Suppose you’re in the market for a new car but you aren’t quite sure what you want.  Whitty’z as a leading Houston Auto Repair shop, wants to help you find a car with this guide.  To start, you need to do some research and some planning as well.  Before you go running out to see this guy – make sure you read this:

What do you need?

• What can you afford? You don’t want to pay more than 20% of your total take home pay, this narrows your options but it keeps you from becoming financially overwhelmed.
• How many people do you need to carry?  For instance, most single people in their 20’s probably don’t want a mini van that seats 8 (unless they plan to be the “designated driver” for all their buddies, etc.).
• Are you going to be hauling lots of stuff in your car?  If so, consider something with a large trunk or lots of space in the back.
• What kind of driving do you plan to do in your car?  Are you going off-roading or just driving on surface streets and highways?  Are you going to have to drive on ice and snow?  For off road driving, look for 4×4’s.  For ice and snow look for AWD vehicles.
• What safety features are mandatory?  Is the blind spot monitoring system a must?
• Are you going to use car seats for kids? If you are maybe the Maserati GranTurismo isn’t really the car you’re looking for.  Especially when most Houston auto repair places don’t work on cars like that.
• Are you going to do any towing?  Depending on the size of the object you’re towing you may want a light pickup truck like the Ford F-150 maybe that’s not big enough, consider something with some more horsepower.
• How much space do you have to store your car?  If you don’t have too much, the SUV you were looking at might be a bit big.

Also think about how much you’re going to get for the car you trade in ,if you do trade it in.  And it goes without saying that if you do, you should use it for the down payment of your next car.  Lastly when choosing a car, think about your past experiences with your old cars.  What did and didn’t you like? When coming to a final decision pick 3 possible cars, more than that might be overwhelming.

To buy or to lease?

They both have their pros and cons.

• Buying pros:  You have more flexibility to sell the car when you want.  You can change the car if you want, whether it’s installing turbo or an aftermarket sound system.  There aren’t any mileage penalties if you drive a lot and in the long run you spend less buying a car.
• Leasing pros:  You can drive a nicer more expensive car for less money.  You can drive a new car with the newest gadgets and update it every few years.  You don’t have to trade in your car at the end of the lease.  Also you don’t end up paying as much at places like Whitty’z Houston Auto Repair Shop because not as many things go wrong with a car that is relatively new.

ALL the costs

Right the advertised price is 22,000 that sounds great.  But did you stop to think about all the hidden costs of the car? Hidden costs are things like: insurance costs, registration fees (where Uncle Sam takes a percentage of it’s worth and then charges you for it), taxes, fuel costs, maintenance and service.  If you buy a sporty car you can end up spending thousands more on the car than you see.  If the car you buy takes some kind of premium fuel you may regret it after spending more than $100 at the pump.  Exotic cars are notorious for being very expensive when having work done on them.  It could cost $4000 to change the radiator on a 12 year old Mercedes Benz.  Remember not everyone knows how to work on exotic cars so you’ll be paying more when going to someplace that works on them (Whitty’z Houston Auto Repair Shop DOES work on most exotic cars).

 Whitty’z Houston Auto Repair Shop

We are owner operated and customer service oriented. Our goal is to build your trust so we can fix your vehicle and give you a great experience time and time again. We believe in REAL customer service So, at Whitty’z Houston Auto Repair if you call between 8-6 pm Monday- Saturday you will get a conversation and not an answering service. Give us a chance to earn your business and your trust. You deserve quality service and integrity in your Houston auto repair facility. We know that your vehicle is one of your most important possessions and we treat it like our own.