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This post is sponsored, but all opinions are my own.

It’s a huge decision to make when you’re shopping for a new or used car.  You’re buying a vehicle that you’ll (hopefully) drive for years.  So it’s super important to make the right choice.  Because choosing poorly can cost you a lot of money and even more time!

So let’s talk about some ways to simplify the process a little.

It is possible to find a car that meets your needs without breaking the bank.  Here are the tricks we use to make sure we find the best vehicle possible in our price range.

The Quick Trick You Need to Get the Best Car In Your Price Range

This one car buying tip will help you buy the best vehicle in your price range. Why settle for an ok car? This is a huge purchase! Get the best.

We’ll get to the trick in a minute, but first you’ll need to do a couple of things.

Narrow It Down

You probably have some idea of the type of car you want to buy.  You might need a car to match the size of your family or one that meets your needs for work or hobbies.

Maybe you even know which make or model of car you’d like to own.

Still, be sure to do some research before you begin shopping.  You might learn that the 2013 model of one car has a bad quirk that seems to have been solved by the 2014 model.  That would help you avoid buying cars made in 2013 (or at least know what you’re getting yourself into!).

Other things to look into:

  • Extra costs.  Does one model use more gasoline than another?  Is this one harder to insure than that one?  Are tires and maintenance affordable?
  • Recalls.  Are there any, and how have they been dealt with?
  • User experience.  Is everyone complaining or raving about the same thing?

The Quick Trick to Get the Best Car in Your Price Range

Know Your Price

How much can you afford to pay?  Remember to include the cost of the vehicle, taxes, fees, insurance, tags, and a higher or lower gas budget.

A dealer will want to talk in terms of monthly payments.  Individual sellers just want the total cost.  Always know the real numbers you’re talking about and don’t sign anything without reading it carefully.

Start Shopping

Now that you know how much you can spend, get shopping!  I recommend you check out Cars.com.  My Hubby always starts there when shopping for cars.

The search options are fantastic.  Let’s say you know you want a Town & Country minivan in your price range.  You don’t care about the year, but it has to have low mileage.  Oh, and you won’t do without heated seats.

Call me impatient, but I love that it tells you how many options are available with each click.  It doesn’t make you wait until the page loads to see that you only have 2 choices and need to widen your search for more options.

Buying a new or used car from cars.com

The Quick Trick

Ready for the trick?  The absolute best way to get the top car in your price range is to be the first to know.  Cars listed at a gotta-sell-it-now price go quickly.  If you can manage to be the first person to try out the car (and love it), you just might find a car with a lot of extras.  Maybe that’s lower miles, a newer model, or more options than you dreamed you could afford!

So how do you stay in the know?

Sign up for email alerts at Cars.com!  It’s that simple.  Plug in your search options for the perfect vehicle and then wait for it to come to you.

cars email alerts

Waiting an extra few weeks (or maybe a couple of months) usually pays off.  Just make sure you’re ready to act when the perfect car hits your inbox.

This time, you’ll save a ton on your car purchase!

Whether you get more car than you’d expected at your price, or you pay less than you dreamed…either way, you win!

Be sure to head to cars.com and start your search today.

How do you save the most on car purchases?