Everything You Need to Know About Your First Car

You’ve been driving for a while now. You have your license (one would hope.) You still remember how you annoyed your parents into getting you driving lessons, and now that you feel relatively confident you won’t smash anything, you’re looking to get your own car.

Whether it’s to drive yourself to college or to independence, getting your first car is a big deal to you. It should be. It’s a rite of passage, a chance for you to be fully free of anyone else’s schedule. No more will you be a half hour late for that party because your mom was out getting groceries. No, your own wheels spell freedom. You’re itching to get behind the wheel, whether it’s junky and rusty or sleek and new. It will be your own car, your own private transport to anywhere.

You’ve been skimming through articles, trying to find out just what to do. Maybe your parents aren’t able to help you. Maybe you most-definitely don’t want them helping you; you want to figure this out on your own. (You don’t need training wheels getting your own car.) Either way, you’re here. You’re investigating all on your own. Here are some tips for getting your own car.

To start with, you’ll want to look either online or at a dealer. Craigslist comes in handy, since the cheapest cars are often peddled by individual buyers. It can be a simple way to scan some pictures, see a description, and then decide whether you want to waste your time driving over to a parking lot and testing the car. The tricky thing about Craigslist, when it’s your first car, is that you might get bamboozled. You don’t have fifteen years of car experience under your belt. (If you do, it’s about time you got your own car!) A lot of individual sellers conceal potential issues with the car, and everything’s fine and dandy with your super cheap ride–until it breaks down a hundred miles later, and the repair is almost half what you paid for the car.

If you still want to brave the wilds of Craigslist, you can–you should just get the car checked by a trusted mechanic before you drive it home. They’ll be able to tell you, for the most part, if there’s anything iffy with your engine. Then, sure of the car, you can make your purchase.

The safer way is to go with a car dealership. Whether you want to make payments on a new car, or browse their neat lines of pre-owned cars, you’ll be able to see and test drive a whole bunch of cars in one trip. Whether you live in Houston, TX, or Rockaway, NJ, there will be a dealership near you.

Once you get your car, you’re off! Adventure awaits. And if your car is on the ugly side, don’t worry– whether Grays Lake, IL or South Beach, OR– you can pay a little extra to get it painted at an auto body shop. Cheers!

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