If you are reading this title of this post, you are probably asking yourself if you need to buy a car or not. If you are going to live at any of the on-campus housing like Palo Verde, Verano Place or even at Arroyo Vista, Vista del Campo or anything else surrounding the UCI area, you are better off making a bicycle your first vehicle purchase. If you are going to live in Newport, Costa Mesa or any other city outside of Irvine, you may survive with public transportation, but you will be better off buying a car. Now that I answered that question, here are some tips for purchasing a car.
Let me tell you a little bit about my experience. I’ve been driving a car since I was 16 and I love doing it. I came to UCI driving my own car from my home country and I needed it because I had to travel twice a month back to my hometown. On one of those trips back home, my car broke down on the highway and it turned out to be the engine that blew up. It was time for a new car.
This first tip is only for those who plan to stay here more than 3 years. If this is your first time in the U.S. you will probably be in the same situation as I was in the sense that you have no credit history and no idea of where to buy a car without one. Before you buy a car, try to build up some credit history.
Continuing on, I went ahead and rented a car (it is important to note that by this time I already had my driving license) and visited several dealerships. Most of them wouldn’t take me because of my null credit history and the ones who did gave me a terrible interest rate on a car loan. You will likely have to go to many dealerships, but be aware that every experience with a car salesman can be different. Learn from each visit and always know that you can walk away. My best experience was with Hertz, the guy was straight with me and told me that my APR was going to be terrible and gave me some advice on how I could improve that.
Second tip, make car shopping easier by renting a car or having a friend with a car go along with you when you are looking for yours. It will take at least a week of car shopping before you can make a decision. Third tip, if you know nothing about cars get someone who does, and never take a decision on the spot always wait a few hours before you decide to buy a car.
After I gave up on dealerships, I went ahead and looked into https://orangecounty.craigslist.org, where you can find all kinds of used stuff. It is extremely important that you know what you are looking for, and don’t get discouraged if you don’t find it right away. My wife and I always wanted to get a Volvo so we started looking for one. We went all around Orange County and looked at more than 10 cars before we found the one we wanted. It was a 2001 V70 Volvo, even though it is a little old and had some things that needed fixing, mechanically was perfect and had all the service records, also the things that needed work I could do them myself.
Fourth tip, unless you are a mechanical expert, never buy a car with a salvaged title (cars that have been in an accident or reclaimed by insurance) nor a car without service records. If you can, bring the car to a mechanic for a checkup before you buy it and always do a test drive. If the owner/seller doesn’t want you to do this, run away.
The car has been great ever since I bought it. My wife and I took it to the mountains and to Mexico and it has given us no major problems (only a flat tire). It was important though that I had a mechanic that I could trust (Bonus tip: get a friend who is a mechanic), this is why I take it to JFR Motors here in Irvine. I have a friend there who does most of my car’s maintenance and he does a wonderful job.
Recommendations from my own experience:
- If you have credit or more than $8,000 dollars saved for a car, go to http://www.hertzcarsalescostamesa.com/, pay them a visit down at Harbor Blvd. you won’t regret it.
- If you have no credit, go to https://orangecounty.craigslist.org, look for a good Honda, Volvo, Toyota or Nissan car (except Versa), grab a friend who knows about cars and go car shopping.
- When you have your car, take it to http://www.jfrmotors.com/, ask for Josh and tell him that Neftali sent you.
You can go to CarMax a used car superstore or even directly to the dealerships but I had positive experiences at Hertz Car Sales. Take your time to do your research in-person and online before you commit to buying a car. If you need more information or want more tips on the topic, go ahead and contact me.
Until next time,
Neftali W.