The Washington times., 1916-03-04
Before You Buy a Car
Figure 1t Out This Way
Prospective Owner Should First Ask, "How Much
Can Afford for the Carp" and "How Much
for Its Upkeep?"

Buying a car is generally a COM
promise between a mans pocketoook
and his ideal. Nearly always the ideal
Is wrong and the pocketbook right
for reasons wSjch a little thought
will render obvious. In other words.
Ii q man makes a clean sweep or his
bankroll In buying a car ani has his
eyes shut to the other factors In
making a purchase, the chances are
that he wsf1l make a mistake that Will
be more costly than the FIRST payment.
There is a logical method to follow
in selecting a car and one that VIII
entirely eliminate the chances OF Sc
curing a vehicle which Will either.
FIRST. cost too much in the first place;
second, cost too much to run, or. third,
will prove to be generally unsuitable
for the purposes to which 1t Is to be
put
The proper car for a man with an
income Of S2,5Oo per annum and seven
children is not the same as that for
the single youth with a $4,000 allow
ance, with no one to support but
bulldog
Before ever venturing into the lair
OF the persuasive salesman your ar
mament must be prepared. In the
quiet OF your own domicile sit down
with pencil and paper ana collect
your thoughts by concentrating on
the following:
First. How much can / reasonably
afford to spend for a car?
Second. How much can afford to
spend for the maintenance OF this
machine?
First Two Factors.
These are the first two factors After
the germ OF car-desire has bitten the
prospective purchaser In some vital
SPOT, he will not lack ror reasons as
to why he should nave car. The
reasons that spring up. howeveS.
should bs snelved until these two
| questions are answered definitely.
IL would at first seem difficult for
the average person who has made
bur a casual inquiry into prices, ETC..
to answer either of these questions.
| The fact CT the matter iy that the
| less the prospective buyer has looked
| into thc matter the better IL VIII De
| Ia gcL these questions out CT the way
| Immediately. The automobile indus-
| try is on such plane at the present
time that over the entire price range
| there is such a choice of cars that
man may spend anywhere from Wv"
| to $4,000 on a car and have Wlue
range of specifications to choose from.
| The second figure. on upkeep, VIII
Idcpend whether or not the Intending
buyer Is a city dweller or country
dweller, whether he intends to keep
chauffeur or drive himself and also
| the mileage he intends to travel. ~
any rate the second figure should be
! about somewhat higher than what Is
figured for actual cost, to take care
| OF the incidentals which may come
up.
Stick BY Your Decision. -
IIaving carefully determined the
purchase price which is correct and
then resolutely made up his mind to
stick firmly by his decision. the cal
buyer should carefully consider the
features that he wants In car. These
| features must be selected from among
the following. Speed, capacity, ma
ture of country to be driven IN
amount of usage expected per day
number of passengers to be carried
on tho average trip, seasons OF th'
| year car Is to he used, kind OF trips
to be taken, ard who is to drive.
If a car Is desired for medium speeds
as will be the case in the vast majority
of instances, IL does not mean that this
car will not at times be able to run Al
high speeds. For medium speeds, how
ever, where twenty-five miles an houl
will be the average running rate in th'
open country. any of the stock tourinl
models will I'll the bill. For high speed
where the fast work will be sustained
the purchaser will probably need high
er gear ratio, and instead OF cal
geared around 4 or ~ to | car with
alto OF 3 to will he selected.
by the expression capacity Is mean
the load-carrying ability. II car II
wanted where several persons can pil'
in at unexpected moments. a seven-pas
senger body will be desirable. II, on thu
other hand, 1t is known that the LOAF
will always be certain amount, II Il
far more economical to purchase a ca