Secretary to the Tema Car Dealers Association, Odeneho Kofi Asamoah, has advised potential car owners on how to prepare before finally making a car purchase.
He believes the foremost and most important thing one who wishes to own a car must focus on is their budget. According to him, if the potential car owner has no budget, they cannot simply walk into a car park or garage to buy a car.
With the brand, model and year of make being other essential purchase factors, he advised anyone seeking to purchase a car to note these as they also affect one’s budget, and give one a fair idea of what exactly they are looking for before entering a garage.
“Brands of cars include, Toyota, Kia, Hyundai, Honda etc. while the models also fall under these brands. For a Toyota, you have models such as the Camry, Corolla and Rav4. If you have these ideas, know how much you have and which car you want to buy then it shows you are making headway,” he stated.
With the outer body of the car being important and considering its aesthetic look, one can make a decision but that alone is not enough for an informed decision. One must also inspect the condition of the vehicle’s interior and most importantly the engine.
Engines of cars deal with a lot of technicalities and he cautioned anyone who wants to buy a car from making the decision on their own. “You have to go with an expert to check the engine of the car. Go with a mechanic to inspect the car’s engine because sometimes a car may look pretty on the outside but the engine may be rotten.”
Advising Ghanaians on things to look out for when purchasing a car on the Happy Morning Show with Samuel Eshun as part of its Automobile and Road Safety Month series throughout the months of November and December, he furthered, “You also need to consider the engine capacity of the car if you don’t want to regret it or you cannot afford fuel.”
Odeneho Kofi Asamoah counselled first-time car owners to also find out the availability of spare parts in the market and their costs.