Newer vehicles can offer excellent safety features, like stability control, emergency braking and blind spot monitoring, but your budget may be restrictive. A good rule of thumb is to buy as much safety as you can afford.
If budget allows, a driver who’s navigating to sporting events away from home may want telematics, which can track your location and keep you connected to a central dispatch. Smartphone integration also allows drivers to connect map apps and respond to calls and texts by voice instead of looking down at their phones.
To best learn how safe a vehicle is, review safety ratings specific to the make, model, and year of the car you’re interested in buying.
Having trouble fitting the safety features you want into your budget? One way to make car-buying more budget-friendly is to take on a loan with a longer repayment term, which means lower monthly payments. Just note that this will mean paying a lot more in interest over time.
