See all Motoring AdviceIt’s getting to the most romantic time of the year again, with Valentine’s Day just around the corner. So, what better moment than now for us to give you some tips about how to find the perfect life partner… with four wheels, that is?
Yes, here’s our guide to finding a car this Valentine’s Day that you’ll love for years.
Make a checklist
Doesn’t sound very romantic, granted, but when you’re looking for a new life partner, you might have a bunch of prerequisites – a good sense of humour, tall, intelligent, self-sufficient, goes to the gym a lot, and so on.
Well, it stands to reason that if you’re going to have a lasting relationship with a car, you should set some similar clear parameters before buying what you need. There’s no point plumping for a racy two-door coupe with a tiny boot if you need to transport three kids and all their clobber around, is there?
So, what do you need from a car? Do you want loads of space and practicality within, or are you more bothered that the vehicle looks good on the outside? Do you do lots of kilometres behind the wheel every year, or are you more of a ‘short hops’ kind of person? Make a comprehensive checklist and stick to it, and it will help you avoid a whirlwind, short-term association with a car, instead forming a lasting bond with it.
Don’t get your head turned
If you know you need an estate or an SUV, and you go to Carzone to have a look around a few options, don’t let an eye-catching convertible tempt you away from your intended vehicle. It’s all too easy to think the grass is always greener, and while something sporty might be in your budget, if it won’t meet your prerequisites then it’ll be an automotive relationship doomed to failure. Stick to the plan.
Go on a test drive – it’s like a first date
Many people these days do a lot of their car-buying research online, and that’s absolutely fine. You can read reviews of the sorts of cars you’re interested in, focus in on specific models that you like the look of and decide that’s definitely the vehicular partner for you, all without ever leaving your home.
But you shouldn’t go and buy that car until you’ve taken it on a ‘first date’. Which is another term for ‘test drive’. Seriously, you wouldn’t start going out with a new life partner without meeting them a few times on neutral ground first to see if anything about them annoys you, and that’s the same with cars. What one, or even many, automotive reviewers love about a particular model could turn out to press your buttons in all the wrong ways – such as, if you’re really tall or quite short, the driving position might not be suitable for your frame.
You can also shake out any ‘faults’ with second-hand cars on a test drive, such as rattles and squeaks in the cabin, or even more serious issues, if you go for a trial run in the vehicle before you buy it. Make sure you take this important early step on the road to finding a car you love.
Money can’t buy love… but don’t ignore it completely
It’s not just how much you’re going to spend on a car, new or used, but how much it’s going to cost you in the long run with servicing bills, parts prices, fuelling it, taxing it, insuring it… for example, you might have enough money for a four-seat, four-door used car and then notice that an old Bentley is available at the right purchase price. But while its intrinsic value might have depreciated to affordable levels, its long-term running costs most assuredly haven’t – and for the uninitiated, trying to keep a ruinous old car on the road on a shoestring is only going to lead to heartbreak.
Look for the creature comforts
One of the ways you’ll fall in love with any car is if it makes you feel comfortable and relaxed every time you’re travelling in it. So, while you need to put key factors such as interior space, general practicality and overall affordability top of your buying list, once you’ve satisfied those requirements then have a look for features like radar cruise, a top-notch sound system, heated seats, a heated steering wheel and a heated windscreen. You might even find massaging and ventilated seats too, on higher-specification, more modern cars, and believe us – all of these features make a car feel even more welcoming and plush than vehicles without them.