There's nothing I dread more than walking into car dealership when thinking about purchasing a new car. From the moment I drive onto the lot, I can sense at least half a dozen car salesmen stalking me, watching my every move. As I open the car door I'm hastily greeted by one salesman, as the rest of the salesmen cower in their defeat. I feel as if I'm a wounded fish surrounded by a school of sharks; all of which want to take me for everything I've got.
Ok, perhaps I'm exaggerating a bit. But honestly, I've had many unfortunate experiences when dealing with new and used car salesmen. Because of these experiences and the inconvenience of having to drive to a dealership to price vehicles, I prefer to do my comparison shopping online.
There are a number of useful sites available online to the general public. If you're interested in purchasing a specific make and model, you'll probably want to visit the
Kelley Blue Book website first. The site allows you to obtain both retail and trade-in blue book values for just about any used vehicle you can think of. You can also obtain valuable information about new cars, such as vehicle specifications and the dealer's invoice price (the price they pay for the vehicle). A little known fact is that many dealerships will sell you a new car for their invoice price. With this knowledge, you can purchase vehicles with far less negotiations and wasted energy.
You'll definitely want to visit the
Consumer Reports website. While they charge for dealer invoice price reports, they do offer some great advice on how to
negotiate a used vehicle's price. The site also allows you to view comparison ratings, reliability ratings, and more.
If you're looking to buy a used vehicle, you may want to check out the
Auto Trader website. Categorical listings make this site easy to browse through private party and dealership vehicle listings. In most cases, the vehicle price, mileage, and the seller's contact information are provided. You may also choose to advertise your vehicle within the site at no charge.
Autoweb.com
is another great automotive site. The site is broken up into four sections: Research, Buy, Maintain, and Sell. Within these four sections you can get information about new autos, find out about financing options, learn about insurance requirements and obtain insurance quotes, obtain must-have information about vehicle troubleshooting and maintenance, place an ad to sell your vehicle, and much more! I wholeheartedly recommend visiting this site before making any major vehicle-related decisions.
There are also some great sites that allow you to obtain new vehicle quotes online. One such site is
GMBuyPower.com. The site allows you to find the closest GM dealerships near you, and if those dealerships have the car you'd like to purchase in stock. One of the site's nicest assets is that it will also allow you to obtain a dealer's absolute best price on the vehicle you're interested in. Other features include an online credit application, a payment estimation calculator, and special online deals.
But what if you're interested in a non-GM vehicle? You may want to visit
CarsDirect.com. The site allows you to choose a vehicle, then add or subtract whichever accessories you'd like. The dealer's invoice price is displayed, along with the no-hassle CarsDirect price, which is usually a few hundred dollars more than the dealer's invoice price. CarDirect also has a nice feature that gives you loan and payment estimates for their price.
Most car dealerships also have their own websites and often times offer an e-mail address within their contact information. If they're serious about selling cars online, they'll allow you to request a quote on a new car via e-mail.
So, the next time you're thinking about purchasing a car, be sure to price the vehicle online. Even if you decide to purchase your car traditionally, you'll be much better informed an prepared to negotiate a fair price.
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Buying a Car Online by Robert Viers