Buying a Car Is More Stressful Than Saying ‘I Do’

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Car shopping is stressful.

While that’s likely no surprise to you, this may be: Americans think the process of shopping for and purchasing a vehicle is more stressful than getting married. That’s according to a recent Car Week survey by Edmunds.com.

Carroll Lachnit, consumer advice editor at Edmunds, told MarketWatch:

Maybe they’re thinking that at least when you’re getting married, there’s a party and a honeymoon at the end of some weeks of anxiety. But with car shopping, sometimes you get variable experiences and sometimes car shopping doesn’t always go that well.

Lachnit said car shopping doesn’t have to be stressful. She provided the following car shopping tips to MarketWatch.

  • Do your homework. Research the vehicles you’re interested in, she said. Spend time to get familiar with your potential purchase. The Edmunds.com Car Week survey found that people will try on as many pairs of shoes as they take cars for test drives, even though a vehicle is the second most expensive purchase of most people’s lives.
  • Harness the power of the Internet. Lachnit said people can complete about 75 percent of the work associated with car shopping by using the Internet. But don’t be fooled into thinking that everything can be done online. Lachnit said it’s important to test drive a vehicle because there’s no virtual substitute for sitting behind the wheel and getting a feel for the car and how it handles.

The Edmunds.com Car Week survey also revealed these interesting tidbits:

  • I’ll share that arm rest. One-third of Americans surveyed said they’d sooner sit in the middle seat on an airplane than car shop.
  • Time in the bedroom. One in five people said they’d gladly give up sex for one month if it meant they could avoid haggling over the price of a car. In fact, just 20 percent of car shoppers consider themselves “extreme price grinders” when it comes to trying to get the lowest possible price on a vehicle, Edmunds.com said.

Do the results of this survey surprise you? Do you have any tips to make car shopping a little less stressful? Share your thoughts below or on our Facebook page.

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