If you’re in the market for a new car, don’t start having nightmares about multiple trips to dealerships and having to deal with in-your-face dealers just yet. Technology, coupled with the fact that many dealerships are now actively marketing to women, can make your search and purchase easier than you ever thought possible. In fact, everything but the final step of picking up your new car can be done online. The trick to this type of virtual shopping is in knowing what questions to ask yourself, and what information to look for, to ensure you make the best buying decision. Following are several tips to take you through the entire shopping process.
Determine the best vehicle for you
With so many different vehicle makes and models out there, including many new hybrid options, narrowing down the perfect car for you can be a big job. Make it easier by asking yourself a series of questions about your lifestyle. For example, do you have three kids and a dog? If so, you’ll probably want to consider storage and safety features. Take a look at some of the new hatchbacks or family-friendly crossovers. Are you a single girl with a long commute to work? Consider a hybrid model for stellar gas mileage in a sporty package. You get the idea: your lifestyle should determine the car you pick, so take the time to figure out your needs. Sites like CarTango.com let you search by features, not just make and model, so you can more easily find your perfect vehicle match.
Ask for feedback
One of the most exciting new developments in the world of car shopping is the creation of new “social network” type shopping websites that allow you to easily solicit feedback from friends and family about your vehicle choices. Shopping alone is hard; we all want a second opinion, whether that comes from our best friend or the MAC makeup sales associate. This lack of an immediate second opinion has traditionally been one of the downfalls of shopping online, but sites like CarTango.com are alleviating much of that. Now you can create your own personal page, like a MySpace page, post photos and information about your top vehicle choices, and ask friends and family to post their opinions. They know you well, so may be able to point out why one vehicle is more suitable than another. In addition, these shopping websites allow car owners to post vehicle reviews, which can be another valuable source of information.
Research pricing and get multiple quotes
The ability to get clear pricing is one of the greatest benefits of the Internet. We’ve all seen the low-budget dealership TV commercials where a frantic spokesman yells at the camera about “Ten percent off MSRP!” Now you can research pricing for yourself online and decide if the asking price is fair, or inflated, and make sound decisions. Many auto shopping websites are also offering new ways to communicate directly with dealers, including message boards and chat features, so you no longer have to fill out a generic form to get a quote and then wait and hope the dealer gets back to you. And if you’re wondering, MSRP stands for Manufacturer’s Recommended Price. Decoding acronyms and esoteric vehicle descriptions is a snap with search engines like Google and Yahoo!
