Five expenses to consider when buying your pre-owned vehicle

You have been thinking about buying a pre-owned vehicle for some time now, and after doing more research online than you would dare to count and calculating your budget dozens of times, you are finally ready to sign the contract. That’s great, but are you sure that you have taken into account all the expenses related to the purchase of a pre-owned vehicle, or any vehicle really?

The idea here is not to scare you, just to offer you some tips that will help you avoid a few surprises. The reality is that a vehicle, whether new or pre-owned, generates certain expenses that we sometimes tend to forget because we simply do not think about, or because we underestimate them.

It is true that taken individually, they are not that significant. But, add them together, and the final amount can be quite surprising.

Here are five expenses to consider when you calculate your budget for your next pre-owned vehicle.

Insurance costs

All vehicles must be insured. The good news is that it is easy enough to know the insurance costs related to a vehicle before buying it.

It is always good to contact different auto insurance companies in order to get the best possible price, and do not hesitate to ask for a quote for different models that interest you. You could then see a considerable difference between the pre-owned vehicles that you are considering, and this could help you make a decision on which model to buy.

Permits and Registration

These can add up to about $ 500 a year. This amount can vary greatly depending on the car you own and your driving record, but it is better to divide the amounts into monthly amounts so that you are ready when they come in. Adding about $ 40 to your monthly auto budget to cover the driver's license and car registrations is enough.

Fuel

Gasoline is another expense that is quite easy to calculate. Check the average fuel consumption rating of the vehicle you are interested in, and estimate the number of kilometers you plan to cover every month.

For example, if you have to travel 1,500 kilometers per month, and your vehicle has an average fuel consumption of 7.0 liters per 100 kilometers, your monthly gasoline expense will be $ 126 if the price per liter is $1.20.

Maintenance and repair

Repairs are not easy to plan, but it is relatively straightforward to know how much an oil change costs and at what interval it must be carried out. The same applies to preventive maintenance. Winter and summer tires should also be accounted for. If we keep our vehicle 5 years, it is good to plan two winter tire changes and a summer tire change. It all depends on the use of the vehicle and several other factors, but the idea here is to have an amount planned ahead for those expenses. And if you want to have peace of mind, you can opt for an extended warranty that will cover the majority of unexpected repairs.

Other expenses

We could also have called these annoying expenses. They will vary from person to person and include speeding tickets, parking, parking tickets when we forget to pay for parking or the signs are unreadable... In short, we are talking about expenditures that are impossible to really plan, but may occur nonetheless.

It is always wise to set aside an additional amount every month which can range between $ 50 and $ 100 for these other expenses. You will then be prepared for the unexpected, and if you do not have to use that amount for a few months, it can be used for something else, but at least you will have it at the ready.

As you can see, all these expenses can be significant. So, it's wise to calculate them in order to know how much you can actually spend per month on your pre-owned vehicle!

Come and discover our complete inventory of pre-owned vehicles today!