What I need to know when buying a car!

Buying a car can be stressful experience, especially when you aren’t sure of the first step to take. I sat down with a General Manager from a store that rates incredibly high on satisfaction and asked him what someone can do to better prepare themselves for the process and what you should expect from a dealership.

1. Start by searching dealers in your area and seeing how past customers have rated them. Google Places and Yahoo! Local are definitely great options but you might want to try dealerrater.com which is specifically dedicated to, as the title suggests, rating automotive dealers. It is important to keep an open mind because as many of us know it is impossible to satisfy everyone. If you do find a legitimate complaint see how the dealership responded them, if at all.
2.  If you have a trade-in find out how much money you still owe on it. Also do some research to find out how much your vehicle is worth.  Autotrader.com has a new feature called the trade-in marketplace. All you have to do is simply click on the Autotrader logo and enter your zip code and vehicle information. You'll receive a fast, free and guaranteed value for your car within minutes. Bring your offer to one of the dealerships they provide and even if you aren't going to buy from them, they'll still write you a check for your vehicle. They could even possibly offer you more for your vehicle.
3.  Do research on the car you want but not only on the car you want, the equipment and packages that are important to you. For instance, perhaps you love leather seats but couldn’t care less if they were powered. You can save a lot of money by opting out of power seating and other similar functions. Not only that but consider going for an older model, right now a new 2010 has better incentives and value than a new 2011.
4. When you are given a quote, watch out for incentives and rebates. Most dealers will include all incentives and rebates in their discounted price, many of which you might not be eligible for. Usually there is fine print underneath however, be aware of dealerships that hide disclaimers on separate pages. If you are receiving a quote via email just ask what the incentives are. Often, you will find there is an incentive for college grads or military personnel and you might be neither. Remember, discounted prices usually don’t include things like sales tax and registration fees.
5. When you are at the dealership if you feel like you are being pressured into a specific car there could be several reasons. For example, the dealership will make more money if you buy one verse another or it has been on the lot for a while and they want to get rid of it.

The main thing with purchasing a vehicle is knowledge. Make sure to do your research. If you aren’t sure which car you want go to a dealership where you know you won’t be pressured to purchase and test drive a few. Then start exploring what options are out there. With the internet at your fingers there is a limitless amount of information you can find and I hope this helps you get started.