Buying a New Car
The most emotional part of buying a new car may not be the idea of buying a new car but choosing which one to buy. However, even if a car is a bad “investment,” choosing a good car deserves careful treatment because its reliability and ability to hold value will play a large role in the overall cost of owning the car.
Research
When trying to decide what car best suits your needs, fanatical research is going to pay off. However unpleasant car shopping can be, for such a big expenditure, people usually invest surprisingly little time trying to find the right one.
All new cars have their own dazzle factor, but do your homework to know which ones won’t turn into your worst nightmare with time. One of the best ways to find a great car is to live and breathe cars for a while. Places to look:
Consumer Reports has a valuable annual report on all new cars and some in-depth features on specific cars, but to get access to these articles online you must pay a $6.95 monthly subscription fee or $30.00 for the year.
Road & Track, Automobile, and Car and Driver all have a new car buying guide with some basic information about new cars and search features to find any articles written about a specific car.
Pricing
You can check the dealer invoice and manufacturer’s suggested retail price of any new car and its optional equipment at CarsDirect.com.
Buying
The Internet offers many options for buying cars, but most of them refer you to their dealer networks, the same places you may be trying to avoid by using the Internet to shop for a car. The best place we have found to buy a car on the Internet is CarsDirect.com because they allow you to handle the entire process online; they will sell a car to you directly and not through a middleman. At their site, you can easily find and price the car you want, get financing (or provide your own), and organize a delivery of your vehicle to either your home, office, or through a local dealership. On top of all of that, they offer great prices.