Buyers remorse? An Aftermath of Purchasing Goods.

Buyers remorse is a sense of regret after making a purchase, normally of an expensive item such as a vehicle or house. Not only limited to such assets but that expensive pair of jeans from True Religion can have the same effects or the 55" Samsung flat screen tv.

Why do people develop a 'buyers remorse'?
The buyers remorse stems from a cognitive dissonance post a decision dissonance. After making a choice of purchasing an Audi A3 convertible and later realising that the BMW would've been a far better choice, from this one develops a sense of remorse on the decision taken. Also, finding the same looking pair of jeans at Mr Price or better styled jeans at a lower price from a different store will definitely result in a sense of regret, imagine you could've got three pair of jeans with the amount one pair cost at another store.

The roots of the buyers remorse stem from different cognitive dissonance, for example the excitement of purchasing a car will cloud your thoughts on the fact that you are actually putting yourself in debt for the coming number of months and thus why one develops a regret on the purchase. At most the remorse is caused by the fact that people will question your purchase or claim to know a better or cheaper alternative such as "you should've bought a BMW over an Audi" and this makes you doubt your purchase as well.

When do you know if you have buyers remorse?
The first sign of a buyers remorse would be questioning your own purchasing. One would have episodes of a mental discomfort caused by contrast emotions. Feelings of (listed below) will occur:

• Do I really need this car?
• I wonder if it was necessary to buy this car?
• Maybe I should've bought a cheaper car. 
• A Mercedes over a Audi would have been a better choice. 

How to over come buyers remorse. 

Buy experiences and not objects, Cornell University psychologists Rosenzweig and Gilovich looked at two types of purchases being material purchases, physical objects like computers, cars and tvs versus experimental purchases like concerts, vacations and so forth. 

Material purchases have been found to more likely lead to a buyers remorse due to them being interchangeable. Take time to think things through, ask yourself if you can afford, sustain and really need the object you are about to purchase. Use cash over credit, use a list when shopping, and draft a budget. 

Buying anything from a small object to a big purchase needs careful consideration. One must think it through, look at the pros and cons of the item about to be purchased and compare with other alternatives and search for cheaper alternatives before purchasing. Nothing is more irritating that purchasing a laptop from Incredible Connections only to later same day find out that Game had the same laptop on a sale. 

Luckily in what can be considered a free market, we have choice of returning unused items back to the store purchased within a certain number of days, resale things we don't need like or trade in the car. You might be at a loss, but its better than having a cognitive dissonance over something. 

Thanks for reading, please share and let's promote better ways to be consumers.  

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Understanding Dekra/AA

As a motorist, you've definitely heard a thing or two about Dekra Automotive and AA. But what exactly is Dekra and the association with AA? In this article I will highlight what the two subject are and how do they help you as a motorist in South Africa.

What is Dekra Automotive?
Dekra is a leading comprehensive vehicle testing network, from its establishment Dekra has grown to be known for its highest standards of quality, level of expertise from its crew and the face that once Dekra puts its name on a product the Dekra name is fully trusted.

Services Done by Dekra?
There's a variety of inspections performed by Dekra Automotive, which range from safety check, roadworthy, multi-point check and technical inspection. I will break it down how these inspections benefit you as a motorist.

1. Safety Check
The safety check is a standard procedure one does consciously or subconsciously, for example you'll check your tyre pressure, oil level check and so forth. The safety check is important to do before embarking on long journeys, short trips may affect the maintenance of a vehicle and when you go on a longer trip then you'll see the wear and tear signs.
The safety check covers 21 key areas. bringing whatever worn to attention. All personnel from Dekra are qualified and experienced. The safety check ensure a trouble free trip.

2. Multi-Point Check
This inspection is suitable for when you are buying a car, owning a car or selling your car. The Multi-point check gives better quality information on the Technical status of a vehicle. 
Whether you are a Seller or a Buyer of a used vehicle, the Dekra Multi-Point Check is the one inspection service you must have. With a Multi Point Check, a prospective buyer can purchase a vehicle with confidence, knowing what the condition of the vehicle has been checked by Dekra.

3. Technical Inspection 
Ideal time for this inspection is when you own a car, the Technical Inspection is the premium product provided by Dekra that is undertaken by a technician with years of experience providing the client with high quality, detailed and easy to read information relating to the technical and mechanical status of the vehicle. The technical inspection is a bumper to bumper one and can be used as a proactive maintenance strategy.

4. Roadworthy
Before you buy or sell a car, a roadworthy certificate is compulsory with every car in South Africa as it is unlawful to drive a road unworthy vehicle in South Africa. Dekra is the leading roadworthy test. 

To find out more info on Dekra visit: https://www.dekraauto.co.za/

First Time Used Car Buyer?

What does purchasing a used vehicle mean? It means that you buying a car that has been out on the road, you can get a used car from low to high mileage reading on the odometer. This is the best route to take when you are purchasing your first, on a low budget or whatever reason that you might have to purchase a used vehicle.

There's certain things you need to do before signing any contract on a used motor, first of all you need to look for a reputable and trustworthy dealership to do business with. There are sites that help you locate vehicles that might be on your search criteria, for example cars.co.za and autotrader.co.za help you find the exact car that you are looking for. You can search by brand, model, year, mileage or even colour. These sites are beyond helpful, you can get direct contact to the dealer that has advertised on the site.

As this is my first blog post and I've recently purchased a used Italian beauty, I will make it personal to my experience with the deal as I encountered issues and wanted to terminate the contract. I will pose questions with answers related to my situation. 

What to Know When Purchasing a Used Vehicle? First of all do research on the car that you want, this be the trade value, brand history, maintenance costs, extended warranty options available and service plans. Also, if you want to be extra about get in contact with the previous owner ask the dealer to link you with them. They will give you better insight on the car they previously owned, the salesman will sell you heaven on earth. Ask for a Dekra inspection certificate, this is to help correlate what you've heard about the car. It will show any paint work done, accidental damage history, if the car had been stolen and recovered and so forth. This will help you know what you getting yourself into. 

7-Day Return Policy? When purchasing a used vehicle you have seven days to return the car and get your money back or deal terminated. This could be due to you not liking or wanting the car anymore, within the seven day as a consumer you are well within your right to request to cancel everything  and look for whatever car you will like. If the dealer gives you issues with this, involve the bank if car is financed. You will not be liable to pay anything.

Should You Test Drive The Car? Hell Yes! Test drive the car and find your satisfaction with it. I highly advise that you speak with the dealer to give you the car to test out for a week which in many cases they will do so if you do qualify for the car. Having the car for a full week will help you identify any faults, mechanically or electronically. Faults are seen over a long drive and most test drives are just under 5km which you really can't see anything but over a long distance you will see whatever fault there is. 

Can You Cancel a Used Car Sales Agreement? Technically no, but there are grounds when you can do so. You can cancel the contract in situations where certain information was not disclosed such as correct mileage, accident history etc and the dealer was not as transparent as should've been. If the dealer made false or misleading statements about the car, you can cancel the contract within a year of when you signed the contract. Making any false, misleading or deceptive statements in order to sell a car is known as an unfair practice.

Touch up on my situation, I could not terminate the contract due to the fact that I had signed a delivery note without test driving the car. But I managed to get the dealer to fix all the faults I found in the car, with the help from the bank that financed the car for me.

For tips on purchasing a used car visit: www.standardbank.co.za/southafrica/personal/learn/tips-for-buying-a-used-car

I hope you find this article insightful.