From my experience, it's hard to beat the level of price information you can get from Consumer Reports. For $14, you can learn all the price information about the car you're considering. That's money well-spent. I had a salesperson in a dealership once tell me that the Consumer Reports numbers were all wrong, only to then have to eat crow when he pulled out his invoices and they matched the Consumer Reports numbers to the penny.
Take a look at some of the free sites, too. I like Edmunds.com, especially for its "True Cost to Own" feature that estimates what your annual expenses will be with the car over the next five years. The site provides invoice numbers, as well as a column listing "what others are paying" for that car. Kelley Blue Book is also worth a look and provides much of the same information.
Take these steps, and you'll be able to spot value and know when you're getting a good deal. The auto channel on Bankrate also has a host of car-buying tips and features to get you comfortable with the whole process.
To ask a question of Dr. Don, go to the Ask the Experts page, and select one of these topics: "financing a home," "saving and investing," or "money."
Bankrate.com is the Web's leading aggregator of information on financial products including mortgages, credit cards, new and used automobile loans, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees. Visit Bankrate.com to get the tools and information that can help you make the best financial decisions.
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