Everyone dreams of a brand-new car at some point in their life. Maybe you want a fantastic eco-friendly smart car, a truck to haul things, a Volkswagen bug to get around town or even the latest Escalade. Before you assume that a new car is just a pipedream, keep reading to help determine if you can make it happen.

Revisit Your Budget

You don’t want a new car to create a financial burden, so sitting down with your budget is a great way to see where you can make adjustments to make it happen. You want to come up with a realistic monthly payment you can afford to make negotiating for a car loan a bit easier. Many car loan companies, such as New Roads, allow you to apply online which can help you navigate how much your payment will be and how much your loan will be for. Don’t forget to consider auto insurance, fuel, repairs, and maintenance in your budget so that you understand the full impact.

Save Up For A Down Payment

Since you have your budget sitting before you, can you work in savings to put towards a down payment? While many people strive for the no-money-down option, it is still good to have some money in savings that would cover the down payment. Firstly, if you put money down you can potentially lower your monthly car payment by a little bit. If you choose to not to put any money down, you should still save it as a safety net in case you can’t make a payment in a month. Financial crises happen without warning and that safety net can keep you from getting behind on your payments and keep your credit clean. Secondly, not everyone will qualify for no-money-down options. Usually, people with stellar credit can buy a new car without putting any money down and if you don’t have stellar credit, you want to be prepared to kick in some dough.

So how much should you plan for? A good rule of thumb is 20%. We do recommend talking with your loan officer to make sure that you are following any down payment conditions for the loan. You should also check with the dealer and see if they have any “rules” for down payment requirements, even if they are not referring you to a lender.

Take Your Time

While many of us would love to walk into a dealership on any given day of the week and drive away with a brand-new car, many of us cannot do that. Take the time to really work at saving the money and give yourself six months to a year to get the savings in place. If you need it sooner, look at what you can change in the budget so that you are saving money quicker than your current plan. You can also look at picking up a second job or doing some gig work on the side to supplement your savings. There are tons of ways to find extra money to contribute to your savings account.

What Do I Do If My Credit Is Bad?

So, you learned that your credit wasn’t high enough to obtain a loan. Don’t decide that you can’t buy a new car just yet! There are ways to improve your credit so that you can make the purchase you desire. Firstly, if you have a family member with excellent credit then take a moment to talk to them about how they can help you. They can make you an authorized user on their credit card account, but you do not use the account. No credit card, your name is simply attached to the credit card and you reap the benefits. You can also check with your local credit unions for programs to improve your credit score.

Obtaining a new car is possible for everyone, it just takes a little patient and some work to get there. You can do it!