Easy guide to getting a new car

[Kizyr]

I finally got a new car last Saturday. I hate the process of car shopping; I like things to be simple: I go in, I pay (or get financing), and I walk out with a new car. I don't like having to negotiate a price (and I hate even more feeling like I overpayed), I don't like having to fill out tons of paperwork, and I don't like lots of hassle. But this was really, really easy to go through. Surprisingly so, in fact...

So here's what I did. The key word here is EDMUNDS:

Step 1) Pick a time to buy:
I went in at the end of June. At this time, dealers want to get rid of a lot of stock, fill quarterly/biannual quotas, and all that sort of thing.

Step 2) Find the model you want:
I went through edmunds.com and searched through several 4-door sedans that fit the bill. I settled on a 2008 or 2009 Toyota Corolla LE as the best value for my money.

Additionally, Edmunds also gives you a "True Market Value" price, that's the price you can expect as a "good deal", and the invoice price, which is usually the lowest you can possibly go. So immediately you know your negotiating range.

Step 3) Get quotes from 3+ dealerships:
This is the great step. Edmunds lets you submit requests to as many dealerships are in the area. Right off the bat I had 3 dealerships giving me offers. I called back each of them, and let them know that I was also talking to other Toyota dealerships in the area, and asked what kind of cars they have available at what kind of price.

Right there, about 80% of the negotiating was done for me, all in the span of 10-15 minutes interspersed throughout the day. It was great.

Step 4) Go to the dealership, test-drive the car, negotiate the rest:
I decided which dealership to try out first, test-drove the car, and ended up settling on (what I thought) was a pretty good deal on a 2009 Corolla LE. The rest was just filling out paperwork.

See, when I was little, I remember having to spend 6-8 hours in a car dealership waiting for my dad to finish getting the price down. This dealership had, like, a kids' play area with a TV and N64; when I was a kid, we got like a crappy waiting room with plastic benches and a TV made in 1975 that got 3 channels, 2 of which were barely visible through the static, and 1 crappy vending machine.

Ok, ok, I digress. Anyway, since half the work was done for me by being able to shop around before I walked in the door, I only spent maybe 1-2 hours between test-driving and getting to the final price. My plates were transferred over, I got the new registration, and when I got home it only took me 2 minutes to reset stuff with my insurance.

So now, I have a new car and it wasn't even painful to get it all done. I'm planning on this lasting me at least 6 years, maybe more, so it'll be a while before I'm here again. KF

[Maru]

Yowza. I hope this is still up when owning a car becomes relevant to me. I fear that day...

Sidenote: Do not buy a car after the sun goes down, where the lady selling it offers you only a flashlight to inspect it (because the overheads didn't work... HHHHMM.) True story.

[phyco126]

When I bought my first car it was even easier. Walk it, tell them what one you want, skip the haggling and go straight for the signing of the paper work. Hey, you pay for convienence right =P.

I miss my car though. The one I have now is my little baby, but she has some issues. Like, if you can look past what is wrong with her, her engine is just not powerful enough. I mean, I want to be able to go 0 - 500 MPH in under 1 second. Slightly exagerated. Not 0 - 75 in about 5 minutes. And at 75 MPH the poor engine is gonna blow, she wasn't made for highway speeds. She does alright at 55 MPH though, 60 eh, 65 is pushing it.

When it snows though, she pwns and has amazing stability. So, she runs, eats gas like crazy, and gets me to and from work. And she was, erm, free. Kinda. *pets his baby*

[Ozone]

It's a Toyota xD it'll last you a long damn time. Mine is 10 years old already.

[Sonic#]

Congrats!

As for the difficulties your father had... I was there too. In the waiting room. The crappy... crappy waiting room. And my dad still has those lengthy bargaining sessions... right now he's trying to get a decent trading price for the SUV we have now, which is difficult when SUVs have fallen out of demand. Whoops. And that's just the first part, the second part being how much he wants a car for. It's been a grueling process, now a month long. Glad you had success with it.

[Kizyr]

Yowza. I hope this is still up when owning a car becomes relevant to me. I fear that day...

Edmunds is practically the standard when it comes to car research (and they're becoming even more relevant/useful than Kelly Blue Book). Considering the quality of their material, they're always going to be around.

Sidenote: Do not buy a car after the sun goes down, where the lady selling it offers you only a flashlight to inspect it (because the overheads didn't work... HHHHMM.) True story.

Buying after the sun goes down isn't a bad idea, actually. You're a lot more likely to get a dealership to give you bigger price cuts the closer you get to closing time. That is, if you're willing to wait for a few hours while you dig in your heels. I'd do my test driving and inspections beforehand, but as for actually buying it, waiting it out is a good strategy.

As for the difficulties your father had... I was there too. In the waiting room.

My father never had difficulties. He just did what he needed to get someone to come as far down on price as possible. These days, though, he relies more on timing and is willing to settle for a few hundred dollars more if it means saving 3-4 extra hours. KF