If you just recently had a baby, or expanded your family through marriage, it may be time for you to start looking into purchasing your first family vehicle. Here are three things that you should take into consideration when purchasing your very first family vehicle.

#1 Safety

One of the first thing that you want to keep in mind when looking for a family vehicle is safety. You want to purchase a vehicle that has high safety ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, IIHS, which runs crash safety ratings tests, as well as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA. You want to make sure that any vehicle you purchase will be able to keep your whole family safe should you get into a crash.

You also want to make sure that your vehicle is equipped with safety gear that will help prevent you from getting into a crash in the first place. There are a lot of new safety features on vehicles that can keep your family safe. For example, you can purchase a vehicle that warns you if anything or anyone is in your blind spot, which is really vital when you have kids running around. Another safety features to look out for are warning signs that go off if you go out of your lane and cruise control that adapts to the situation around you with auto braking. Make sure that your vehicle is equipped with the safety features that will keep you and your family safe.

#2 Size

The second thing that you need to take into consideration is not just where your family is right now, but where your family is going. If you only have one child right now, but plan on having more children in the next few years, or if you have two kids and plan on adding at least one more, try to buy for the family you'll have in the future and not just the family that you have right now. Make sure that the vehicle you purchase has the room to fit all the car seats, booster seats and family equipment that you see yourself hauling around in five years, not just today. This will help ensure that the vehicle investment that you make today will work for you in the long-run.

#3 Location & Lifestyle

Finally, make sure that you take into consideration where you live. If you live somewhere where it frequently snows, or if you and your family like to go to the mountains, consider investing in an all-wheel drive vehicle instead of a front wheel drive vehicle.

If you live to go camping and off-roading, or live on a property with a dirt road, make sure that the vehicle you purchase provides you with enough clearance. Make sure that your vehicle fits the roads that you will be driving on and the climate that you live in. 

Whether you're looking at used cars or new ones, make sure you make your decision carefully.