How to pick a right car!

By Michael Park

Thinking of purchasing a car?


When it comes to purchasing a vehicle, whether it's new or used, which factor influences the most? Is it the vehicle's safety rating? Perhaps fuel economy? Maybe it's all about the price. Or you just don't care and buys a random car from an advertisement you saw on YouTube.

From my own experience, the more you know about the car, the more you will be satisfied with the decision, because you will know everything about the car and you will pick the best one.

Here are the 3 simple steps to pick a best car for you.

Vehicle choosing factor img
img of different types of cars

1. Choose a vehicle type


The main objective of this article is to help you to pick a vehicle as quickly and efficiently as possible. To make that possible, you must find the fastest way to narrow down the list, which is solved by picking the type of vehicle you want to purchase. Whether it's a small compact sedan or a full size pickup truck, there are a lot of automakers available to choose.

On average, these types are purchased by consumers:

  • Sedan
  • Coupe
  • SUV
  • Pickup trucks
  • Minivan

Each of them can be also picked by its size: Compact, Mid-size, or Full-size.

2. Rank primary factors


Safety rating. Fuel economy. Price. Overall quality. Performance. Design. Brand value. These are many of the important factors to consider when you are purchasing a car. Depends on how you prioritize these factors, your vehicle could have a highest safety rating, a best fuel economy in the segment, a best overall quality, best resale value, or a cool design.

Try to prioritize what you need in your car

  • Safety (NHTSA, IIHS)
  • Fuel Efficiency (20 km/l or 5 km/l)
  • Design (Traditional/Conservative, Futuristic, etc)
  • Overall Quality (Ok, Good, Better, Best, etc)
  • Price ($10k, $20k, $40k, $80k, etc)
  • Brand Name (Porsche, Mercedes, Toyota, etc)
  • Technology (Android Auto, Apple Car Play Touch Screen Display, etc)
  • Advanced Safety System (AEB, LKAS, ACC, etc)
  • Performance (V8 or Hybrid)
  • Cost of ownership
list image svg
Screen shot of Auto Trader

3. Start searching


Now you know the type of vehicle you want and with some minimum requirements based on the primary factors you have chosen from the list. You can now start searching based on the two previous steps.

Since going into each automaker's website is very time consuming and inefficient. It is recommended to use a general online marketplace like Auto Trader. These websites can be used to compare the vehicles you have chosen and you might find additional discounts.

From there, you should use the "advanced search" option to narrow down the vehicle selection. The option fields are almost identical to the first two steps you have taken.

Once you find the vehicle you want to purchase. you can now contact the vehicle's owner/dealer to book a test drive.

My Recommendation


Here is my recommendation on each type. They are all based on the following rank:

  1. Technology
  2. Design
  3. Overall Quality
  4. Safety
  5. Advanced Safety System
  6. Fuel Efficiency
  7. Performance
  8. Price
  9. Cost of ownership