There have been a lot of predictions made about what’s going to happen in 2012. While I have no insight
into the ultimate fate of humankind or what awaits us on December 21st of next year, I do know one thing. If the world’s still around the day after, I’m going to be driving a new car for the first time in my life. The reason I’m waiting until then is two-fold: I really do want to wait and see what happens -just in case- and also, the end of the year is when you can get the best deals on new cars. Since I’m starting a year early, I have exactly 12 months to make this happen. Here’s how I plan to do it:
Research the new models and pick my top ten.
First off, I’m going to start checking out all the 2012 models starting now. I won’t actually be buying one until the year’s end, but I want to decide now which ones are my favorites and keep watching for reviews over the upcoming year. New cars drop significantly in value the second you drive them off the lot, so I want to wait until dealers are desperate for business around the holidays. That way, I can get a new 2012 for as little as possible. I may even find one that’s had a few thousand miles on it. I don’t think any less of a pre-owned 2012 if I’m buying it in 2012. If I take that route, I won’t be taking the loss when I leave the lot.
Check out reviews, both formal and informal ones.
Secondly, like I said, I’ll be keeping my eye on those reviews. I want to know what actual drivers have to say after they’ve had their new cars for a few months. I’ve been looking around for good review sites that I actually trust. It appears that Car and Driver is a good site to keep an eye on for reliable reviews. It has a social plug in that lets you see how many people on Facebook recommend certain cars. I certainly won’t make my decision based on “likes” but I’ll continue paying attention to those numbers. I’ll also be looking at U.S. New and World Report’s Best Cars. Again, I don’t want to just read formal reviews- I also want to hear from actual drivers. So once I narrow the list down to my top ten, I’ll start focusing in on those specific ones and looking for reviews from individuals.
Make the largest down payment possible.
Finally, yet most importantly, I’m going to have to get some money together to make this happen. What I want to do is save up as much as possible so that I won’t need the larger portion of this financed. One strategy I’ve been working on is learning how to make predictions like those Mayans did. Once I have that mastered, I’ll just pick winning lottery numbers for the remainder of the year. As a backup plan, I’ll be putting aside as much as possible every week toward my new car. But I won’t tell the dealer that I’m making a huge down payment until we’ve worked out the best deal possible. Unless, of course, I win the mega-millions. If that happens, I’ll just pay upfront and offer to sweeten the deal if I can drive away in my new ride within 15 minutes of arriving.