Second to buying a home, purchasing a vehicle is usually the largest type of purchase you’ll make, and it is for something you’ll depend on most days, if not every single day. Needless to say, it’s a big decision, and one you’ll have to live with for a while! Whether you’re considering your next car purchase because of a big life change (like a growing family, changing job needs, or other life event), because your current car is getting too old or becoming unreliable, because you want to do your part to help our climate future in New Zealand, or whatever your reason, Hyundai New Zealand wants to help you find the right car – hopefully one from our award-winning range of vehicles – but if not, the right one for you!
With this in mind, we’ve compiled are some top ideas for considering when evaluating your next car purchase. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and if you have specific questions, always feel free to reach our to our friendly Hyundai Concierge team.
1. What Are My Must-Have and Nice-to-Have Requirements?
Buying a new vehicle is a big decision, and if possible, it is best to take your time and not rush in. Spend some time doing research, asking your trusted friends and family about their vehicle experiences, and use it to create a list of what an ideal vehicle looks like for you. The New Zealand Transport Agency offers a great list of car buying questions to think about when making this decision.
Some key questions we recommend you consider include:
Size and Number of Seats
For many car buyers, this isn’t a big deal because you’ll never need more than 5 seats. However, if you’re on the fence of passengers – whether thinking your family might grow, you have a lot of friends, or are prone to needing extra space in your vehicle, this is probably the most important aspect of consideration. If you buy a vehicle that’s the wrong size or seating capacity, it’s a hard and expensive mistake to fix.
On the flip-side, maybe going too big is going to be a daily headache. We all know how narrow our roads, streets and car park spots can be in New Zealand, so consider your daily driving needs and where you plan to navigate and park. That luxurious big SUV or fantastically practical people-mover van might be your daily ire when parking in the CBD or a narrow street and leave you wishing for a snappy, high performance small car, sedan or wagon.
Fuel Type: Electric, Hybrid, or Petrol/Diesel?
This is a defining area of criteria because it may narrow your range of options (depending on the brand). For example, at Hyundai New Zealand many of our SUVs come in both petrol (and sometimes diesel) and hybrid and even fully electric options. Your fuel type will impact operating costs of the long-run, with EV’s and Hybrids clearly having the advantage over carbon-fuel burning vehicles.
However, perhaps your needs demand the ability to quickly refuel for long-range driving and the battery technology of today just doesn’t serve your needs yet? A petrol or diesel vehicle might be required, but don’t overlook hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles because these options provide the best of both: quick fuel refills with either excellent fuel economy (for regular hybrids) or moderate fully-battery drive range supplemented by a fuel-powered engine for longer-range driving in the case of a PHEV, aka plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
Type and Size: SUV, Van, Sedan, Wagon, Performance?
Related to the size and seating question above, overall vehicle size and type is worth evaluating. The SUV is by far as the most popular passenger vehicle in New Zealand, but it’s not the only option. Maybe a spacious wagon will actually be more practical for you with its extended boot depth while still having a full second row of seating? Or perhaps you need to fit a lot of cargo for your work or life needs and a cargo-friendly load van is right for your needs?
Other Key Features That Might Matter
Last, make a list of your must-have and nice-to-have vehicle features. How important are things like:
Apple CarPlay or Android Auto
You’d think all new vehicles have this tech, but some lack it, most notably in the case of Tesla!
Heated or Cooled seats
Maybe a feature you’d never thought you would want, but once you’ve experienced the warm embrace of a pre-heated seat on a cold July morning or forget about the burn when sitting down to drive on a hot February day, you may never be able to go back.
Tip n’ Slide 3rd Row Access
Again, who needs this? Well… if you’ve ever tried to wrangle a seat open to access the 3rd row in a larger SUV perhaps grocery bags or kids in hand, you’ll definitely want to review vehicles with a simple push-button to open that pathway up.
2. What About Safety?
As with all things in life, accidents are not something we have control over, but knowing how your vehicle will handle the accident is. New cars now come with a wide variety of advanced safety features that are designed to keep you and your passengers safe and secure in the unfortunate event of a crash, fender bender, or even severe weather. Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency) have created an excellent online platform to help you understand your options when it comes to vehicle safety features.
At Hyundai New Zealand, our range of new vehicles all have the industry-leading set of safety features from Hyundai called SmartSense™ Technology. These features include things like:
Traction control systems
TCS helps your car avoid slipping on wet or icy roads.
Smart Cruise Control (aka adaptive cruise control)
SCC or ACC helps your car automatically maintain its distance when cruise control is on – if the car in front of you slows down, your car will also slow itself to maintain a safe distance.
Rear cross-traffic avoidance
Senses if a vehicle is coming while you’re backing up and may even automatically apply the brakes to avoid a collision
Lane Follow Assist (aka lane keeping)
Helps keep your car centered in the lane on the road automatically and avoid accidental drifting out of your lane
Anti-lock Braking System (aka ABS)
This is a pretty common for a while now in cars, but helps keep your brakes from locking up during emergency braking or when the road is slippery
Many Other Safety Features
There are many more – examine the full suite of safety features in Hyundai vehicles and don’t miss Waka Kotahi’s RightCar safety website.
3. What is the Warranty, but more important, What’s IN the Warranty?
Pro-tip: the number of years or range of the warranty isn’t all that matters – check your fine print carefully.
When we buy a new car, the last thing we want is for something to go wrong. But, life is unpredictable and if something goes awry with your car, having a solid warranty that actually covers you is really important. This is why having a solid understanding of the warranty’s details and policies is so important. Take the time to read through the small print, ask hard questions, and check out online reviews.
While we can’t speak to other brands’ warranty details, we can say that at Hyundai New Zealand, we stand behind every vehicle we sell with one of the most robust standard warranties in the country. While it may not have the longest number of years or kilometers, it will keep you excellently covered.
And, when evaluating warranties of other brands, look at that fine print – how much and what kinds of things are actually covered during the primary and any extended warranty period? Furthermore, simply having a long-term warranty isn’t everything. If your car is constantly in the shop getting repaired is a car you can’t drive but you’re still paying for. A longer warranty on a car that breaks a lot may be a worse situation than a shorter warranty term on a highly reliable vehicle.
4. Get Hands-on In-Person: Fit, Feel, and Drive
After you’ve conducted your research and before you make a purchase, it’s a wise idea to get hands-on with candidate cars you’re considering. Whether this is more informal such as seeing someone else’s at the car park or in a friend’s garage, at a mall pop-up or other non-traditional location, at events like Field Days, or through a visit to your local dealer, don’t skip that fit-n-feel experience.
Some things to be sure to look for in your next car when experiencing it in-person might include:
Feel and sit
Literally, what does it feel like when you sit down in the driver’s seat, grip the wheel, and look around in the car. Think about:
- Do you like how the seat feels?
- Will you want to sit in it all day on a long drive, or hop in and out as you’re running around town?
- Does it feel roomy and open, or small and claustrophobic?
- Do the seat adjustments work for you?
- Don’t forget to sit in the passenger seat and the back seat(s) too so you have a sense of what it’s like for your passengers (sometimes this makes or breaks a car for your needs!).
Controls, Screens and Technology
While all the fancy tech is great in new vehicles, not all is created equal. Think about these aspects of controls and tech:
- Do you like how the car’s infotainment screen works?
- Is it easy for you to use?
- Is the instrument panel easy to understand?
- Are the shifting, signal, wiper, light and other controls intuitive?
Style and color
First, do you love how the car looks? While maybe less critical for many purchases, if you walk out the door every morning and look at your car and think “I just hate how that thing looks,” it’s probably not the car for you.
Second to overall style, color may matter a lot to you. Be sure to check out all the color options for the vehicle you’re considering and don’t be shy to ask about options if your preferred color isn’t immediately available.
The latest range of Hyundai vehicles come in sharp new styles and a wide array of colors. Check them out in our easy to use vehicle build and price tool, or request a brochure for any vehicle you’re considering.
5. Last but not Least, What Will it Cost?
Find Fit First, Validate Affordability Second
While the price is of ultimate concern, we’ve intentionally listed this one last. Why? Because figuring out what you really want and need in your next car purchase is a worthwhile exercise before shopping on price. Once you’ve defined what you need and want in your next car, you do need to validate affordability.
Cheaper Might be a Very Expensive Mistake
However, starting with price may leave you settling for a car that seems more affordable but is an expensive mistake you’ll hate every day, while a car you’d have loved owning may have been overlooked and been just as affordable.
Here are some key points to consider when evaluating price and cost of your next vehicle
Affordability vs. Price
Think about affordability not just price. The sticker isn’t the only part of price in a car purchase deal.
Total Cost of Ownership
Consider the total cost: on-road costs and whether you’ll have a trade-in, be eligible for rebates or other incentives, and what finance option you may need. A “cheaper” car may end up costing you more if you get a low trade-in value and a high interest rate on your payment.
Purchase price isn’t the only cost – ownership costs like fuel vs. charging an EV, costs of repairs once you’re out of warranty and/or cost of lost time if your vehicle has a lot of breakdowns (even if covered by a warranty) all have costs.
There is a useful website called GenLess made by the NZ Gov’t that has a handy total cost of ownership calculator for vehicles.
Look for a Deal
Is there a deal to be found? Often there are ways to get the car you really want by looking for special offers or deals. Maybe that means settling for a quality used vehicle, or waiting to snag a demonstrator on clearance, or finding some other special offer or incentive program. If you’re the patient type, at Hyundai New Zealand you can even register your future interest and be the first to know when new car deals are about to be announced.
Price/Cost vs. Time
If comparing between two models and/or brands, consider the weekly or monthly price difference in the context of the entire deal. How much is that comfortable seat vs. the one that you’ll regret every kilometer while driving to Taupo. Or your preferred color? Get creative in thinking about it: often the all-in difference comes down to a few dollars per week. Maybe think in terms of cost per K driven, or per cold morning heading out to work.
The goal here should be landing in a spot where you’ll love your car purchase every day for years, whether you buy a cheaper or more expensive vehicle. If the price difference is $10 a week and you’re deciding between a car with heated and cooled seats vs. one without, think about sitting into a perfectly adjusted seat on cold or hot days each day as you head to work. Would it be worth $2 for that bit of comfort? It’s a privileged problem for sure, but either option is a big purchase, so at least be as clear with yourself as possible when making the decision.
Future Value / Depreciation Cost
When you’re done with this car and ready for a new one, how well will it have held its value over time? Numbers will vary, but it’s worth researching, or taking advantage of a program like Hyundai New Zealand’s Assured Future Value program.
We know that our vehicles aren’t always the cheapest out there compared to similar size and style of Cars, SUVs, Vans, Wagons and Sedans in New Zealand. However, premium quality may be worth a bit more investment. We strive to make this as clear as possible for you, which is why we’ve created a vehicle build and price platform where you can customize options on any of our vehicles and get an online price quote with the option to save it for future consideration or start a conversation when you’re ready to test drive or move forward on a purchase.
Thanks for reading and we wish you best of success on your vehicle buying journey!