I Call This A Lesson Learned. Save Less and Reduce Stress Purchasing A Vehicle!!!

I currently drive a 2006 Lincoln Zephyr, it's a very young, attractive luxury car and it is said to be an expensive American vehicle. I like the car, however this month I have encountered my first major problem with this car which was my headlight. I originally thought that all I had to replace was the bulb. I took my car to a neighborhood auto repair shop and from there things went down hill. First off the mechanic told me it will cost $100 for a new bulb and I was like "well damn". Unfortunately my car has "special" bulbs like projection style and I was just like OK whatever this is what I got myself into with this "luxury" vehicle. A few minutes go by and the mechanic tells me that the bulb is not working and that it would be best to take it to my dealership. I left disappointed so a couple of days later I took my car to the dealership where I bought my car from to see what they can do. The dealership ended up quoting me $420 for the bulb and the igniter ballast (something the bulb sits on to charge). My mouth dropped then. This was for only one headlight and I couldn't believe it. Now when I got this car I really didn't know what I was getting myself into at the time. Honestly, like I said it was a very attractive car and I was kind of desperate to hurry and get a new car after I totaled my last car.

The next month go by and I went back to my dealership to get the job done and  to get my headlight working again. Three hours go by and the service assistant takes a seat next to me to tell me that the pieces that they ordered (bulb and igniter) are still not working due the headlamp assembly needing to be replace. Now let me remind you that they originally stated that all I needed to do was replace the bulb and igniter which was $420. Now I was being told that I needed to replace the headlight assembly which by the way would cost $1122. At that moment I lost it. The dealership insisted that I pay for the parts( after taxes and labor $472) and plus get the headlight assembly replaced (additional $1122). I was officially over this car. I was ready yo sue my dealership for not wanting to refund me the $472 I just spent. So me, my father, and the general manager had a meeting to discuss other options because they were not willing to refund me my money. Long story short, I ended up paying an additional $190 just for them to use pieces from a used headlight assembly to install into my car. That was a total of $662 for ONE FREAKING HEADLIGHT! Thank God I have a very giving big brother who always comes to my rescue and a very giving boyfriend. I sincerely appreciate them both.

The moral of the story is, before you are ready to purchase a car here are some tips from a car owner. This is for those starving students and people who makes less than $30,000a year (Like myself).

• Avoid keeping up with the Joneses.We all want nice cars and you do deserve it especially if you work hard. But if you have other financial obligations and you're not supper rich, I just advise that you be smart about the car you choose. The BMW"S, Jags, Benz's, are all nice but you better prepare yourself for the expense of repairs. Shop based on your budget! remember that if your financing or leasing you have payments, repairs, and gas to manage. What's the point of driving a round in these nice cars if you cant afford to take care of them? Why stress yourself out?

•  DO YOUR RESEARCH!!! find a car that fits your budget as far as repairs. Now repairs on cars are usually expensive period, however you can save yourself from buying a car and the repair for 1 headlight is damn near $700 dollars. If there is a car that you are really feeling you can visit sites www.edmunds.com  to research repair cost and read reviews of people who own the car.
• Always test drive every car you are thinking of purchasing. 
• Do Not Purchase based on emotions!!!  This will hurt in the long run if you purchase a car simply because you love the way it looks. Please use my story as an example. Stay focused on general needs like: If you want low gas mileage...
•  Take it to a mechanic you can trust. Before you purchase a car always have a mechanic look it over. So they can either tell you what problems they found or if it's in great condition. My mechanic did tell me that my car was in great condition, unfortunately they could not predict a blown headlamp.
• Buying new when used will do.
• Don;t rush to buy, please take your time.
• Stick to your budget and don't let these dealerships over talk you. Be firm in want you want.          

I do hope my story and my tips give you some type of guide. As far as my car,  I am going to refinance my car every 6 months so that I can get the payoff amount down to trade it in. My credit needs some improving so I did have to play the fool in order to get this car. I'll be rounding my payments to the nearest hundredth and any extra money I get will be put towards my car so that I can get rid of it by September of next year. This has been a definite lesson learned and for my next purchase I will be prepared.

Good luck to you if you plan on purchasing a car.