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By admin, August 6, 2010 5:36 am

New car research is much easier today then in the past. The use of the Internet has changed the way people buy cars. Not only with researching the cars, but in finding the availability of dealers vehicles and taking virtual tours of the vehicles. There are few items to keep in mind when getting ready to purchase a new car. These items will help your research go smoother.

Pick up a copy of consumer reports the car edition

Consumer reports rates cars every month, but that is going to take too long to read about three or four at a time. You need the addition that covers all the vehicles in one edition. This way you can have everything in one issue to get started. Start by looking through cars that you are interested in. Make sure you read through consumer reports ranking methods. One of the most important factors of their ranking system is their reliability report. If the car is a new model there will be no reliability information. Consider the source here and make a few assumptions. For example, if its a Honda or Volvo then you can assume that the reliability will be good. These vehicles always score high in this category. If its a dodge or Chrysler, then make a note. Those vehicles tend to report lower Reliabilities

Look at some details with a grain of salt

Here is what I mean by that. Gas mileage and performance are loosely based. If you live in florid and have the air conditioning on all the time, then your mileage is going to be less than what is advertised. A good practice is to at least subtract a mile per gallon from the reported statistic. This gives you a better idea of a realistic economy rating. If you drive mostly in the city this is very helpful since city mileage is always less than highway mileage.

Mark down prices and details

Compare the vehicles you are interested in and keep each on a separate piece of paper. By having them on a separate piece of paper you can make notes as you go along. Next go to the manufactures page and look up the model directly. Most sites now are highly interactive. You can take tours and see the car from every angle. This is good to do and will help you save some time from going to the dealer and doing this yourself. Keep in mind that the prices that you see on these sites should never be the price you are going to pay. If you were ignorant and walked into the dealer, this is where they would start. You need to know what the dealer pays (dealers invoice) then you can know where to start to negotiate. On each piece of paper right all this information down so you have it organized. Look at the prices of the options you are interested in and write those down as well. You should have a good idea what options cost . The reason is that you will go to the dealer and see a lot of cars in the lot. It can be overwhelming if you are not prepared. By knowing the model and options, you can work faster and accomplish your goal at the same time.

Now go to the dealer

After you have all your information, the real reason is to go and drive the vehicles. You need to make sure you like the way the car or truck rides and if it feels like a good fit for you. The process of decision is behind you at this point and you were able to make all your decisions at home where there is no pressure to buy anything. Ask the dealer what incentives are available from the manufacture. Make sure that you understand that the manufacturer gives you incentives but they also give the dealers incentives. That is their secret, they are going to get some sort of incentive to sell the cars and that you should keep in your back pocket. Some savy salesman may try to make you think he is not going to make anything on a deal if you low ball them. Carry your research paperwork with you and dont be shy about having it. They will know that you did your homework and it helps at the bartering table.

At last take your paperwork and start to talk money. Be firm yet respectful and do not be afraid to walk away. For some reason there is a lot of back and forth in the negotiation process. Salesman have to steal away to ask their managers if they can sell for a certain price. When they come back and say that this is there last price, dont be afraid to say its unacceptable. The business is highly competitive, they will try to sell you a car. If not, go to another dealer and start over. If you do your homework you will be much better off.

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By admin, July 16, 2010 5:36 am

Buying a new car is a big buying decision, and you want to be sure that you make the right choice.

First of all, you should make a list of what you need your vehicle to do be have. For example, when I bought my vehicle, my list included:

– 4 wheel drive
– towing capacity for a bass boat
– a nice stereo
– etc

Making that list will help keep you on track to choose a vehicle that meets your needs. Once you have your list made, you can pretty quickly narrow the options down to several vehicles that have the features you need, and that you like.

Now is where the work begins finding out which vehicle is most likely to give you the most reliable, safe use. Here are several important factors that you should check and consider.

Safety Ratings
Your dealer can probably provide you with safety data on the new cars you are looking at. Remember that there are multiple safety tests front collision, side collision, rollover, etc and you should take every test into consideration.

Reliability Ratings
If you go on MSN or other car websites, you can get reliability ratings on past year’s models based on customer feedback. While there will be variation between years, it should give you some idea of a model’s overall reliability.

User Feedback
If you know people who own the model you are considering buying, ask them for advice. They may not only be able to tell you if they are happy with the car, but give you information on which features are hot and which are not.

The bottom line is: the more data you can gather from different sources, the more likely you are to make the best buying decision. Your dealer is an excellent source of information, but it’s important to gather data from other, un-biased sources, as well.

Happy new car shopping!