In February I bought a new car. I talked about it here and I still feel passionate about the lack of support I was offered during the process. Even though I researched lots, I was overcome by the same fears that affect almost every car buyer out there.
A few months on, I have noticed a new trend - a half life to the car buying search. Once you've bought a car, it is easy to engage in a period of continued searching to help ratify your purchase.
I'm a nervous shopper at the best of times. Combined with my instinctive skin-flint'ness I am regularly overcome by shopper's remorse. But the amount I spent on our car has forced me to go through a period of making sure I got a good deal.
Being rational, I know I got a good deal. I bought it from CarShop, a good quality supermarket who price their cars very well. The car was an ex-fleet car which meant it had full service history, and it had relatively low (but not too low) mileage for it's age. I had done lots of research in advance, and even in the dealership I was checking prices on Motors.co.uk.
But actually the bigger doubt I had was whether this was the right car for my family. My previous blog talked about how I quickly got myself to the make, model and spec I wanted but I was not guided at the point of purchase about whether my decision was the right one. To be fair, I probably wouldn't have even entertained the sales person suggesting an alternative, I was ready to do battle on my A4.
The disappointment, particularly given I work for Motors.co.uk, is that I didn't take advantage of the tools available online. "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing" and I used that to throw myself straight into the intricacies of the different styles the A4 came in. I should have used the bounty of lifestyle searches and buying guides that are out there.
As a car, the A4 we've got is great. It's quick. It's got good space for a car of it's size and it feels luxury compared to our old Golf. But I was probably hasty in determining my needs: it's a bit too low to the ground; it's dreadful in the snow (even though it's front wheel drive); and it only fits 2 car seats in the back. To have future proofed myself, I should have given into Cotswold pressure and gotten a larger 4WD. The pressure to conform with a Land Rover is enormous. I will not give in to it!
The upside of all this, is that I enjoy every moment that I get to play on Motors.co.uk's new website (currently in testing at beta.motors.co.uk). It is making me a better car buyer and am convinced it will help others too. The internet is an unbelievably useful tool for car buying. Just don't be arrogant like me, and let it help you.
