Buying A New Car

Buying A New Car

o Evaluate your needs and financial situation. Read consumer
magazines and test drive several models before you make a final
choice.

o Find out the dealer's invoice price for the car and options.
This is what the manufacturer charged the dealer for the car. You
can order this information for a small fee from consumer
publications you can find at your local library.

o Find out if the manufacturer is offering rebates that will lower
the cost.

o Get price quotes from several dealers. Find out if the
amounts quoted are the prices before or after the rebates are
deducted.

o Keep your trade-in negotiations separate from the main deal.
o Compare financing from different sources, for example, banks,
credit unions and other dealers before you sign the contract. o
Read and understand every document you are asked to sign. Do not
sign anything until you have made a final decision to buy. o
Think twice about adding expensive extras, you probably don't need,
to your purchase, for example, credit insurance, service contracts
or rustproofing.

o Inspect and test drive the vehicle you plan to buy, but do not
take possession of the car until the whole deal,including
financing, is finalized.

o Don't buy on impulse or because the salesperson is pressuring
you to make a decision.

o The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Auto Safety
Hotline at 1 (800) 424-9393 (toll free) distributes recall and
safety information on used and new cars, trucks, motorcycles, motor
homes, child seats and other motor vehicle equipment; vehicle crash
test information; tire quality grading reports; child seat
registration forms; and other safety literature. You should report
all vehicle and child seat defect information to the Hotline (see
page 108).

o The Center for Auto Safety (see page 56) monitors auto
defects. To see if there is a pattern of repeated complaints on a
certain vehicle model, write the Center for Auto Safety, 2001 S
Street, N.W., Suite 410, Washington, DC 20009 and include the
vehicle make, model and year, and a self-addressed stamped
envelope.