How to buy a new car

For someone who does not know a lot about motors, buying a car can be a confusing experience. What size engine do you want, how many doors do you need and does the car need to be brand new?

The answer to all of those questions - and more - will vary massively depending on the buyer's budget and their lifestyle. For instance, any motorist who uses a car to make small inner-city trips will not need a car with a large engine. In fact, this kind of vehicle will only end up costing them more in petrol. A small, economical run around, that is easy to park in small city-centre spaces, would be a much better choice.

So in order to work out what car an individual should buy, they first need to ascertain what they will use the vehicle for. Do they plan to take it on motorways and what is more important to them - how economical the vehicle is or how good it looks and fast it goes.

Furthermore, the CO2 emissions of a vehicle are an increasing concern for a lot of motorists. Buying a car that is unfriendly to the environment may also cost a lot more to tax. Similarly, a motorist needs to consider whether they would like a diesel or petrol car. Diesel cars are cheaper to run, but have a greater impact on the environment, whereas petrol-run cars tend to be more expensive on a daily basis but slightly greener.

Meanwhile, biofuels, electricity and hydrogen are increasingly being used to power vehicles.

Some drivers have only learned to operate an automatic car, while others prefer driving without a clutch. Again, automatic vehicles are often cheaper, so this could be an area of compromise for a budgeting motorist.

The crux of the matter is likely to be, however, how much money an individual has to spend. Often a motorist will need to compromise between the age of a car, reliability and specification.

Once these decisions have been made, there are a number of places a consumer can look for a car. There are countless websites where people place classified advertisements for their vehicles. Normally, these ads will feature several photographs of the car and a detailed specification.

Alternatively, there are dealerships with a wide range of second hand and new cars for consumers to view. The advantage of buying through a dealer is the security offered as the car will have been checked over by mechanics and often the company will provide some sort of guarantee for the vehicle.

The downside to buying through a dealership is that often the consumer does not get the cheapest price at these outlets.

Auctions are another great place to pick up a bargain vehicle. However, these cars often need some work doing to them and the consumer has to purchase the car on the spot, in some cases without test driving the car in question.

This is a better option for a motorist who has an in-depth knowledge of vehicles or who has a contact to take along that does have this experience.