Car insurance guide - understanding your needs

As you're starting the car buying journey, we want you to feel confident about the steps you need to take and relaxed about the whole process. So we've gone to the experts - Whatcar? - and we're featuring pages of help and advice from them right here for you.

We'd also like to try and save you some time and money on your car insurance. So, while you're here, get an online car insurance quote and find out how much you could save.

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Understanding your needs

Thinking about what you need from your next car will help you avoid ending up with a roadster when an MPV is really the order of the day. Use Help me choose a car if you need more help in pinpointing some suitable cars, but always consider:

How much cabin space do you need? Do you ever actually use the rear seats or would even a five-seat compact MPV be too small to cope with your family plans?
Do you need a lot of boot space or will the car only ever be used for the weekly shop? If you carry lots kit around, you’ll benefit from added room.
What sort of journeys will you make? A tiny runabout is great if you just need to buzz around town but, if you take to the motorways often, a little more power and comfort would be welcome.
How many miles will you cover? The more miles you do, the more likely it is you’ll be able to pay off the added cost of a diesel and start saving cash.
Is outright performance important to you? Would you spend the next three years kicking yourself if you got a 1.6 instead of that 2.0-litre?
Is safety the top priority? Do you want the best Euro NCAP score and as many airbags as possible?
Whatcar.com has more than 1000 new and used cars reviews online now, from the smallest and cheapest to the fastest, biggest and most expensive.