Choosing Your Next Car

A guide to choosing the right car for you

This guide is designed to help you if you're looking for a new car. We know that a car is a big financial commitment and want to help you be as prepared as possible in order for you to make the right choice.  

We’ll look at the key factors you need to consider and the questions you need to ask yourself when choosing a new car including how you’re going to fund it, what you actually need from a new vehicle, other financial costs, and much more.

How are you going to fund a new vehicle?

The first question you need to ask is how you’re going to fund a new vehicle.

Are you looking to buy a car or lease? Will you be trading in a current car, if so how much will you get for it and how much of that will you put towards a new vehicle?

It’s important to consider how much you can realistically afford to spend on a new car, whether it’s a lump sum or broken down monthly. When deciding on a figure you’ll also want to factor in the other costs associated with car ownership.

Purchasing vs leasing a new car

When looking for a new vehicle you might be considering a lease car. There are a number of benefits of both.

With leasing you’ll have:

• A fixed monthly outgoing cost
• No depreciation worries when it comes to upgrading 
• A new car with the latest technology every few years
• Benefit of a manufacturer warranty, which depending on the duration of the lease might cover you for the entire time you have the vehicle
• Optional maintenance package to cover maintenance and servicing costs for the duration of your lease

You’ll also usually be able to drive a more expensive car than you might be able to afford if you were looking at outright purchase.

If you decide leasing is the right choice for you then you’ll need to ask yourself a few other questions like how many miles you drive annually and whether this is suitable for leasing, as well as if you need to make any modifications to the vehicle at what financial cost when it comes to handing the vehicle back.

For more information on leasing, take a look at some of our leasing guides here. 

There are a number of benefits that come with purchasing your vehicle, whether you purchase this outright or with a payment plan. These include:

• The flexibility to change the vehicle whenever you want
• Being able to modify the car however you want to
• No limit on your mileage
• No financial charges when it's time to sell

One of the biggest factors that comes into play when deciding if you're going to lease or own a new vehicle is how much you're able to pay for the vehicle up front. When considering how much you can afford, remember it’s not just about the initial payment for the vehicle but any changes you’ll need to make to your insurance, taxing the vehicle, and any other costs you might incur at the point of order.

New or second-hand

If you're looking at purchasing your next car then you might be trying to decide whether to purchase a brand-new vehicle or a second hand one.

The obvious benefit to a second-hand vehicle is that the purchase price will be much cheaper. You can also get some good deals on models with low mileage, however most won't come with a warranty and you'll want to carefully check the vehicle for any damage or conditions that could cause you issues at a later point. This includes checking the vehicle’s paperwork and previous mot and servicing history.

If you don’t know a lot about cars then it might also be worth having a friend or family member accompanying you who does, when viewing any potential vehicles.

A new car has a higher purchase price, however it comes with several benefits, not to mention the fact that it has no wear and tear on it. It will have a manufacturer’s warranty in case something does go wrong, won't require an MOT for the first 3 years and as there’s no wear and tear, initial servicing and maintenance costs should be lower.

What do you need from a new car?

When you’re looking at a new car you might have an idea in your head of a particular model or brand but these might not always be the best choice for you.

What you really need to consider is what the vehicle will be used for, how much room you really need, what your must-haves are, the body style and the fuel type that's best for you.

What will you use the car for?

What you’re going to be using the vehicle for is an important question to ask. If it’s a car you’ll just be using for work commutes and trips you’ll need different attributes than if it was a family car.

You’ll need to consider:

How much space do you need?

When looking at a new car you need to consider how much space you’ll need, both in terms of the number of passengers you want to carry as well as the cargo-carrying space. It’s important to consider these together as well, as if you opt for a 7-seater then the rear passenger seats often take up a lot of the boot capacity.

If you carry a lot of cargo then it might also be important for you to look at how easily the rear seats fold down and how flat they lie once folded away.

We mentioned car seats above and if you have more than 2 children who require a car seat, you'll need to think about how much space there is in the rear passenger seats and whether all the children’s car seats will fit. It’s important to check there are enough fittings for the number of car seats you need as well, as not all cars have the fittings for them on every seat.

If you have dogs you might also want to consider how easy the vehicle will be for them to get in and out of and any other features that you might need for transporting your pet. 

While an SUV or estate are typically bigger than a hatchback, this isn't always the case; you can get some more spacious hatchbacks and compact SUVs. When thinking about your space needs, you'll want to consider your preferred body type but you shouldn’t rule out an entire class because you think they’ll be too small or large for you. Scroll down to find out more about the different body shapes and how you should factor these into your decision.

What are your essential features?

We’ve taken a look at what we think are the top 5 features you should look for in your next car, as a place to start:

What type of fuel do you want?

Today the fuel question is more important than ever before with the big push towards electric models.

If you're leasing, you’ll only have the vehicle for a set number of years and you won’t need to worry about the resale value of it which is starting to be affected by the fuel type.  

When looking at the traditional fuels, petrol and diesel, it’s generally considered if you do less than 12,000 miles a year then a diesel won’t be the right choice for you. A diesel car is typically more expensive than its petrol counterpart and so you need to cover quite a few miles to make up the difference that you save on fuel.

The type of journey you do is also important if you’re thinking of opting for a diesel engine, as it needs to be run at higher speeds regularly in order to burn off the soot particles that collect in the diesel particulate filter. Without this, the filter becomes blocked and then needs repairing or replacing which can be costly.

As we shift towards a fully electrified car industry, many drivers are choosing to go for a hybrid vehicle as a stepping stone between a traditional combustion engine and full electric vehicle (EV) as they  offer some of the benefits of EVs without the range anxiety. Not all hybrids require plugging in to charge the electric motor component, and so this also alleviates charging concerns that drivers might also have. For more information on hybrid vehicles, take a look at this guide. 

Electric technology is constantly evolving and the mileage range on offer is longer than ever before so any concerns you might have about not being able to do your daily miles in an electric vehicle without needing to charge are no longer a worry unless you travel a long distance each day. It’s also getting easier to charge them, with higher capacity batteries and faster charging units at a variety of locations including the ability to have one installed at your home. All of these factors, as well as the financial benefits and grant schemes that are currently in place for drivers of EVs, and the environmental benefits, mean electric is a great choice for your next car.

You might find this guide useful in helping you to decide on the right fuel type for you as it looks at the pros and cons of the main fuel types.

What body style do you want?

We mentioned body shape earlier when considering how much room you need but think it’s important that you consider more than just the space available within each body shape.

Finances

Not only do you need to think about whether you're purchasing or leasing and the cost attached, there are other costs associated with driving to consider when deciding whether a particular vehicle fits your budget.

These can be weekly, monthly and annual charges that you need to factor in.

Make a Checklist

We recommend that you make yourself a list of answers to the questions we’ve explored above and refer to this when looking at a new vehicle. The checklist will probably look a little like:

Click here to head back to the rest of our guides for more helpful content. Or if you think leasing could be the right choice for your new car take a look at our top deals.