What trade offs faced by a family deciding whether to buy a new car?

Answer 1

What you want, what you actually need, and what you can really afford. Buying a brand new car is the worst financial decision you can make. Buy a used car with very low mileage and you will save your family plenty. Cars loose lots of value in the very first year so if you want to loose allot of your hard earned money then buy a new car. Otherwise be really smart and buy used. Buy exactly the car your family needs an no more. Research and buy a reliable vehicle that gets good fuel mileage. Do not buy any car where the payment exceeds 20% of your net take home pay. Pay as much down as possible. Check with your insurance company before buying a car. Some cars are very expensive to insure so know what your insurance costs will be before you buy. There is a thing called True Cost to Own (TCO) which will let you know exactly what a certain car will cost you each and every year. Click the link to research the TCO of a prospective car you are looking at.