Make These Safety Checks Before You Buy a New Car
There’s nothing more magnificent than the look of that shiny new car brought home to sit in your driveway!
It doesn’t matter if you’re a six-foot-six guy wearing a wife beater or a little old lady with blue hair—when you’re gazing out at that sweet, beautiful piece of machinery, you feel positively glamorous.
So how do you choose the car that’s safest for you?
Before you even arrive at the showroom, you’ve watched seductive television ads. You’ve researched your car on the internet and viewed it in all its pristine glory. At the showroom, the salesman tells you everything you want to hear: He’s not selling you a car; he’s matching you up with a lifestyle!
But no matter why you like a car, at some point, you must compare its safety features with those of similar models.
How does the car fit you? Can you get in and out easily? Try to move the seats forward and backward. Find the tilt-adjustment levers. Check to see if the steering wheel adjusts or not. How well do the mirrors serve you considering your height?
If you use children’s booster seats or car seats, transfer them from your car to the one you’re considering. Do the same with pet carriers if you routinely transport your pet as well as luggage or cargo you normally haul around. Because if you can’t fasten things in easily, then on days when you’re in a hurry you’re likely to cut corners. You might have to leave your mother-in-law sitting in the back seat for days.
Ask your sales person to arrange a test drive. Tell him you want to drive to a local park or a place with a large, empty lot. Once there, try sudden stops. How do the brakes work? Does it corner well? Listen to the car. Does it squeal, whine, chirp, or rattle? Listen to the noise of the gears shifting.
- You’ll read a lot about crumple zones if you’re doing your research. Basically this refers to a part of the car engineered to crumple upon impact so that the energy of the crash has a smaller effect on anyone inside the vehicle.
- Look for at least four airbags, and many cars offer six these days—two each of the front airbags, side impact bags, and side-curtain airbags.
- Only some cars offer electronic stability control (ESC); only some offer an automatic braking system (ABS).
- Pickup trucks or vans have a higher center of balance, so look for a feature that promises stability control to avoid rollover.
- Some larger vehicles have a reverse sensing system or camera.
- Some models have collapsible steering wheels.
- Voice activation for music and phone might seem like a vanity option, but it guarantees hands-free control of personal electronics. It might be worth the money.
Most car manufacturers’ websites allow you to choose a car, and then click on a tab to view its safety features. Many allow you to choose one of their cars and compare it with other vehicles, but once you choose the first car they select which competitors’ cars will be used for the comparison.
In the end, you must choose the safety features that fit your lifestyle and wallet. You’ll be living with your decisions for a long time!
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Filed under: Safety
I am looking for a car in these days and have chosen one. It’s Opel. Now I am going to reconsider it having all safety options in mind. Thanks for sharing a very useful post.
Thanks for sharing all those tips but I think not all of vehicle manufacturers always offer those. Perhaps they include a few of them according to their editions. I always search over internet to know all the features which are being provided by manufacturers.
wow, thank u so much. I will soon get a car. These are all useful information. Thanks again~
I really think that more than any other personal factors in choosing the best car, the issue of its being an eco-friendly vehicle must really prevail. There’s nothing worse than having a really awesome car that’s personalized to your liking but doesn’t have a road to run on since all places are covered with flood brought about by the melted glaciers from the arctic. So, let’s rethink and focus, guys. Environment first. Let’s be some sort of socialist about this.