I negotiated for my own car for the first time just a few years ago. The Internet has changed everything and take advantage of that. I submitted online requests from several dealers through the Honda website. I was sent emails from several and asked them their best price for the type of car I wanted. They each sent back offers and I used those to play them off each other. The best part was that I had an offer in hand before I walked into any dealership and didn't end up in any high-pressure, suspicious, uncomfortable conversations. The lowest price was for a dealership that was further away so I took the email to a closer dealership and asked them to match it. They couldn't so I ended up at the first place and all was fine. Truly, do a lot of the unpleasant part over email first and you will feel so much more confident when you walk in to buy.

I agree that you should line up alternate financing first, even if you may want to use the dealership's ultimately. You can use the bank offer to force the dealership to come down on the interest rate like magic because they want that loan.

Ask a local repairman you trust whether or not the extended warranty is worth it for the type of car you want. My mechanic gave me great advice about the most he would recommend paying for extended warranty for my Honda. Turns out, extended warranty prices are negotiable too.

Good luck. It's not as terrible anymore and I ended up having a much better experience than I feared.

I am a married woman and I negotiate all of my car purchases. My husband comes along because he likes to watch the theater of it all. I secure any financing ahead of time through our credit union. This last time I wanted to trade in my old car and I wanted to explore other options, so I went to Carmax first just to get a look at all types of cars on one lot. I didn't want to buy anything there, but I did sell them the car I wanted to get rid of because I got more money doing that than I would have if I tried to trade it in. Once I decided what type of car I wanted, I compared the prices I could get through my credit union's buying service against what dealers were asking on their lots for cars they wanted to move before the new inventory came in. I did an internet search and found the make and model I wanted at a dealer that was trying to make room for new models. I used the dealer's "make an offer" feature on the website and indicated how much I was willing to pay. I low-balled that a bit knowing they would come back higher. When the salesperson called me we negotiated a price that was actually $1,000 less than what I had really planned on spending, and I told him that I would come to the lot to finalize the deal as long as I could be in and out within two hours at the negotiated price. I told him that if I got there and there was any sort of pressure to work the deal differently I would walk away. (And I was prepared to do so.) I got there, shut down their financing spiel very quickly, and I drove away in my new car in less than two hours. The main thing is to do your homework ahead of time, figure out a budget and stick to it, and definitely secure your financing ahead of time.

Anonymous wrote:OP - are you asking about how to research which car to buy or how to deal with a saleman?

I think how to deal with salesmen but it seems like dealing with the internet first is best. We have been doing a lot of research but it's still new to us so feeling a little overwhelmed.

Also don't be afraid to leave if they start pulling their "waiting game" nonsense where they keep you waiting for hours "on paperwork" to try to wear you down so they can sneak extra charges in without you noticing.

Yes finance before you go into dealer. The dealer might try to fool you into giving them info that turns out to be a loan application. This happened to us and we shut it down fast. They want to snow you with low payments but extend it out past your lifetime!!!! Don't fall for it. If you get a quote first and a loan first then you will have an easy time at dealer. If not you will be in for a very tedious experience. If your old car works at all take it to carmax for trade in offer. It's good for seven days and they are generally very fair. This will eliminate another potential pitfall at dealer.

If you are planning on financing my number one tip is to secure it before you go to a dealership and make it absolutely clear to the salesman that you have no interest in in-house financing.