A new car purchase is a major one and combined with the necessities of insurance, gas and monthly payments, you can find that it has all added up to much more than your budget can handle. That attractive new car may seem alluring but in the long run you may find yourself better off with a used model that is kinder to your budget.

Whether it's a new luxury car or a sports model or a family styled unit, they are all pricey. Also, unfortunately as soon as the call rolls out of the showroom and the odometer reads one mile, you're car has immediately depreciated in value. The depreciation rate for new cars is highest in the first years that you own them and the buyers soon find out that they are now driving a car worth far less than the original stick price.

When you are shopping around for a new car, you'll want narrow down your selection to a particular make and model. While imported cars have better reputations for reliability and get better gas mileage, they have a down side. They are more expensive to insure. You will notice also that your insurance costs per month for new cars would be higher since the parts necessary to repair them are more expensive. Blue Book values of used cars are significantly less because of the depreciation that we mentioned, so the insurance payments are quite a bit lower.

Before deciding on a particular car, choose which features are necessary and important for your lifestyle. If you list safety as an important feature, check to see if the car comes fully equipped with air bags for the driver and all the passengers. If you enjoy driving with music playing, you'll want to listen to the mp3 player and check to see if the car has surround sound speakers. There are many other accessories and items to investigate to make sure that you purchase a car that you will feel comfortable in and enjoy driving. Some people are handy and have knowledge of mechanics. They can fix or restore a car but if you don't fit into that category, stay away from cars listed as "fixer-uppers"

It is very smart to investigate the history of the make and model of the car in the year that it was manufactured. Be aware of any recalls for that particular unit, problems with safety issues, or any other pertinent facts about the model that can affect your driving. Often when a car is up for resale, enough time has elapsed that the manufacturer has taken care any problems but being alert to these issues can only help you make a good selection. You can get help on the internet too because there are websites that are designed to assist car buyers and they rate the performances of the different models of cars with mileage taken into account.

In the last ten years, car makers have put more emphasis on designing cars that are sturdier and have more endurance than they did before so you can expect your car to last a longer time than they did previously. The likelihood of you car getting over 100,000 miles is good and some are likely to keep running with over 200,000 miles on the odometer. This is another consideration to keep in mind as you shop for a used car.