A few quick tips to help plan your car buying budget

The most important aspect of buying a new or pre-owned vehicle is knowing how much you want to pay before heading to the dealership.

That will make things a lot easier because you won’t waste time driving vehicles that don’t fit within your budget, and you will also avoid getting a deal that ultimately wasn’t really a deal.

If you are paying cash, it’s a bit easier. The only thing you have to remember is that when you consider taxes, transport fees, and the various other fees that come with buying a vehicle, the MSRP that you see in a dealership is really not representative of cars that will fit within your budget.

If you do not want to spend more than $30,000, for example, then you want to look at vehicles with a starting MSRP of less than $20,000.

If you are leasing or financing, then you want to know exactly how much you want to spend per month, but also how much you want to pay as a down payment as well as how long you want your finance or lease contract to be. Remember that it is very easy to lower the monthly payment just by adding an extra year to your contract.

Thank you to Morrey Nissan Coquitlam for their help with this article.