Saving for a car.. and so much more

I've been driving an old Kia Avella for more than six years now. It's an old car with a lot of problems and a boatload of maintenance costs.

My wife and I have been talking about getting a new car for a few months. I honestly think we don't need one yet, but she has been complaining that every time she comes home (she trains in a different city about 650 kilometers away), she spends the entire car trip praying that we won't get stuck in the middle of the road. 

It has happened to me a number of times, so I'm like, Okaaaay.

At first, she wanted a Ford Ecosport. This car is compact, good engine, with sporty aesthetics, but it would only fit a maximum of four passengers. Ford has always been her dream brand, and her dream car the Ford Ranger. Don't ask me why. The wife has six siblings. Six. With her parents and her cousins (she has numerous first cousins), the Ecosport will have no way of accommodating her family comfortably. 

With a price range of PhP800,000 to 1,100,000 we finally settled on the Honda BR-V. It's a 7-seater with a sporty edge, and a 1.5-liter i-VTEC engine. It looked roomy and comfortable, with good storage capacity once the third row is folded. 

After a few months of dilly-dallying (her word, not mine), we finally signed the bank papers and we were off to get the new car.

Our new Honda BR-V in its newly-minted garage space.

There were a few obvious things I learned that prospective car buyers (who have to take out a bank loan, just like we did) need to remember.

1. Pay as much a down payment as you can. The bigger your down payment, the less your monthly, and the less interest you pay over time. You can spend as much as 50% more of the original price of the car if you opt for the 0% down payment option! We were able to scrimp together 40% of the total price for down payment, so our monthly car bill amounts to about PhP12,000 only. Quite a manageable amount. 

2. Forget the freebies. Banks give a lot of free stuff for those who pony up small amounts for the down payment. Why? They get a whole lot more over time (read #1). Yeah. I asked why I wasn't getting as many freebies as other offers, and this is what one agent told me. I can believe him.

3. Shop around for the best bank deals. While banks give you more or less the same rate, we did find out that the difference in interest can be substantial, as much as 10%. Don't be shy to pry and ask, and pry some more.

4. Read the fine print and always double check their computations. One guy waived the transportation fee and made me happy, but when I checked his monthly billing schedule, discovered he inserted that amount into my monthly payments! Sneaky, sneaky. Never trust an offer that's too good to be true. It most likely is.

5. Your patience will be tested. After we delivered the necessary documents and closed the deal, we were complacently waiting for the car to arrive come the weekend. However, one day prior to delivery, the agent texted that instead of the agreed PhP 5,000 for the delivery fee, he wanted PhP 10,000! I stood my ground and said that if he wouldn't take the Php 5,000 as previously agreed, we'd cancel our purchase. Boy did that cause me a bit of anxiety! The wife wanted the car ASAP while her aunt and uncle from California were visiting and cancelling this deal would mean the car would arrive after their six-week visit was over.
I kept my game face on...and the car was delivered on Sunday.

You will have your own obstacles purchasing your first car. Do not fear though; there are a lot of reputable car review blogs and Facebook pages for reference. After deciding we'd get the BR-V, I joined a Facebook page of BR-V users and read through their comments and problems with their cars. Educate yourself and live the life of a proud new car owner!