How to Pick the Perfect Car For Your Family

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Capital One and Collectively, Inc. All opinions are entirely my own.

Families make a lot of decisions together. What to have for dinner, which movie to see, what neighborhood to live in, what car to buy and the list goes on and on. Some of these decisions are pretty simple and others can be pretty stressful.

Take buying a car for your family; it can go from an exciting to frustrating time in a matter of hours. No fun at all and who needs the extra stress? I know I don’t and I am sure you don’t either! But I have good news. Picking the perfect car for your family doesn’t have to be stress inducing. It can be a fun and exciting time for the whole family when you keep these five tips in mind.

1. Slow down and take your time. Do not rush out to a dealership on the day you decide it’s time to buy a new family car. After all, this car is going to be the newest member of your family. It’s going to come to your house, sleep on the couch and eat up all your food. Okay, okay I’m kidding….. but it does mean that it’s going to be with you for a very long time and everybody in the house should love it. Don’t overwhelm yourself on day one. Go at a comfortable pace.

2. Don’t have caviar taste on a tuna fish budget. The first thing you should do is decide on a budget and stick to it. Don’t look at cars above your budget because you will probably be tempted to spend more and regret it later. Be realistic when setting your budget, being sure that you are spending within your means. You can and will find a car in your budget that you fall in love with so stay strong and don’t falter on your decision.

3. Choose your “Must Haves”. Just like a functional but stylish wardrobe, the perfect car for your family will have some necessities. Before doing any car shopping, decide on what those are. Is the car going to be new or used? How many passengers should it be able to fit? Is satellite radio a must? What safety features should it have? What makes and models are a good fit and which are totally out of the question? Is there a color that everyone in the family loves? These are all necessary things that can be discussed and decided on as a family and will prevent some potentially stressful moments.

4. Stay home and relax. I remember being a kid and going car shopping with my parents. They were undecided, so they dragged me around with them to a bunch of different dealerships. There was bickering from them, and grumpiness from me and the whole day ended up ruined.

Thankfully, these days we can do virtually all of our research online. So grab a cup of tea or a glass of wine and some snacks for the kids, call a family meeting, get online and decide on the perfect car together. You can compare everything from colors to interiors online and get a great feel for each car you look at.

5. Here’s a tip that you’re going to thank me for! You can simplify the entire process just like we did, by using Capital One’s Auto Navigator®. You can find out in minutes if you pre-qualify for auto financing – with no risk to your credit score. Check out your financing options by looking at different term lengths, vehicles, and prices. The Capital One Auto Navigator® site will show your estimated monthly payment and APR on the cars you choose and lets you search over 12,000 dealerships’ inventory by make, model, price and more.

With the Capital One Auto Navigator®, you can find your dream car from the comfort of your home or while you are out and about on your mobile device, then walk into the dealership with financing in hand and take that baby for a test drive. Talk about stress-free, right? The Capital One Auto Navigator® site saved my sanity when we bought our family car, and it can save yours too. You can check it out for yourself by clicking HERE.

Have you been stressed out or overwhelmed when picking the perfect car for your family? Are you in the market for a car and ready to take advantage of the Capital One Auto Navigator® site’s free suite of tools to make car buying easier? I would love it if you shared with me in the comments below.