Get the Best Deal on a Car

The purchase of a new car is a big decision and should be done in a way to maximize your savings, not the dealership's profitability. Generally, you will want to start searching for cars by looking though various sources to get the best deal and the best price when you buy.

Once you have found some cars of interest, you should then check into websites such as Edmunds, and get expert opinions on the car. Many people will utilize sources including Yahoo and MSN Autos however the reviews expressed on there tend to lack proper investigation of the vehicle. Many of the reviews are written by users whom have had the car for a very short period of time and put the car under minimal stress. In this case, the overwhelming majority of vehicles on the road will perform just as expected. With expert opinion however, they are able to test the vehicle under several strenuous test, thus giving you a better idea of: performance, design, and reliability.

After you've built the depth to determine which cars are right for you, your next step will involve figuring out what's the best deal you can get on a car.

Frankly, the best deals on cars are going to be done online. Dealerships are smart enough to realize that once you are at the dealership and talking to a salesman, there's a decent chance you'll purchase a car from them. For the most part, you'll want to avoid the dealership all together - until you've built a solid understanding of car prices.

While Edmunds can be a good place to research the quality of the vehicle, it can also be a place to get good deals on cars. Through the website, you'll be able to send out a request to multiple dealers requesting quotes on the car of interest. This tool allows you to get prices from dealers, without having to deal with them in person. Furthermore, the prices are written down - meaning they have to give you the price the offer. On the other hand, some dealers completely ignore the price request, while others mention that they can not give you the price over e-mail, but suggest you come to the dealership.

Another website worth a visit is autobrag.com. With this website, you'll be the one putting up the offer, not the dealer. You name the price, and the dealer will determine whether or not they're willing to accept your offer. In some cases, the dealer will not accept your offer, but provide you with a counter offer. This website will help you get cars at low prices, however. You must research the car prices ahead of time to make sure you're offer isn't either too low, or too much.

The best way to determine the price of a car is through the website, truecar.com. True Car shows you the invoice price, plus details on what's a good price and what's a bad price. Print this information out, and a dealer will do his or her best to match the prices listed on the website.

The last place to look into is realcartips.com. Real Car Tips provides you with information on what people paid for the car and whether or not they were satisfied with the process of getting that price. This website is a helpful guide, but I would recommend you look at the other websites too for a more accurate representation of car prices.

One more place where you can gain information on car prices is the local newspaper. Unfortunately, I do not recommend you use the newspaper in anyway. The prices listed in the newspaper are often inaccurate - and on purpose. One dealership located in St. Louis known as Bommarito Nissan has been one engaging in the process of false advertising. They will list their cars at half-price, but once you arrive, you learn that the price in the newspaper isn't the one you'll get on the car. Often the prices include rebates you will not be able to receive. A recent article showed a Nissan Maxima nearly forty percent off MSRP. However, it was then determined that you had to bring in a Cash for Clunkers vehicle for trade-in, graduated from college recently, and been a member of the military. In the end, the dealership was not giving a rebate at all. Instead, the rebates all came from Nissan and the Government. Furthermore, the dealership has provided several inflated MSRPs, giving you the illusion of a good deal, when you could have gotten the vehicle for thousands less elsewhere. Always do your homework to avoid lies from the dealership.

Using the websites above will help you get a good price on a car. First determine whether or not the car of interest is a quality car or not, by using Edmunds. Then use places such as True Car and Real Car Tips to get an idea of the prices people are paying. Then last of all, make an offer though Auto Brag, or by arriving at the dealership with the price print out from True Car. By knowing the prices of cars, you'll be able to provide the salesmen with documents showing whether or not they're giving you a good offer. While a dealership is in the business to maximize their profit on a sale, they're often willing to give you a good deal on a car to make the sale.