Is the Honda Civic a 4 star car or a 3 star car? What's the difference between 3 and 4 stars? Leather seats? Cool cup holder? Smoother ride? How many stars would it have if it came with a valet who cleaned your interior and put away your groceries?
It's hard to tell what a star review really means when doing online automotive shopping. Each website has its own rating system and criteria. They also have their own lean or perspective toward things. When using an auto website, make sure you understand the site and it provides you with useful information.
Know the Sponsor
Car review sites all have one thing in common. Someone is paying for them. By knowing the sponsor of the website you'll be able to understand its slant or focus. If you are looking for a car with status and sex appeal, you may not choose to use the car review site at Consumerreports. Sponsored by the magazine of the same name, safety and economy are the two measuring high points of their review system. Similarly, if you want the best vehicle to use to transport your son's t-ball team to practice, you wouldn't necessarily take the point of view from the guys at Rodandcustommagazine websites. Every reputable site discloses its owner and manager. Pick a site run by your type of sponsor.
Know the Rater
Different websites use a variety of ways to come up with the rating system. Some use specialists or automobile designers to test the car. Others use survey results from drivers who volunteer their time to take the car out and give it a spin. Edmunds website uses consumers who have purchased the car to rate it. While it may seem prudent to get the opinion of someone who knows the car well enough to buy it and use it in everyday life, there is also a drawback. If you just bought a $60,000 BMW, would you really get online and say it wasn't any good? Someone with a specialty in automotive mechanics and safety statistics should really make the call.
Know where you are in the process
If you're just dreaming about the car you may own someday when your lottery numbers match, a car review site with pictures of the vehicle cruising down some pretty highway is just fine. However, when you're ready to grab your checkbook, secure some finance and pick up some keys, its better to choose websites that offer a host of options such as financing calculators, actual pictures of the interior and exterior of the car, and mileage and safety test figures. The other feature handy when you are serious about purchasing the automobile is comparative shopping.
By looking at one car in your price range, many sites will also pull up other cars in a similar range for you to compare gas mileage, seat capacity, and those cup holders.
Going through different car review sites can be a great way to spend a veg-out evening. But when its time to make a critical decision about what automobile you are going to invest in, make sure you find the site that best serves your needs and sensibilities so you don't get lost in the stars.
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