Choose a car
Which body type and class suit your daily routes, your household and the parking space you have — explained through real-life needs rather than brands.
your new car: from the showroom to the first service
Your new car: from the showroom to the first service
Buying a new car takes several weeks and involves a dozen decisions: which body type you really need, what to check on the test drive, which lines of the contract to read twice, how to take delivery, and not forgetting registration and insurance. This guide walks you through it step by step — with no advertising, brands or prices.
A new car starts not with the keys but with a carefully read contract and an unhurried inspection in daylight.
Where to start
Contract and handover
What to read in the contract before signing, how to tell useful extras from ones pushed on you, and what to look at when the car is handed over.
Registration and insurance
In Russia: how many days you have to register with the traffic police, why you cannot drive without an OSAGO policy and what an electronic vehicle passport is.
The first year
Running-in according to the owner's manual, the service book, the first scheduled service and the first seasonal tyre change.
Guide sections
- Body types
Saloon, hatchback, estate, crossover, MPV or pickup: which body type and class suit your journeys and your family.
- First months
The first months with a new car: running-in by the manual, the service book, preparing for the first service and seasonal tyres.
- Buying
What to do before signing the contract, which add-ons you can turn down and how to take delivery of the car without rushing.
- Faults
Minor niggles on a new car: odd noises, warning lights, a weak battery, steering wheel vibration and the new-car smell.
- Reviews
Reviews of decisions, not brands: manual or automatic, engine type, finance or savings, optional extras, plus an article catalogue.
- Safety
Airbags, ABS, ESP and driver assistance systems, child seats and the first winter journeys in a new car.
- Questions
Answers to common questions about this guide, the paperwork when buying and the first year of owning a new car.
Buying a new car in five steps
Describe your needs in your own words
Before browsing brochures, write down how you will actually drive: how many people are usually on board, what goes in the boot, where the car is parked overnight, whether you ever use unpaved roads. Then set a budget for the whole purchase — including insurance, a second set of tyres and the first service.
Take a test drive
Assess the driving position and visibility, how comfortable the seat and steering wheel are, how the gearbox behaves in city traffic and how noisy it gets on rough tarmac. Try reversing into a space and folding the rear seats — these are things you will do every day.
Read the contract and the list of extras
Check the trim level, colour, delivery date and payment terms in the contract. If accessories or additional services are offered with the car, ask for a separate written list and decide on each item individually rather than as a package.
Take delivery of the car and documents
Inspect the car in daylight, compare the VIN with the paperwork, check the mileage and make sure the electrics work. Sign the handover certificate only after the inspection, and write every issue you find into it.
Register the car and arrange insurance
In Russia you need an OSAGO policy (Russia's compulsory motor third-party liability insurance) before your very first drive, and the new owner must register the car with the State Traffic Inspectorate within ten days of purchase. Other countries have their own registration and insurance rules.
The essentials in brief
Are you a dealer or a showroom?
No. Bor Avto is an independent guide. We do not sell cars, take enquiries or arrange test drives, and we do not represent any seller or manufacturer.
Can you recommend a brand or a dealer?
No, and that is a deliberate rule. Instead of names we give criteria: how to define your needs, what to compare between options and which questions to ask the seller so you can choose for yourself.
Do I have to have the car serviced by the dealer?
It depends on the warranty terms set by the specific manufacturer. Open the service book and the warranty terms: they state who is allowed to carry out servicing, which intervals and materials are required and how the work is recorded.
What should I do if I find a defect?
Record it: photos, video, date, mileage and the conditions in which it appears. Then send the seller a written complaint. Under Russian law a car counts as a technically complex product, so before making demands read Article 18 of the Russian Consumer Protection Law and your contract. Other countries have their own consumer rules.
About the project
This domain used to host the website of a car company, and later its pages were used by unrelated advertising. This guide has no connection with that company or that advertising — all we kept from the domain is the name.
Bor Avto is written for people buying a new car for the first time or after a long break. We rely on laws, owner's manuals and service books, and where manufacturers' rules differ we say so honestly: check your own car's documents.
Read next
- Buying
What to do before signing the contract, which add-ons you can turn down and how to take delivery of the car without rushing.
- First months
The first months with a new car: running-in by the manual, the service book, preparing for the first service and seasonal tyres.
- Faults
Minor niggles on a new car: odd noises, warning lights, a weak battery, steering wheel vibration and the new-car smell.
Sources
- Russian Federation Law on Consumer Protection
- Russian Federal Law No. 40-FZ on Compulsory Motor Third-Party Liability Insurance (OSAGO)
- Rules for vehicle registration with the Russian State Traffic Inspectorate (general provisions)
- Vehicle owner's manual and service book (general provisions)
Information on laws and regulations reflects the versions in force when the material was prepared. Rules change over time, and every manufacturer sets its own warranty and service terms, so before any important decision check the current texts, your contract and your vehicle's documents.