Buying a new car is an exciting and big decision for first-time car buyers. But there are countless options in the market, making it difficult to choose the best car for our needs. To make it easier, we have done extensive research and prepared a guide to help you buy the best car for your lifestyle, family, usage, budget, and preferences.
First, ask yourself what purpose you are buying this car for?
These questions will answer 50% of your car-buying questions, narrow down your options and save you from excessive research costs.
Here are some ideas:
- Daily usage: This means how much you will drive the car in a day or month and where you will drive it, on the highway, long-distance drives, within the city or off-road or hilly areas.
- Seating Capacity: How many seats do you need? Do you want it for daily commuting, office use, family travel, or business purposes?
- Storage capacity: Are you going to transport goods, luggage or any special equipment?
- Any special requirements: Do you need any special features, such as wheelchair accessibility, child seats, ADAS, or a sunroof?
If you are planning to buy this car for a specific purpose, here are some key details to consider before making the decision.
Do you need a car for your family?
If you are planning to buy a car for the family, you must know how many seats and how much space you will need. Generally, family cars require 4 to 7 seats and more boot space to accommodate passengers' luggage.
Do you need a car for off-roading and adventure?
Do you like camping, travelling in hilly areas, and going to rugged terrain where the car has to navigate challenging paths and extreme weather conditions? If so, then you should get an off-road car. An off-road vehicle can also be suitable for areas with uneven roads and rough paths, such as villages and towns where roads are not available.
Now, think about the environment in which you will drive your car.
- City Driving: If you plan to drive your car in the city and in heavy traffic, you should look for a compact car with easy handling, easy parking, good fuel efficiency, and an automatic transmission to avoid frequent gear changes.
- Highway Driving: For highways, you need comfortable driving, strong stability at speeds of 80-110 kmph and above, a quiet cabin to prevent wind noise at high speeds, ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) that helps you stay in the lane, blind spot monitoring that reduces driver fatigue and keeps you safe on highways even at high speeds are all essential.
- Rural Area/Rough Terrain Driving: When driving on rough surfaces, durability is of utmost importance to handle the bumps and potholes. You also need more ground clearance, which will prevent your car from rubbing on rough roads, rocks, or deep ruts, and keep it safe from damage.
- Heavy Snow Area Driving: Snowy terrain requires better grip and stability to prevent your car from sliding and reduce the chances of getting stuck or skidding. This problem is solved by all-wheel drive (AWD) or four-wheel drive (4WD), TCS (Traction Control System), and Electronic Stability Control (ESC), which prevent wheels from spinning during acceleration on slippery surfaces and prevent skidding by selectively applying brakes to each wheel and reducing engine power. You can also consider features like heated seats, a heater, good Headlights, and Fog Lights for better visibility during snow and for comfortable driving.
- Hot Weather Driving: Driving in hot weather requires powerful, efficient air conditioning (AC), ventilated seats, and UV-filtered window glass to keep your car cool. Remote start lets you run your AC before you get in the car, cooling the interior on hot days. Your vehicle also needs a TPMS (tyre pressure monitoring system) to monitor tyre pressure, which can help you avoid flat tyres and prevent blowouts from over- or under-inflation.
- Mileage and Performance: Do you travel long distances daily, say 50-100 km, and want a fuel-efficient car for your commute, such as office, city traffic and daily use? Then consider a fuel-efficient car, such as a CNG or EV. The cost of running a mid-sized EV can be as low as ₹1 to ₹1.5, while CNG cars cost ₹2.5 to ₹4.5 per km, petrol cars cost ₹5 to ₹7 and diesel costs ₹4 to ₹5.5 per km, depending on the price of CNG and petrol. Then, if you travel up to 100 km daily, your costs will be as follows:-
Fuel Type | Cost per km (₹/km) | 10 km (₹) | 20 km (₹) | 30 km (₹) | 40 km (₹) | 50 km (₹) | 100 km (₹) | Monthly Running Cost (for 700–1500 km) (Approx. ₹) |
EV | 1–1.5 | 10–15 | 20–30 | 30–45 | 40–60 | 50–75 | 100–150 | 700–2,250 |
CNG | 2.5–4.5 | 25–45 | 50–90 | 75–135 | 100–180 | 125–225 | 250–450 | 1,750–6,750 |
Petrol | 6–8 | 60–80 | 120–160 | 180–240 | 240–320 | 300–400 | 600–800 | 4,200–12,000 |
Diesel | 4–5.5 | 40–55 | 80–110 | 120–165 | 160–220 | 200–275 | 400–550 | 2,800–8,250 |
Now, let's decide on your budget. You can consider the following points:
- Monthly Expenses: To buy a new or used car, decide on your budget and how much you can spend each month on EMI (if you take a loan), fuel, and maintenance.
- On-road price: Ask the car dealer for down payments, State RTO fees for the state you want to register your vehicle, Insurance, and other charges, such as accessories you wish to add to the car. On-road price includes the following details:
On-Road Price = Ex-Showroom Price + RTO Charges (Road Tax + Registration Fee) + Insurance Premium + TCS (Tax Collected at Source) + Optional Costs (Accessories, Extended Warranty, Handling Charges, etc.)
What is the average annual maintenance cost of running a car?
Generally, it's something like this:
- Hatchback: ₹7000- ₹15000 (Comprehensive)
- Sedan: ₹10,000 - ₹20,000 (Comprehensive)
- SUV: ₹15,000 - ₹30,000 (Comprehensive)
- Luxury Cars: ₹10,000 - ₹25,000 to ₹40,000 - ₹60,000+ (Comprehensive, depending on model).
Always check, what their warranty is on cars?
- Affordable car warranty (Rs 4-7 lakh range): Most affordable cars, such as the Alto K10, Renault Kwid, and Hyundai Santro, come with a 2-year/40,000-50,000 km warranty, and manufacturers also offer options up to 5 years or 1 lakh km at an additional cost.
- Medium Range Cars Warranty (₹7–12 lakh range):
- Cars like Tata Nexon, Maruti Suzuki Swift, and Maruti Dzire offer a standard warranty of 3 years/1,00,000 km, along with an extended warranty of 5-6 years/1.5 lakh km.
- Luxury Brand Cars Warranty (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi):
- Luxury brands offer more extended or unlimited-kilometre warranties, ranging from 3 years/unlimited kilometres to 7 to 8 years/unlimited kilometres.
- Check Dealer Warranty Offers:
You should check for promotional offers, such as warranty plans, extended warranties, and additional free services, including annual maintenance service and an exchange bonus warranty.
Ask about the ongoing offers, and you should check out the following offers:
- Cash Discount: The manufacturer offers cash discounts ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹1,00,000 or more, depending on the model.
What is the exchange bonus for a car?
Exchange bonus:
You can get an additional discount on your old car if you buy a new vehicle from the same dealer. It can range from ₹15,000 to ₹50,000.
What is the Loyalty Bonus for a Car?
Loyalty Bonus: If you already have a car from Maruti, Hyundai, Honda, etc., and you are buying another car from the same company, then you may be eligible for Loyalty Bonus.
What is the corporate discount on a car?
If you work in a government organisation or a PSU and are in a profession such as a doctor, CA, teacher, or architect, you may be eligible for a corporate discount of ₹2,000 to ₹15,000. Even some luxury brands offer corporate discounts of up to lakhs.
What is the scrapping/exchange program for cars?
If your old vehicle is scrapped and you have received the scrapping certificate, you will be eligible for a scrapping bonus, as many car manufacturers offer scrapping benefits.
EV (Electric Vehicle) Buying Offers:
To promote electric vehicles, the government offers subsidies, cash discounts, and may include charging solutions and battery warranty benefits.
What are model year discounts on cars?
In 2025, if you buy a car manufactured in 2024 or the previous year, car dealers offer higher discounts to clear old car inventory.
Check free accessories:
While taking delivery of a car, you should check for complimentary accessories such as seat covers, floor mats, essential kits (perfume, cleaning supplies, cloth, puncture kit), mud flaps, etc.
After-sales and service offered by car manufacturers:
Car manufacturers with a vast network of service centres and dealers, such as Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, and Hyundai, can provide better car maintenance services. Always check if the car you are buying has a service centre near you. If your vehicle needs maintenance, always contact them to arrange the pick-up and drop-off of your car after service.
After finalising the above points, it is the right time to search online for the perfect car.
- Online Research: After keeping the above points in mind, begin researching online. You can also take help from the CarSalahakar.com website. Use filters such as price and seating capacity to narrow your requirements and generate a list.
- Reading Reviews: While researching online, you should also look at user and expert reviews so that you know what car users and experts recommend about the advantages and disadvantages of the car. It can help you make the right decision.
- Compare cars: After narrowing down your options, compare multiple vehicles side by side. Consider the different variants of your choice based on their price, mileage, safety ratings, reviews, and other features. Keep at least 3 to 5 cars in your buying basket.
- Test Driving: After selecting 3 to 4 cars, it's time to test-drive them. The real-time test drive and experience of the vehicle may vary across aspects such as looks, features, comfort, driving experience, cabin view, and engine noise. If you are not satisfied with the first test drive, ask for a second test drive or visit another showroom for one.
While Test Driving, you should observe the following:
- Seats: Is the seat height adjustable? Are the pedals, steering wheel, and gears accessible for your height, and is the space between the thigh support and the knee good?
- Cabin Quality & Layout: When you get in the car, check if it is easy to get in and out, the quality of the seats and fabrics, the infotainment system and its Bluetooth, USB, Android/Apple CarPlay feature, touch screen response, sound quality of the speakers (play any music), and steering-mounted controls. While driving, check how much noise comes into the car (primarily wind and tyre noise).
- Boot Space: Check the boot space and luggage space before and after folding/unfolding the seats, especially if you are buying a family car or want to carry some special equipment.
- Engine: When starting and accelerating the car, pay attention to the engine sound, gear shifting smoothness, and transmission type (automatic/manual).
Make sure the car you are test driving is meeting all your requirements like how easy it is to drive on your daily terrain like off-road, heavy-traffic and rough roads (check the suspension), drive on narrow and open roads, rear seat leg and head space is comfortable or not, boot-space, check all the features- seating capacity, sunroof, special equipment and other features you want. Do not hesitate to ask your questions. If the car you are driving meets all your requirements, do not hesitate to bring it home without any regrets.
After test driving, it's time to negotiate the price
Once you have chosen the right car, negotiate on the price. You should ask for multiple quotations from different showrooms and compare at least 2-3 quotations for the exact vehicle. Keep track of which quotations include RTO, insurance, extended battery warranty (for EVs), accessories, discounts, and additional charges. Doing so will help you negotiate the car price confidently and save money.
The above factors assure you before finalising your decision to buy a perfect car for your requirements, without any second thoughts or regrets.
