You made the decision to finally replace the old clunker, the question now is how to avoid being ripped off at the dealership and secure the best deal possible for yourself?

The key to any transaction is preparation. Go into the dealership ready for battle with as much ammunition or in this case prep work as possible to ensure a successful transaction. The first place to begin is sitting right in front of you, your old faithful computer with Internet connection. I recommend reviewing Consumer Reports, to find out which vehicles are the best rated, edmunds.com to determine the dealer costs, rebates or low interest financing available and lastly Kelly Blue book(kbb.com) to find out your current vehicles trade-in value and to determine the trade-in value of your future vehicle choice. No one wants to buy a thirty thousand dollar car to find out after two years it's only going to be worth ten thousand. Vehicle depreciation varies greatly between vehicle and models. Do your homework, you have the time, run the numbers and find out now before you drive off and find out you actually drove off a cliff.

Next item on your check list is to obtain financing prior to ever stepping foot on the dealers lot. Compare rates and terms through your bank, local credit union, eloan.com, capitalone.com etc. Find the rate and terms that fit your needs and price range before you walk onto the showroom floor. Special financing rates in lieu of rebates may or may not be a good deal. Do the math before you get to the dealership. Often times taking the rebate is the better deal. After arriving at the dealership and you tell them you already have preapproved financing in hand they may offer to beat the rate, thats fine as long as it benefits you, let them. Don't ever get sucked into the "what kind of payment do you want?" game. All that will lead to is a long term loan at the payment you want, but more cash out of your pocket and into theirs.

Go to the dealership after hours to look at what's available. You can check out the inventory, take some notes on the window stickers and options and compare what you find to edmunds.com's dealer invoices, without being chased through the lot by salesmen. Gm has gmbuypower.com where you can put in your zip code and access various dealers in your area's inventory and window sticker for the vehicles you like. It's a good tool to see what's on the lot without making a trip. An added bonus: If you request a brochure on a specific

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