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Purchasing a new car is a major decision with long ranging financial consequences, so it is very important to learn all that you can to get the best deal that you can when shopping for new wheels.  There are a number of different tips that should be followed when shopping for a car to ensure that you are not being taken advantage of and that you are paying a reasonable price for the car that you want.

Tip #1 – Choose Your Price Range Before You Start Shopping
Many people make the mistake of deciding how much they can spend based on the car that they desire or are looking at in the dealership at the time.  These people often find that they are paying more than they can afford for the car and have to cut back in other areas of their lives to meet their car payment obligation.  A car payment should never exceed more than 20% of your monthly income, so calculate what about 15% of your monthly income would be and use that as a limit for the monthly payment for the new car.

Tip #2 – Do Some Research Before Heading To The Dealership
Before going to a dealership to begin looking at cars, try to do some research online to determine what cars you may be interested in and which cars are within your price range.  This will save you a lot of time from going around from dealership to dealership looking at many different cars in many different colors and trying to compare them when they are in different places.

Tip #3 – Review Several Prices For The Chosen Car Before Negotiating
Car dealerships are in the business of making money and most good salespeople can smell a sucker from a mile away.  Review the listed price of the car that you have chosen on the websites of several different dealers before negotiating with your salesperson and take advantage of the payment calculators that are can be found on a number of different websites.  This way, you will have a better idea of how much the car should cost and how much your payments should be each month.

Tip #4 – Look For Deals On Cars Or Financing
In today’s competitive market, many car dealerships are offering special deals on their cars or on financing their cars in order to draw more people into the dealership.  Sometimes, these deals are very good for the customer because the dealership is trying to get rid of vehicles that they have ordered too many of.  Be sure to look for deals in the advertising of dealerships that are nearby because you may find that you can get the car that you want for a lot less than you would have otherwise. 

Tip #5 – Be Sure To Test Drive The Vehicle Before Purchasing
You would be amazed at the number of people that purchase a vehicle without first test driving it.  Test driving the vehicle will show you if you will be comfortable driving the car, how the car handles, and how the engine of the car performs   People that do not do a test drive before purchasing the car often find that they do not like the way the car feels when they are driving it and often end up spending more money to get out of that car and into another one within the next two years.