It is that time of year again, a time when many people are getting a little chunk of change back from the IRS with their tax return. While some people see this money as a little extra to do something fun, others will try to use it to pay off bills or make a large purchase they have been holding off on. It is possible to get the best of both worlds if you decide to invest that money into getting a new car.
Spending Your Tax Refund on a Used Car
While it is unlikely that you will get a tax refund back that would be large enough to purchase a brand new car, there are many nice pre-owned vehicles you can purchase outright, depending on the vehicle and the amount of your tax return. This is a great option if you aren’t looking to add a monthly payment to your budget.
So Many Tax Returns, So Few Cars
Surveys show that one-third of drivers will spend their tax refund on a car-related purchase. This throws off the supply and demand for used cars. Because of this, you will need to be even more diligent about what car you purchase because you may run into an issue where there are not many choices to pick from. There are great resources for buyers of used cars now, such as
Carfax and
AutoCheck, sites that allow you to review the history of a vehicle. If you want to find out the true value of a car,
Kelley Blue Book has a great website that allows you to enter in the vehicle information, and find out what the fair market price for the car is.
Safety Should Come First
While style and price are very important when you are making a large purchase, safety should always come first. There are a few great resources online that will allow you to look up the safety rating for a vehicle based on the make, model, and year. The
IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) will show you the specific crashworthiness rating for vehicles up to 10 years old. This is a great feature because if a 2018 model year vehicle has top safety ratings, a 2008 vehicle of the same make and model may have completely different crash ratings. You can get similar information from the
NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) website.
How MyAirbags Can Help
There are many safety systems in your car that need regular maintenance or that need to be
reset after a crash. If a vehicle was in a minor accident, it is possible that the wreck was not reported and will not show up on a vehicle history report. This is why it is a good idea to check the engine control unit, the
airbag module, and the
seat belts. Luckily, if one of these systems needs to be repaired or reset, it can be done very inexpensively with the
mail in repair service offered by MyAirbags.
Contact MyAirbags
If you find damage to your
vehicle’s seat belts or other safety features, it’s important to get them fixed as quickly as possible for insurance and safety reasons. MyAirbags can help you diagnose and refurbish your damaged parts for a fraction of the cost that other auto-shops charge.