5 Things to Do Before Buying a New Family Car

Posted November 27, 2017 by Prairie Wife -

Note: This post is sponsored by Cars.com

As a mom of five children, that spends more than two hours a day driving back and forth to town every weekday, I sometimes feel like we live in our car! I’ve had several different cars over the years from pickup trucks to mini vans and there have been pros and cons to them all. There are tons of year end deals going on right now, so if you’re thinking about purchasing a new vehicle take a look at this list before you start shopping!

Safety First

This is a no brainer for anyone looking for a new vehicle, but we all know that when you have your most precious cargo in the car, it’s important to make sure you pick a vehicle with great safety features. Look for cars with anchors for car seats, airbags, and high safety ratings. If you’re thinking about buying a used vehicle you can use sites like Cars.com to find certified used vehicles in your town.  Make sure you take advantage of the option to receive a free CARFAX report!

Think About the Weather

Living in Wyoming, one of the first things I look at in a vehicle is its ability to safely navigate icy roads. For us, all wheel drive is a must, but if you live in warmer southern climates this may not be an issue for you. Our readers in warmer climates may want to look for features like air-conditioned seats instead. Features like automatic starters aren’t a must but they sure are nice for both warming up and cooling off your car before you load up the kids.

Room to Grow

One of my favorite features about our Honda Pilot was that it had room to grow. It was perfect when we just had two Cowkids and offered a back seat area that we could flip up when I was babysitting TallGirlJ’s kids, or when Ma and Pa came to visit. As our family grew there simply wasn’t enough room for me to get car seats and young children in and out, so we moved into a mini van! Not only could the Cowkids easily get to their seats, but I could crawl in and help them when it was necessary. When picking a vehicle size don’t just think about your family now, make sure you have some room to grow!

Maintenance

This is something I usually leave up to The Cowboy when looking at a new vehicle. Take some time to research how much new tires will cost and find out what the most frequent repairs seem to be for the make and model you’re looking at. You may find that a low up front cost hides the fact that you’ll be putting a lot of money into repairs.

Read the Reviews

Last but certainly not least, take some time to read the reviews. When you read reviews you can learn about features that will truly be useful to you. Or, you can learn ahead of time that something you thought would be wonderful, may instead be a thorn in your side (automatic sliding doors I’m talking about you). Reading reviews is one of the easiest ways to narrow your new vehicle search down from hundreds to a few great choices!

Is there anything I forgot?!

What do you look for in a new vehicle?

Categories: Life As It Happens, Parenting

Tags: , buying a family car, car shopping, cars.com, family car, new car, new vehicle, spondored post