Researching and finding a car to buy can not only take up a lot of time, but it can also be stressful and expensive. Now that I have a young family, I have to be even more efficient with my time, so in this post, I’m going to share with you in detail how Richard from My Next Car Buying Advocacy found our family the perfect car in a matter of days! As well as saving us a lot of time and money.
A bit of background first
We never got around to upgrading our car after selling it some time ago. Maybe it’s because we’re spoiled to have one of the world’s best public transport right at our doorstep! The other thing was that it was cheaper for us to travel by plane than owning a car.
But now with little kids, I wouldn’t dream of catching public transport for most of our travel needs and combining this with COVID we’re not interested in being around people.
After deciding, we needed a car, we had our hearts and minds set on a particular type that my mother used to own. BUT when you put two kids into the mix, you suddenly realise you need more legroom, more space in the back and of course more storage. After researching for several hours, I was left super frustrated and annoyed at the lack of help from speaking to two pretty useless salespeople from two high-end dealerships. I also wasted a lot of time sending numerous messages to private sellers via Carsales.
After having zero luck and a crap experience so early on, my friend suggested I try an expert who could buy a car on my behalf and take care of the entire process – I thought what a bloody brilliant idea! We happily engage with experts to purchase our investments, so why wouldn’t I do the same when it came to buying one of the most expensive items in our lives.
Introducing Richard from My Next Car Buying Advocacy
After reading his remarkable testimonials on his website and on Google – I thought I have to give Richard from My Next Car Buying Advocacy a call. The first question I asked him was if he had ever dealt with an unhappy customer. His reply was that he never had, in his years of doing this, had one single person even remotely dissatisfied with his service. He won us over, and the process of finding and buying our next car began.
Richard offers three packages that ultimately help you to decide:
-Which car is best suited to your needs, not necessarily which one you want
-Which car is going to be the best for your budget, not the cheapest, and
-Which car is likely to hold its value when you decide to sell it.
After an initial 30-minute chat, we received a comprehensive questionnaire to answer before our next 1.5-hour consult. During this consultation, Richard took every opportunity to understand who we were as individuals. He also wanted to know what we liked and disliked, what we needed in a car, why we needed a car and what was our absolutely maximum budget (including all on-road costs). We also had the chance to share anything else that the questionnaire didn’t address. I felt 100% confident by the end of this meeting that Richard completely understood our needs, desires and wants – he was brilliant!
It turns out the car we initially had our hearts set on, was not what we needed by a long shot.
Happy with his comments, we were open to seeing what suggestions he would present. He went away and came back a week later with a very interesting spreadsheet that included different car brands and models currently on the market to review.
The research and findings
The objective of the findings presented in the spreadsheet allowed us to easily compare each car against a specific set of criteria. It was a seamless experience, and I enjoyed analysing the data. You could see using actual facts and figures (not emotions) what the best car was for our needs and budget.
After we agreed on the model and type of car from the spreadsheet, Richard went off a second time to do further research that would narrow down the options even further based on the exact model and type of car we chose. He was on the hunt to find the BEST car for us. Richard came back with a winner and rang the seller the next day to go through a list of specific questions. Richard’s approach is to make sure the car listed is what it says it is. It’s an opportunity to find out the reason for the sale and a bit about the seller. He explained in some instances despite thinking the car was the best choice, he walked away from the sale because the person wasn’t who they appeared to be.
If Richard was impressed with the answers given by the seller, the next step would be to inspect the car in person. During the inspection he called and gave us his opinion – it was the one! So, he put a deposit on our behalf, did all of the negotiations, contract signing etc. It was as black and white and as easy as that. I didn’t have to lift a finger.
Negotiating
Richard negotiated the best price based on what he felt was fair. He also made sure the service of the car was obviously up to date, and everything was in order, even cross-checking certain things with the dealership. Besides the roadworthy, he would also do an additional check to eliminate as much of the risk as possible. After all, we bought the car from a private seller and not a dealership.
When you understand the risks involved in buying a car at this price point (either from a dealership or a private seller), you appreciate that you do need to have a certain level of expertise and standards to make sure the risk is reduced. If not, you bear the cost of those mistakes, and as a young family, we can’t afford that.
After the deposit was paid and the sale was finalised, we had found a car that never crossed our minds but turned out to be the absolute best car for our needs thanks to Richard. We were over the moon with his suggestion and were delighted to meet with him when we finally picked up the car and handed over the cheque. Richard had all the relevant paperwork and contracts printed out and pre-filled for both parties. I also very much appreciated the fact he gave us a detailed rundown of the features in person before we drove off. He really put every effort to have us walk away with a world-class experience.
Final verdict
I will definitely without a doubt use Richard and the services of My Next Car Buying Advocacy again for every single car purchase in future. Hands down this was one of the most straightforward, stress-free and fastest thing we have done with regards to finding and buying a car.
If you have any questions at all, feel free to leave your comments below.
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