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BUSINESS Monday 29 october 2018
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Edmunds: How to not go broke when buying your first car

By MATT JONES To fully understand the the assumed three-year tips can spare you a bud- and what will they cost?
Associated Press costs of buying a car, here’s period. get scramble or even avert You can often find the
A diligent first-time car buy- a look at the monthly esti- Used: The average transac- financial disaster if the car owners’ manuals on the
er will spend hours check- mated fuel, upkeep, repair tion price for a used 2015 is ultimately too much to carmakers’ websites. They
ing out competing vehicles, have schedules of recom-
test-driving, and choosing mended maintenance.
must-have car features. Once you know what’s re-
Then comes the decision quired, call a few dealer-
to buy a new car or used ships or independent car
one, or to lease. In short, if service centers to get price
you’re the typical first-time estimates.
car shopper, you have a lot Significant expenses: How
of research to do. much will it cost to replace
But many first-time buy- a set of tires or brakes?
ers overlook what may be What about other costly
the most critical part of car parts that might wear out?
buying: factoring in the to- Fuel costs: How many miles
tal cost of the car. do you plan to drive, and
Those costs blindsided Jus- how much will you have
tin Perez, a recent college to spend on fuel monthly?
grad who lives in Boulder, Could your budget with-
Colorado. stand a spike in gas prices?
He’d purchased his first Fueleconomy.gov has a
used car and had done fuel savings calculator that
everything by the book: can help you plan for the
researching the vehicle, its long term.
history and even the repu- Insurance: Talk to an insur-
tation of the selling dealer. This undated photo provided by Edmunds shows Culver City Honda dealership in Culver City, ance agent or get a quote
After negotiating a signifi- Calif. online. Be sure to ask about
cant discount on the price Associated Press discounts for which you
and making a sizable down might qualify.
payment, he arrived at a and insurance charges a Honda Accord bought this handle and your lender re- BEWARE OF BUDGET CREEP
monthly payment of $340. driver can expect to pay in summer was about $16,300, possesses it. It might seem that you
To him, that would be the the first three years of own- with an average payment PLAN ON SPENDING TWICE could spare just a few more
bulk of his total monthly ing a Honda Accord, a pe- of $340 per month. Add YOUR MONTHLY PAYMENT dollars each month for a
spending for the car. rennial top-seller. in all expected operat- If you’ve budgeted $250 car payment, but resist the
But he didn’t appreciate Standard taxes and fees ing costs, such as gas, in- for the car payment, plan urge to stretch your bud-
just how much car own- are part of this equation. surance, routine mainte- instead on $500 to cover it get.
ership was going to cost We determined these own- nance and repairs, and the and the ownership costs. Even with the best planning,
him. Between the payment ership costs using the Ed- monthly cost balloons to This is crucial if you’re a it can be hard to gauge just
and other car expenses, munds True Cost to Own $670. young buyer facing high how much your car costs to
including an insurance (TCO) tool. Leased: The current aver- insurance rates, if you’ve run until you’ve lived with it
bill that was steeper than The prices for the used, new age monthly lease pay- chosen a used vehicle for a while. Leave yourself
he’d planned on, he was and leased Honda Accord ment for a 2018 Honda Ac- that is out of warranty, or if some breathing room.
averaging nearly $700 per are based on Edmunds’ cord is $353. Bundle that you’ve selected a new or EDMUNDS SAYS: Seasoned
month. analysis of 13,500 transac- payment with the owner- used car that gets poor gas owners know that a car
“I expected to pay some tions that took place over ship costs and the all-in mileage. payment is only the begin-
amount over the payment, the summer of 2018. monthly cost is about $596. MAKE A CHECKLIST ning of the overall costs of
but I had no idea it was go- New: The average monthly It’s bad enough to confront For each car you’re con- vehicle ownership.
ing to be this much,” Perez payment for a 2018 Hon- these extra costs during car sidering, answer these cost First-time buyers should re-
said. He got a second job da Accord purchased this shopping. questions: search ownership costs
as a Lyft driver to make up summer was $494. Once It’s much worse if the real- Routine maintenance: while shopping so they
the difference. the ownership expenses ization comes after a car What kind of services will can make that first vehicle
HOW MUCH DOES A CAR are included, that monthly deal is done — and can’t this vehicle require? How a dream car, not a night-
REALLY COST? tab increases to $728 over be undone. The following often will they come up mare on wheels.q

World’s billionaires saw ranks, wealth grow in 2017

Associated Press The number of billionaires billionaires — almost one
BERLIN (AP) — The rich got around the global also in- in five of the global total —
richer than ever before last creased, from 1,979 in 2016 are self-made tycoons, of-
year, with China leading to 2,158 last year. ten involved in the technol-
the way. China alone saw two new ogy and retail sectors.
Swiss bank UBS said Friday billionaires emerge each The report forecast that,
that its annual study of the week, highlighting the rap- driven by China, billion-
world’s billionaires found id rise of a class of super aires in Asia-Pacific will be
their combined wealth rose rich in the nominally com- wealthier than their Ameri-
by $1.4 trillion to an eye- munist country. can counterparts within
popping $8.9 trillion in 2017. Many of the country’s 373 three years.q