Best Strategy to Buy a New Car

This has been my personal experience with the 3 cars I have brought so far. The first car I bought was a good learning lesson. I would like to start by mentioning you my strategies for the first and then the remaining two cars.

My first car (Good deal but not the best)
When I was shopping for my first car, I called the local dealers and got their quotes. Also I tried other online websites to get a better quote like autobytel.com and also carsdirect.com. Then I negotiated within the dealer quotes and called the other dealer telling the previous one quotes and finally I settled on a deal. But, after a month or so I read and heard people got better deals too on the same configuration car that I purchased. I read some folks in my area got the same car for $650 lesser than I got but on ther other hand there were many who paid more than I had. I would say this was not the best deal I got but was not bad either.


My 2nd and 3rd Car (An Ultimate Strategy I would Recommend to Everyone)
This time I decided that I would do much better and I was well informed about the online sites and other forums available. First step I took is decided upon the exact configuration car that I needed. When I get quotes it was much easier comparing APPLES-to-APPLES. So I called my local dealers in NJ (New Jersey) and got all their quotes and also dealers in the Philadelphia area since it was closer to where we live. I got almost 14 quotes. Do not start negotiating yet as if you call the same dealer again and again the salesperson will be annoyed. Next step is to visit http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com on the web and search for the car you want. example: "2007 Honda Accord EX". This will lead you to different post by other users and the best prices they got. Try to reply to their posts only if would need additional information. Otherwise try to see the dealer in your area like in my case in NJ or PA and get the name of dealership. Check for the user who said he got the lowest $XXXXX.XX price in NJ or PA and get the dealer name if he has not posted. Now call that dealer and tell that your buddy just bought the car for $XXXXX.XX. They will most certainly give you the same or a near offer. Tell them to send you an email with their quote and now use this quote with your nearest 3-4 dealers to negotiate. Now your nearest dealer knows that the offer you got is legitimate after seeing your printout. They will be very inclined to match it. Otherwise you can always go to the dealer that just sent you the lowest quote.

Believe it or not...... I have got the lowest possible prices for both cars I bought. This experience I just mentioned was with my last car. By this strategy I have bought the 2nd car for $2800 and 3rd car for $2450 below INVOICE price respectively. Remember this is below invoice price and not MSRP.