The new year is a time when people stop thinking about buying things for other people and start thinking about buying things for themselves. The holidays are great and all, and there is some truth to the saying about how it’s better to give than to receive. But sometimes, you gotta be both the giver and the receiver and make a major purchase for your own life. By major purchase, we’re talking about things that cost thousands of dollars and require a credit check before you can buy them.
These are items that you want to get major usage out of, because if you don’t, you’re probably not getting a good deal. In other words, these aren’t the kind of purchasing decisions you make on a whim.
A new car
American society is heavily dependent on the automobile, and it’s been that way for a long time now. There are exceptions in places like New York City, but the majority of people who need to get to work or the grocery store do that via car. They may be carpooling or riding solo, but there’s a vehicle involved somehow. If you have a dealership that you’ve bought from before, and if both the buying experience and everything after that was generally good, feel free to head to the same place.
Nothing makes dealerships happier than getting repeat customers. If you’ve moved since you last bought a car, or if you don’t feel any particular sense of loyalty to a group of salesmen, then it’s time to start doing some research. Almost every town of halfway decent size has a few dealerships to pick from, and many of them are probably all clustered together in the same part of town.
Examine the dealership’s online presence before you pay them a visit in person. If the site is full of annoying pop-ups and if the specials are listed in all-caps with exclamation marks, then maybe it’s not the right place for you. It should be possible to find a car place that will work with you without giving you the hard sell. No one likes high-pressure sales tactics. Well, no one except a few unsavory sales managers. Ask questions and go on a few test drives. Feel free to say you need more time to think if you aren’t sure. If the car you want is sold to someone else overnight, then it probably wasn’t right for you anyway.
Boat ownership
It may feel weird to think about buying a boat while there’s still snow on the ground, but it’s actually a good time to start checking out the merchandise. As with a lot of big-ticket purchases, the Internet is a great place to start, regardless of if you want to look at fishing boats or pleasure crafts. You should know that boats can require a lot of maintenance, and the hassle won’t be worth it for some people, especially if you live in an area where you can’t use the boat year-round. They’re expensive and will probably require you to take out a loan, so make sure that you won’t want to sell the boat three years into a five-year payment plan.
That being said, nothing brings people together in warm weather quite like a boat. They’re a status symbol that also happens to be a lot of fun, as long as you play your cards right. If you begin your search now, you could be sunning yourself on the deck by Memorial Day.
