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So, you're a woman and you want to shop for a new car. You think you have to bring along a man. After all, isn't shopping for a car a man's area of expertise? Don't all car salesmen try to "get one over" on a woman and are less likely to do so with a man? Not if you know what you are doing!

Before going into the dealership, you can handle this transaction as you would any business transaction, without emotion. You're on a mission. You are shopping for a car. You want the best deal on the car you want to buy. There are many competing dealerships in your local area. Pick up the yellow pages and write all the dealerships down that are selling your car. Keep that list.

Now, research the car you want to buy. Why are you buying this car? Is it really a good car? In today's economy, you want the best bang for your buck. Don't settle. Find a car that is not only reliable but is good on gas. Don't go for the bells and whistles, those don't get you where you want to go any faster or any cheaper.

Pick up a copy of Consumer Reports. This is a great guide to research the best and worst cars in a certain year. Read about your car. Are you still interested? Write a list of pros and cons. Make sure you are confident regarding your potential new purchase.

Research your car on the internet. The internet is full of resources to assist you with finding the retail value of a car and the approximate trade in value of your old car both private sale as well as the trade price you can expect from a dealer. Two sites I like to use are Kelley Blue Book.com and Nada.com.

Know what price dealerships are asking for the car you want to purchase and know what they would be willing to give you for your trade-in. Negotiate the price without telling them you have a trade. Or, make sure you know ahead of time exactly what price they are willing to give you for your trade versus how much of a discount they are taking off their vehicle. Dealerships have kickbacks and other incentives. The sticker price is only a suggested retail price at most dealerships.

Another, not so well known, fact about dealerships is that they make money off the interest rate they sell you. What do I mean by this? The dealership can "buy" money from a bank at a certain percentage rate. For the sake of this guide, let's say the dealership can buy the money for 6% interest from their favorite Bank "A". Bank A lends the dealership money at a rate of 6%. If the dealership can then turn around and sell you their car at a rate of 7.9%,

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