Suddenly, buying a car became a necessity.

As the pandemic started to ease and employees are encouraged to report back to the office, having your own car is correlated to being safe. People are not yet convinced that we are safe to go on commute and squeeze ourselves to get a ride.

Buying a car has never been a priority for me. But when we were asked to report to the office, I didn’t think twice about getting one. At that time, it is not really wise to spend a lot of money when you are uncertain about your health. But this made me think that it’ll be wiser if I keep myself safe by travelling in my own car. At that point, I decided to get one and it was time to think about what I needed to consider in buying a car.

Let me share 5 things I considered when I bought my car to fit my needs:

• Manual or Automatic transmission

It may seem that getting a manual transmission car will save you a few bucks. Most likely if you know how to drive a manual car, but if not, AT is the best choice. It is easier to learn how to drive. You don’t have to think about a lot of things or put yourself at risk just to get to your destination.

• Fuel efficient

Basically, what I’m after is to get to my destination safely. So, getting a car that’s fuel-efficient that can go for miles without spending a lot of money is my choice. Keep in mind that fuel prices may increase or decrease. It is part of owning a car and something that one should not complain about. You may check out CarPaymentCalculator.net which provides all sorts of computations related to cars.

• Brand new or second-hand car

I’m not sure if you will agree with me on this, but it is better and safe to get a brand new car. Again, this is to make sure that we lessen the risk of getting caught in car troubles. We should also think about maintenance. Maintenance for a brand new car is lower compared to a second-hand car with a higher mileage.

• Price

Ok, I’m not saying that it is better to get a lower-priced car, for some this might not be an issue. But what I’m trying to point out is that you should choose from a price range that we can pay (monthly) without getting broke and leaving you with nothing as the need arise. Remember we are all uncertain and we don’t know what’s going to happen in the coming months while we’re still in the midst of the pandemic.

• Support

Aside from maintenance and ease of buying spare parts, you should also consider if the car has a community that will support you as a newbie car owner. Yeah, the manual is there for you to read but it is still best to learn and talk to other people about their experiences owning the same type of car as yours.