4 Things To Know About When Buying a Car

The dream of a corvette convertible may exist after children come into one's life, but buying a new car is, for the most part, not about tasty sports cars but about practical and financial issues.

Here is a list of the most important questions for those planning to invest in a new car. From family cars to small city cars, the same questions govern which car you choose to buy in the end.

Comfort is an important issue for those who use your car frequently, but also deals with performance and usability.

Where do you use your car most often, by road, highway, in the forest or in town? During test drives, if possible, drive both in city traffic and at higher speeds to see how the car reacts to different driving modes and at different speeds.

Also consider your passengers when choosing a car. Is there enough legroom and ceiling height in the back? For large families or for those who often push many children or a lot of packing, a 7 seater car can be a smart option.

If you have small children, there are often highchairs specially designed for certain car models, which is well worth investigating as it makes the journey safer for the very smallest passengers.

Safety is about accident protection as well as the car's drivability, especially in extreme conditions. In Europe, the leading organization that performs car safety tests is Euro NCAP.

NCAP tests cars based on four categories: protection of adults, protection of younger passengers, protection of pedestrians and driver assistance system, ie. safety technology such as anti-slip systems, speed limiters, airbags and small details such as seat belt reminders.

NCAP has all its tests readily available on its website, so be sure to read about the car brands and models that interest you. Here you can also see comparisons with similar cars.

When buying a brand new car, the price is not just a matter of the car's price at the time of purchase. Care should be taken to purchase the car's purchase price, operating costs, which also include vehicle tax and insurance, as well as the secondary value.

When it comes to second-hand value, it is mainly about being aware of the reduction in value that occurs for the car. As a rule, half the value of a car disappears in the first five years, but this differs from different models and car brands.

Some cars can lose up to 70% of the value during the first five years on the road, which is important to consider if you want to sell the used car later. When buying used cars, these are also calculated service costs, which are often higher than for new cars.

Last but not least equally important are the car's environmental aspects. Buying an environmentally friendly, and energy-efficient, car is, for many, one of the most important priorities when it comes to buying a new car.

What should one then add to see if the car is environmentally friendly? The EU has vehicle rules when it comes to emissions. From January 2011, all new vehicles in Europe must live up to the Euro 5 requirements and from 2015 the Euro 6 standard will be included.

This means even higher demands on clean emissions for newly produced cars. The requirements apply to gasoline, diesel, electric hybrid, ethanol and biogas vehicles.

In some countries, like Sweden, local regulations also regulate how much gasoline, diesel, gas and electricity a car requires, but these rules differ from different regions so investigate what applies where your vehicle will be registered.

This is important as environmental cars avoid vehicle tax for 5 years.