Choice and purchase of a car is a quite difficult problem: first, it demands certain expenses, and second, you have to define your requirements to the characteristics, a level of safety and comfort, and, certainly, car class. You may have your preferences in favour of this or that mark, but do not forget, that you’ll have to pay the corresponding price for the famous brand.

Color and body

Choice of car color depends of course on your private tastes. Tastes are different, but from the point of view of safety it is better to buy a yellow, red or white car. Such cars are clearly visible on the road in the night, and according to the statistics they rarely have accidents. Besides these cars are less heated on the sun, i.e. in summer it will be not so hot inside (but it does not mean, that it is not necessary to hide a car in a shadow on parking). But buyers of these cars should clean them properly, all dirtiness is visible on a light background. Those who prefer dark colors, should necessarily protect their cars from the sun and to wipe them carefully after washing, because dried up drops are visible. An optimum variant is a light brown car, which may be not so popular, but cars of such colors are seldom stolen.

The choice of a body depends on the car function. For daily work and home trips the sedan is quite appropriate. The class of the car - from an average up to elite - depends on your requirements to a level of comfort. Station wagon and minivan are considered to be family cars. Though lately, small city jeeps were also put in this category. Car has to be big enough for family travels. For trips on the nature, where roads are not so good, it is recommended to take jeeps (real ones, instead of so-called "parquet").

Engine

The choice of the engine is based on such issues as capacity, fuel consumption, dynamics of acceleration and, eventually, a fuel.

For small cars the figure up to 150 horse-powers is acceptable, for sedans it is enough to have about 200 horse-powers and if you need a more powerful engine, don’t forget that it costs more. Additional power not only influences the maximal speed, but also acceleration dynamics. It is necessary for a bigger confidence at overtaking. But with power increase the fuel consumption will also increase, and it is necessary to find a golden middle "power/profitability". In fact you are going to spend a lot of money on fuel, as well as on services. Therefore it is necessary to think about a kind of fuel. It isn’t very difficult to count how much you’ll approximately spent on petrol or diesel with equal powers, but it may be important. You should also consider that diesel engines, besides being economic, are also long living. Though in winter these engines can cause many problems, very often it is difficult to start them. Another disadvantage is a higher noise level in comparison with petrol engines. The advantage of petrol engines is in their working power, i.e. such cars are more dynamic.

Transmission

Transmission is intended for smaller fuel consumption, rises and reverse.

Mechanical (or manual) transmission is already a classical one, it includes from four up to six gears. For gear switching the cohesion pedal is used, that is habitual for skilled drivers. The car may be operated more carefully with it, than with an automatic transmission. The more gears the better: every gear corresponds to the certain speed (switching intervals differ for different cars).

The automatic transmission is easier for operating: there is no cohesion pedal that saves you from constant pressing. On such cars it is easier to get started, to move in the busy city. The only minus is a bigger fuel consumption in comparison with mechanical transmission car. And in acceleration the difference is insignificant. The difficulty with automatic transmission is only in repair, but they are quite long living.

Type of drive

The front drive means that the front wheels are leading, i.e. turn due to the engine. Such car is better controlled on the road and quickly reacts to steering.

The back drive is more reliable and is checked by time. But, unfortunately, it leads to the power loss because of the turning moment transfer from the engine by means of additional mechanisms. It will also be an additional source of noise and breakages. The disadvantage of this type of drive is in a bad controllability on slippery road, back part of the car can be drifted.

Servicing

At a full drive all four wheels are set in motion by means of the engine. The car has a better maneuverability and stability on the road. Minuses are only in expensive service and the increased fuel consumption. Besides, such car requires a certain driving experience. If the car drifts, it becomes almost uncontrollable.

Maintenance

One more factor influencing a choice of the car is warranty service. Producers offer up to six years of a guarantee irrespective of run, but it is necessary to pass checkup after a certain run.

Japanese producers offer the best conditions, some of them offer six years of a guarantee. Besides, Japanese cars have proved an excellent quality. But it is necessary to pass through the obligatory servicing every 15 thousand kilometers of run. European cars do not have such a long guarantee period, but the service for some marks can cost twice cheaper.

Considering the conditions of warranty service it is possible to count the approximate spendings, additional to the car cost.

In conclusion, we would like to add, that though already in a standard bundling many producers offer a conditioner, an audio system, safety pillows and many other things, it is desirable to have other additional options. And, if they are not present and your requirements to comfort are high enough, then you’ll have to pay an additional sum of money for a fuller bundling, especially, for means of active security. Unfortunately, domestic producers are not always, even for an additional payment, able to give a corresponding bundling (however, the conditioner is frequently an additional option too). Plus plan to spend about 10 % from the car cost on additional expenses. Using the basic criteria, you can make a correct choice!