Tips for Buying a Car during College

Megan Pitcher
3 min readFeb 1, 2022

You do not think of buying a car unless you complete your studies and most of the common reason is the lack of funds. However, some of you may need it urgently. Arranging money for buying a car is not that easy. Even if you are looking for private personal car finance UK, you may take a long time to set by the down payment.

It can be challenging to do so during your college. When you are studying, you may not have enough money. With your part-time job, you may have difficulty setting aside the down payment of your car as you will need that money to make ends meet. Although it can be quite tricky for you to buy a car during college, you can do it.

Tips for buying a car during college

Here are the tips that you should buy a car during college:

· Buy a secondhand car

Buying a new car does not make sense if you are at college. You will need the car to travel to and from the university and for quick errands. Further, you may not be able to have enough to buy a brand new car. Even if you are about to finance it, it will be backbreaking to arrange the deposit.

This is why it is suggested to buy a used car. A used car will be cheaper than a new car, so you do not need a lot of money to set by as the deposit. You should do research online so you can get a better-used car.

Instead of getting it from a dealer, you should directly get it from an individual seller. You will be able to get a good bargain. Make sure that you properly check the condition of the car, so you do not end up regretting down the line. Try to have multiple vendors so you can quickly get the best deal that suits your budget.

· Start saving early

The sooner you save, the sooner you will be able to buy your car. By doing online research, you can get to know what kind of car you need. You can get the estimated price of a secondhand car, and then you can start saving money.

The larger the down payment, the lower the auto loan will be. However, you should still try to put by 10% of the value of the car.

Try to stash away some extra amount of money as you do not know the actual cost of the car you would be buying. Do not compromise with your emergency cushion because this will help you tide over during unforeseen expenses.

· Improve your credit rating

If you are looking to finance your car, you will need a solid credit score. A lender will look over your credit report to see if you can manage to repay your debt. A good credit score shows that you stay financially committed to your debts.

If you have a bad credit rating, you should try to improve it. Although a couple of lenders can approve long term loans bad credit no guarantor despite a poor credit rating, you will end up paying a lot of money.

This is why it is suggested to improve your credit score. If you cannot do so, you should try to arrange a bigger deposit. Try to stash away at least 20% as the down payment. This will mitigate the risk of the lender, and they will likely lend you money at affordable interest rates. Yet, you should try to have a good credit score.

· Have a steady source of income

You should have a steady source of income in order to avoid any complications at the time of filing your loan application. The lender will look at your income statement to see if you can repay your debt. Your good credit score is not enough to have the loan signed off on.

The bottom line

If you are looking to buy a car during your college studies, you should try to buy a used car. Make sure that you have a good credit score and a steady source of income.

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Megan Pitcher
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James is a financial author and holding a vast experience of 9 years in the writing field.