You’re a member of ICAEW and you want a new car and it’s a big deal for you.

Where are you going to go to buy it? Oh and does being a member of ICAEW make any difference?

Practical and emotion factors in deciding on your new car

I suppose the first thing to consider is what do you need the car to do?

First the important practical stuff:

• Are you likely to do a high mileage including long distances?
• Will you be driving on business?
• Do you have a young family?
• Do you have pets?
• Do you need other specific needs from a car?
• Do you have an electric charging point at home already?

Then the important emotional stuff:

• Are you a keen driver?
• Do you want sporty handling?
• Do you need economy?
• Is being ECO friendly important to you

Lots of questions and in truth, most are the same questions that anybody would ask no matter what sort of day job they had.

How to finance your new car

Being in a specific profession may have an influence over the type, brand and model of any vehicle you choose to drive. Example; a farmer will most probably have different professional and private needs from his car than say a member of the ICAEW… (unless an ICAEW member also owns a farm of course!)

There are other questions (I know, ‘more questions’) that also come in to play like:

• Will you buy it outright?
• Will you finance it?
• What sort of finance?
• Will you lease it?

For many people a car is as much of an emotional purchase as it is practical. After all, if you are a successful professional, maybe you should project that success to the world and one way of doing that is by driving a nice set of wheels.

Your car choice can say a lot about you

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you pick a car that shouts how rich or famous you are, (unless you are rich or famous of course) I am simply saying that it can be subtly important to be seen to be driving a nice vehicle.

Why?

Because it kind of says ‘I’m good at my job’.

And that’s important because people always buy from people, and whilst word of mouth and personal recommendation is undoubtedly the best sort of promotion, it needs to be backed up by some visible, tangible evidence of success.

Not shouty, ‘in your face’ look at me stuff… rather, ‘you are safe giving me your business because I am good at what I do’.

(Although everything has a time and place).

The point is that nobody knows what you earn, but people can see what you drive. It is part of your professional image. And it’s important.

So, once you have answered all the practical and emotional questions, you will probably end up with a shortlist of a few models you think fit the bill.

You ought to now be thinking about how to get the best deal.

A word to the wise here, you should think about leveraging the fact that you are a professional person during any price negotiations.

Car dealers simply love selling to the professions.

Why?

Because you appreciate service and want to be treated accordingly. It is an ironic truth that you may not have to do as much haggling as ‘john down the street’ to get the right deal because they want to sell to you.

You are an A1 customer.

Leverage it!

Learn how to use your leverage as a professional

Some professions like the ICAEW have trade bodies that offer advantageous deals to members. If you are a member of the ICAEW, go and check it out.

Always remember, professionals are A1 customers. And cars for professional people is a big deal for car dealers and finance companies.

And have fun!

Get in touch if you need help

If you need any help with choosing or financing your new car, please get in touch with us at Tyson Cooper. ICAEW are in our Partners programme which can save you time and money on a new car.