.
Leave a Reply