We all dream about it as teenagers; buying your first car, but in many teenagers' cases it's really getting your first car since you don't really have the funds to buy it for yourself. Regardless how you eventually end up with your first ride, its important to note that there are  certain steps and tips to follow to get the best deal especially at a used car dealer. Your parents will be more experienced in getting the best deal for you as they would have more leverage with the car dealer and better negotiating skills.

The first thing to remember when you first enter a car lot, is that every car salesman have you targeted to get a sale pushed through. They are master speakers and very convincing in making the average person buy a car even if they had just walked in to look around. Their number one tactic is the sale haggle. This basically is using every possible excuse in the book to convince you that leaving the car lot without a particular car is a huge mistake because the deal is hot, and the car could be gone by the next day.

Though you do intend on buying a car in most cases, make sure to ask a few questions and check that certain criteria are met.

Ask to see the vehicle's car facts report (This is generally posted on the window of the vehicle, if not ask for it)

Double check to make sure the vehicle is not a lemon, meaning a bad car being passed of as good or fair quality

You must test drive the vehicle you want around their lot. This is standard car sales procedure

The desire to get in your first car as a teen is so strong that you might make the mistake of taking anyone of the first couple of choices offered to you. This of course would be a huge mistake on your'sor your parent's part.  For teens who had to work long hours to get the full amount of money for their car, most likely their options will be restricted to older used cars in a lower price range. There are a few other factors to consider after the purchase.

• You must of course be legally old enoughto drive in your state or country
• You must have a valid driver's license
• You must have auto insurance prepared for the vehicle
• The vehicle must be registered and inspected to make sure it is ready to be on the road.

Once you purchase your first car, the feeling is exilerating. You now officially have the equipment to compliment your license to drive.

Let's compare two friends, Mark and Andrew, who each want to buy a car. Mark puts down a small deposit and borrows $10,000 from a bank over five years to buy his car. At current interest rates, his payments are around $140 per fortnight, which is within his reach as a single person working full time. It costs Mark $60 per fortnight to run his car, over and above using other forms of transport such as bus and train. That means he is paying around $200 per fortnight to have his car - a total of $26,000 over five years. At the end of the five years, he has paid off his loan but he has a car that is worthless and no savings. He has to borrow money again to buy his next car. Mark is in a continuous cycle of borrowing money to buy old cars that will keep going until such time as he can find a way of saving while still making loan repayments and paying for the running costs of his car.

Andrew decides not to buy a car just yet, but to start saving for one. Instead of spending $200 a fortnight on a car, he saves that amount. After five years, he has saved over $30,000 including the compound interest on his savings - enough to buy a near-new car. Because he has no debt and lower running costs (his car doesn't need as many repairs as Mark's car) he is still able to save at least $140 per fortnight. After five years, Andrew has a car that still has a good resale value, which, when added to his savings enables him to buy another near-new car for cash.

This example clearly shows the benefit of staying out of debt. Borrowing money to buy your first car condemns you to driving old cars unless you can find some way of saving while you are still making loan repayments. Delaying your first purchase until you can pay cash puts you on a different cycle of driving near-new cars, providing you can maintain your savings.

If you are in a situation where you have no choice but to borrow money for a car, borrow funds over the shortest possible time period you can afford so as to reduce the amount of interest you pay. Shop around for the best financing deal before you start shopping for a car. It's tempting for the sake of convenience to arrange finance through your car dealer, but that may not be your cheapest option.

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0 #1 jacob-tee 2010-03-21 23:55

I got my first ride when I was a sophomore in college. It was a 2005 escalade. It had only 8000 miles on it when I got it but it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I felt like a big baller on campus. The only thing that sucked was the amount of gas that thing used every week. Luckily my parents had paid for it, but I had to cover the gas every week. That really sucked because the thing was the biggest gas guzzler. But hey its an escalade, I couldn't complain.

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