| For some, the prospect of shopping for a new car by visiting local dealerships can be a frightening thought. In all fairness, car sales personnel have probably gotten a bad reputation, but, it is based on the fact that people don't want to be pressured or talked into a purchase they will regret down the road.
Fortunately, as with most other industries, the Internet is restructuring how the automobile sales industry is doing business. Today, the Web has put the information, and therefore control, onto the buyer's desktop.
Furthermore, dealerships know that the consumer has access to this new wealth of information and are beginning to restructure their image as friendly, no hassle or haggle assistants to your car purchasing experience.
One local example of this service is with the Karl Moedl dealership. Their dealership has taken a Web-friendly approach to the purchasing process. Through their Web site (http://www.karlmoedl.com), you can anonymously browse their complete, up-to-date, pre-owned inventory ... even prices!
That way, when you are ready to make the purchase, you can know exactly how much they are asking, all the details about the vehicle and even an approximate loan payment. In addition, they have set up links to their manufacturer sites, which usually list all the vehicles, options and pricing.
If it's a pre-owned car you are looking for, or you hope to get a fair trade in for your existing car, here are two resources you will find very helpful.
The first is the Kelley Blue Book online (http://www.kbb.com/). Anyone can go to this site and, within a few seconds, have a value for any vehicle. First, you select if you want a dealership trade-in value or retail value if you plan on selling it yourself, enter you vehicle information and then you view the value.
The second resource is called Carfax (http://www.carfax.com/). Here, they provide vehicle history reports. Specifically, you can find a vehicle's salvage history, if it has had odometer fraud, multiple owners, flood damage, major accident damage or fire damage. There is a $14.95 one-use fee or $19.95 for unlimited reports, but this is a small price to pay for peace of mind.
Now, if you are really ready to take the next step, there are new Internet companies that allow you to handle the entire buying process over their Web site.
At MSN CarPoint (http://carpoint.msn.com/), you can buy new and used vehicles, do invoice and retail price comparisons, shop for insurance and a loan and find other information for the specific vehicle you like. Purchasing with CarPoint is a four-step process: fill out a form, receive a quote, pick up the car and drive home.
Autobytel.com (http://www.autobytel.com/) offers new cars, used cars, auction, financing, insurance and more. While I know this is a respectable company and a pioneer in the Internet car buying industry, I wasn't as comfortable using this site and didn't find the process to be as easy as it should be.
Of course, the third option, CarsDirect.com (http://www.carsdirect.com/), has all the basic features that the other two have, but I felt this site had a friendlier feel and that it was more up front and easier to learn exactly how their process works. There was never a question about pricing and I felt most confident with the process when on this site. However, they didn't offer financing options for Arizona buyers.
In the end, I wouldn't guess that most people are ready to eliminate the dealer all together, but using these tools and others available throughout the Internet, you can feel confident with your next vehicle purchase.
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