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Absolute Best Deal On A Car
In order to do further research on the excellent CONSUMER REPORTS website, you need to buy a membership. (And you’ll see under “Finding The Best Consumer Product Reviews” that you have other good, free options.) EDMUNDS.COM EDMUNDS provides the data for CNN’s automotive sites and is a top-quality resource. http://www.edmunds.com/carreviews.html EDMUNDS.COM’s special features include (1) a car’s “true market value,” i.e., what a make/model of new or used car is actually selling for in your area, which will help you in negotiating with a dealer; (2) the “true cost to own;” i.e., what an automobile will actually cost you over time; and (3) what other car buyers in your area are saying about a particular dealer. WHEN YOU ACTUALLY APPROACH A DEALER You of course will want to negotiate using all the great information provided by EDMUNDS.COM. In addition, the FRUGAL WIZ gives excellent advice on negotiation, describing how he bought a car for $3800 below Blue Book price: http://www.frugalwiz.com/negotiate.html MORE AUTOMOTIVE HELPS AUTO ISSUES. Every once in awhile I find a site that is so very good it bowls me over. AUTO ISSUES is one. The site belongs to the Consumer Task Force For Automotive Issues, a nonprofit organization founded by Ralph Nader and Remar Sutton. Right now AUTO ISSUES is urging that you NOT use a dealer that wants you to enter into a "Mandatory Binding Arbitration Agreement." These agreements sound good, but they basically mean that you have no defense if the dealership defrauds you. AUTO ISSUES will also help you do online research for either a new car or a used one. It's great! CONSUMER GUIDE AUTO. Click below to find another excellent source of information: http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/ TOP TEN RETAIL RIPOFFS. Old tricks that are still being used today. Most of them involve car purchases. http://www.trampolinesales.com/ripoffs.htm LEMON LAWS Yes, there really are lemon laws, and they aren’t just for cars. The website says, “Are you driving a lemon car, truck, van, SUV, motorcycle, boat or dealing with a lemon consumer product? The state lemon laws and other federal consumer protection laws could help you get rid of that lemon!” Each U.S. state has its own lemon law, and the varying requirements are listed on this site. Down with lemons! http://www.lemonlawamerica.com/ SECRET WARRANTIES They exist, according to MOTOR WATCH, and, if you know what they are, you can save a lot of money on car repairs. The site says, "Secret warranties (sometimes called silent recalls, service actions or campaigns, informal warranty extensions) are tracked by our database. When we find a secret warranty, we list it in the MotorWatch newsletter." The site also gives the latest official safety recalls - which means that, if you have that particular problem, you don't have to pay for the repair. This is an odd site - a guy's guy site, and as I'm a very non-guy I had a hard time with it. I googled it, though, and it has a good online reputation. Knowing about secret warranties and recalls could save you a lot if you have several vehicles. |
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