Rules for buying a car

1) Decide how much you can afford, and how much you want to spend, (hopefully the latter is less than the former) before you even think about looking around. Then spend that much, and no more. Talk to your insurance agent about what the change in cost will be for your new car, and consider that, as well as maintenance costs. If you're driving an older car, your maintenance may go down, but you may not have collision insurance, so overall your costs may go up. If your new whip needs dubs to ride phat, consider that in the overall cost.

2) Look around and decide exactly what you want before you buy. Don't let your initial car lust get the best of you. Don't wander into a car dealer without knowing what you want, because they'll soon "put you into" a car you can't afford. If you're looking for a used car, get an idea of what models are common and would likely be in your price range.

3) Get the loan approval before you get ready to buy. If you're a member of a credit union, look at the interest rate and costs, because they'll often have better terms than banks or a dealer. Don't tell the salesman this, tell him you might be interested in financing, because he's considering the profit the dealership will make on the loan as well as the car.

4) Have a good idea what the car cost the dealer. If you know what the dealer actual cost is for the car you're buying, then you know about what the absolute lowest they're willing to go. Start negotiating there. Look around at auto discussion sites to see what other folks have paid for a similar model. Print out any pricing information you find and bring them with you.

5) Spend some time evaluating what your trade-in is worth. Check out Kelly Blue Book and other price guides, and look on eBay Motors to see what similar cars have sold for. Clean it up, repair any obvious problems. Take all your personal property out of it before you leave home. Better yet, don't make a trade-in at all, because it will just make the deal more complex, sell it yourself on eBay or in the paper and be assured that you're getting more than the dealer will give you.

6) Get prices from more than one place. I went to two different dealerships, and the first wouldn't accept the price I offered them but the second did. The car is the same, no sense spending more than I have to for it.

7) Allot at least a full day to the buying process, don't let them rush you. They always try to keep you waiting, wear you down, get you in a rush, especially if they know you're going to buy a car today. Make them know you're ready to buy but you could always go somewhere else.

8) Don't get locked into a particular color or feature, if you can help it. When I bought my car, there was a salesman closing a woman on the exact same car, but she wanted a white one. Now, white is the most common color of cars in America, but this salesman was telling her that there was a huge demand for white and that it was getting a premium, and she actually paid extra for it. I told the guy I liked all the colors, and I really didn't care which one, but how about $X for that one?

9) Bring spare keys to your trade-in just in case they pull the bush league stunt of "losing your keys" just to try to keep you there a little longer.

10) Know that financing is another source of profit for the dealer, including insurance, loan, extended warrantees, and other things you don't need and can get cheaper elsewhere. Don't let them add on fees, excessive dealer prep, bad credit score fees, etc. Be prepared and be nice but firm when you turn them down. Buy the car from someone who isn't trying to rip you off.