Tips for buying a new car: Is a crossover car an option for me?

If you are looking to buy a new car, or first sell your old car, you will need to look at a few things. Firstly, you will need to see if you have enough budget for the car of your dreams or if you need to get further finance options. You should always budget well to avoid issues and an auto calculator can help you before making decisions. 

Apart from the traditional way, several online tools allow you to carry out this procedure, although you end up buying the car in a dealership and in the normal way. We are talking about our new car offers comparator in which you can configure the vehicle that interests you the most and receive up to five quotes from official dealers in less than 24 hours and without leaving the couch. Find out more about how it works and if you’re ready, enjoy the new way of buying a new car.

DOCUMENTATION TO BUY A NEW CAR

When you choose to start the process of buying a new car if you do not have the money to pay for it at once, one of the options is financing. This is nothing more than paying off your car in monthly installments either through the financial company associated with the brand or your financial institution. But before starting the application, you must make sure that you can afford the fees and if it will be possible to have the money to meet the repayment of the loan. Therefore, the requirements to finance a car and the documentation necessary to grant it is the following:

  1. You must make sure that you can bear the expenses of being tied to this type of contract. However, the company or financial institution may take the trouble to analyze your financial situation to find out whether or not you are solvent and based on that decide whether to grant you the money.
  2. Show your ID to show that you are 18 years old (or the age you must be before you can buy a car in your city/country). It is an essential requirement to be able to benefit from this type of purchase process.
  3. Complementing the previous point, your national identity document must be in order and therefore not expired.
  4. You must submit a copy of any income if you choose to buy a car on finance. 

HOW TO SEARCH FOR A CAR

The time to buy a car is approaching and several questions come to mind: do I want diesel or gasoline? Compact car or SUV car? Do you want an automatic or manual? But when it comes to making the final decision, you always prioritize money above all else. Luckily, with time, several alternatives have emerged that tend to make our lives easier by saving us several euros, that’s when you consider opting for modalities such as car rental, but is it a better option than having a vehicle in the property?

If renting a home is a common practice, why not do the same with a vehicle? That is what the car rental that we have already talked about in this article raises us. This practice is nothing more than being able to enjoy a car for about four or five years paying a monthly fee and it is the dealer’s financial or the renting company itself that is in charge of granting us the financing with a series of conditions.

Acquiring a car is not only disbursing an amount of money at the time of purchase, but it also involves expenses during its useful life such as maintenance, insurance, and the different taxes that are applied to us. Therefore, we must consider whether we are interested in opting for car rental or having a car in possession. Among the advantages that exist of renting are those of not having to worry about paying expenses that you do have to face when you choose to buy such as maintenance, assistance to the workshop to repair, or contracting insurance etc. Look here for more insurance advice. 

DO I WANT A CROSSOVER CAR?

The automotive sector continues to evolve and there are many types of vehicles on the market. Gone are the utility vehicles and sedans. We remember with nostalgia the legendary off-roaders, while we welcome you to the latest crossovers. And now that we were used to SUVs we will have to familiarize ourselves with new concepts such as CUVs. If you have doubts about buying a crossover or an SUV, we explain what crossover cars are and how they differ from SUVs.

Do you want to know more? Keep reading. Crossover cars are born from the cross between two types of vehicles. We can consider them a hybrid between compact cars and off-road vehicles. With an adventurous air and some modifications, they are increasingly popular in the market and are the main alternative to SUVs.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CROSSOVER CARS

  1. They maintain the aesthetics of off-road vehicles and the dynamic characteristics of passenger cars.
  2. They use familiar type bodies but with an increase in the suspension travel. 
  3. They have reinforcement in the fenders and the wheel arches, and also, they have protections in the underbody.
  4. Crossover cars are designed to drive on asphalt. Most do not incorporate configurations designed for off-road, beyond aesthetics. 
  5. They have a low center of gravity, offering more stability because they preserve the height from the ground of passenger cars.
  6. Some crossover models include four-wheel drive, not all, to facilitate driving on tracks. 
  7. They satisfy the needs of drivers to circulate with a large vehicle, while preserving the characteristics of a small car, such as stability and comfort

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CROSSOVERS AND SUVs

  1. The cornering dynamics, weight, and fuel consumption of the crossover are equivalent to those of a passenger car. They do not suffer excess inertia or increased fuel consumption like some SUVs.
  2. Crossovers are lower than SUVs and this allows them to have a more comfortable suspension. SUVs need to mount firmer suspensions to control the taller body.
  3. Aerodynamically the crossovers are more favorable because the front is not as big as that of the SUV.
  4. Crossovers have a sportier and more efficient drive, while SUVs are solid vehicles with heavier driving. 
  5. SUVs beat crossovers in interior spaciousness and trunk capacity.

THE BEST CROSSOVER CARS ON THE ROAD TODAY

Nissan Juke

This model was launched nine years ago to redefine the compact crossover industry. In 2020 the second generation of the Nissan Juke has arrived, featuring a more spacious body and offering new levels of performance and technology. Buyers will be able to choose from five finishes: N-Connecta, Tekna, N-Design Active, N-Design Active, and the special edition Premiere Edition.

Dacia Sandero Stepway

The Dacia Sandero Stepway is a low-cost utility, derived from the Dacia Sandero. The main difference between models is a higher suspension and the off-road look. It is available in a 95 hp diesel engine, and a 100 hp gasoline and LPG engine. The greatest virtue of the Dacia Sandero Stepway is the balance between what is offered and what is paid for it.

Volkswagen T-Cross

The Volkswagen T-Cross is an urban crossover, segment B. It is characterized by being the smallest SUV in the Volkswagen SUV range. It has small dimensions, an attractive design, and a completely urban approach. It is available in a 1.0 TSI petrol engine with 95 hp, or 115 hp. The range of diesel engines, at the moment, only consists of the 1.6 TDI with 115 hp.

IS AN ELECTRIC CAR WORTH IT?

There is no doubt that the electric car is real reality and its sales do not stop growing. At a slow pace, but they go up from year to year. It is even expected that in 2020, with the arrival of new limits on polluting emissions and sanctions for brands that do not comply with them, there will be a “boom” in sales of this type of technology, which is gaining adherents. Future prohibitions The purchase of combustion cars can be a definitive trigger, but for that, there is still a lot (there is talk of, at least, 2030 or 2040).

Outside thermal engines involve the burning of some fuel and, consequently, the emission of some polluting gas into the atmosphere. With an electric vehicle, not a single gram of CO2, NOx nitrogen oxides, or particles is emitted while driving.

Electricity is responsible for moving the wheels through one of several motors, being stored in batteries generally located on the floor of the passenger compartment or under the trunk. The energy efficiency is another point in favor of an electric motor from gasoline or diesel: 90 percent versus 30 percent, as losses that occur in power transmission, are prevented from starting the process of combustion to the wheels to generate movement. 

With an electrical mechanic, you say goodbye to performing the typical maintenance of filters, timing belt, clutch, turbo, AdBlue … which allow a saving of 25 percent in maintenance, estimating a useful life of 200,000 kilometers at equal power. 


Photo Credit: Nissan

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