Knowledge is power. The more knowledge you have before entering into a transaction, the more likely it is that there will be a successful outcome.

OK. Let's get this straight. The ONLY person representing you at the dealership is you. If you are comfortable with throwing away thousands of dollars by letting the dealer misguide you to believe that they are willing to sell you a vehicle with little profit margin, then you will be doomed from the start.  

When buying a new vehicle it is VERY important that you follow these steps:

• Research the vehicle that you want to buy before you visit the dealership. If you like to kick the tires in a relaxed mode, walk the lot when the dealership is closed. There will be no pressure. You can used the following websites for your research:
• Edmonds.com  edmonds.com is an excellent site for pricing out new vehicles.
• carsdirect.com.  Carsdirect.com is another excellent site for pricing out new vehicles. This site will provide you with a recommendation for a new vehicle offer! The site also offers a new car buying service which could be a good idea for some people.
• Consumer Reports generally gives excellent, objective information on safety and reliability. You can research copies at the library, or visit www.consumerreports.org. Consumer Reports charges $4.95 per month (or $24 per year) to access their online articles. It’s the best money you can spend.
• The Center For Auto Safety provides free information on reliability, maintenance and safety issues. This is one of the most important sites on the Web, so bookmark it then click on “auto defects” in the top tabs.
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a dynamic site to help you research safety and dependability. Research government crash test results and safety recalls.
• The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety provides results for its offset frontal crash tests.
• Find out the fuel economy rating on any vehicle at www.fueleconomy.org, a service of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
• How much will insurance cost for that vehicle you are considering. Rates can vary considerably between two similar models as well as between insurance companies for the same model. Check out Consumer Reports’ a guide to car insurance.
• The manufacturers all offer “consumer” sites which supposedly tell you objective information about their vehicles. Generally, these sites never tell you bad things, of course. So, they are limited in their usefulness, when it comes to objective information. The sites can be fun to visit, however. Most now offer “virtual” tours of individual vehicles. Just use your search engine and any manufacturer’s name.
• Narrow your choice to one or two vehicles. Select a minimum of two dealerships to visit.
• Visit the dealership, but take control of the transaction. Tell the salesperson you are not buying a car today under any circumstances, but you will buy soon. Today you are just shopping and fact-finding. Check the car out. Take a test drive. But be firm and don't let the salesperson lead you into any discussion of buying today. If you start to feel pressure or confusion leave immediately.
• Copy all the information from the Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price sticker before leaving the dealership (MSRP, not the dealer’s sticker). The MSRP is the sticker with the lowest price on the vehicle’s window. Copy all the dollar information from that sticker. For instance, the vehicle’s base price, then the name and price of options.
• Call the Credit Union's call center or visit any branch and ask for a wholesale and retail valuation for any vehicle that you are planning to sell or trade-in. The Credit Union can also pre-approve you for a loan and give you unbiased counseling regarding how much payment you can afford.
• Now is the time to negotiate and buy! Click on the tab entitle, Buying the Right Way