Walter's Cars

If you have already made the rather large investment of purchasing an antique or collector car, then your next big payment should be to an insurance company.  You certainly don’t want to leave this for another day; it is vital your investment is insured well and under the right terms, pretty much straight away.  The other thing to remember is that insurance for these types of cars is very different to insuring your regular Toyota or Hyundai.  Thus it can be a little daunting when you start looking into different insurance options.  Make sure that your insurance agent is familiar with antique cars and if they are not, it might be a good idea to look into other insurance companies, just for this asset.  Don’t just presume your agent – because they insure your regular car – knows how best to insure this classic.

So the main points to remember are:  make sure you will be getting coverage if your car is in a show and incurs any kind of damage; will you be able to use your regular mechanic if repairs are required; get a proper insurance that mirrors what your car is actually worth; make sure that the premiums are flexible and based on how many miles are driven each year.  When you feel your insurance company can respond well to all these areas, then you have probably found the right place to take your special purchase.

Certainly, buying a new car from a dealer can be a nerve racking experience.  Car dealers tend to be quite slick and able to pull one over on you. Here are a few pieces of advice for getting the best deal when going to a car dealership.

Timing really does make a big difference.  There are two main times that of the year that are best to buy a car.  In December, close to Christmas, most people are too busy buying gifts to think of purchasing a car for themselves.  Dealers are more likely to cut prices to break their year end sales records.  A second good time to buy a car is July to October, since this is when new car dealers sell of their cars to make way for next year’s models.

You can also do very well right from your computer screen.  Go to a number of online new car buying sites and see what the new car purchase quotes are like from each.  Once you’ve done all of your research, pick one dealer and bring all of your research to this dealer.  Then, calmly negotiate a price with this information in front of you.

It’s very important when negotiating for a new car to stay relaxed, positive and patient.  You want to feel like you are in control, so make sure to do your research ahead of time and come to the car dealer feeling in control and ready to negotiate.