No matter what you're planning to buy the key to shopping for
the best deal is to do your research first, especially for cars.
With the amount of cash you're going to shell out you have to be
sure you get what you want without regrets. Buying new cars can
be a little easier, but both new and used vehicles have their
difficulties.

The first thing that you should do is get an idea of what kind
of vehicle you want and be realistic. I know you want the Hummer
but is it within your means? Is there only you to please or do
you have a family that this car purchase will impact? You will
definitely be happier with a little less car and money left to
do things with; bottoming out the wallet is not worth the big
ticket vehicle. You can get a decent car that's affordable and
practical.

Once you get through that reality try to narrow it down to a
couple of different models to make your research easier and more
focused. Once you have done this you can start by keeping an eye
on your local classifieds and see what kind of prices the models
you picked are going for.

Quite often you can find great deals in your local classifieds
and depending on the seller's situation you may be able to get a
quality vehicle at a price well below retail. More often than
not people get a big surprise when they try to trade their car
and want to get more than the dealer will give them. These
people will usually try to sell privately to get a price a
little closer to what they had in mind, which in many cases is
still a bargain.

There are also some great sites that help you understand the
real book value of a used car. I really like Edmunds.com not
only do they have used car values, but they really do a great
job reviewing cars. You can also do some checking online at
other great sites like Kelley Blue Book at www.kbb.com and
NADA.com.

One of my favorite methods is to use eBay. With eBay not only
can you open a free account but then you can go to eBay Motors
and pick out vehicles of your choice that are being auctioned
and put them in a watch list. I have done this many times not
only to buy a vehicle, but also to get a good idea what I should
get if I sell mine. Online Auctions like this can be a great way
to find good deals. You get to check out the vehicles, which
usually have pictures and shop right from the comfort of your
own home. Try to find auctions with no reserve, these types of
auctions don't have a minimum price before they will sell and
you may well be able to buy a vehicle at a great discount.

I know several people that once they realized how easy and
cheap it is to buy cars on eBay, they made a very profitable
career out of buying and selling cars. Public Car Auctions are
held in many areas and you don't have to be a dealer to attend.
Many times these auctions have cars that have been repossessed
from local banks, credit unions and Government seized car
auctions and they have no desire to keep them.

It's not uncommon to find very expensive cars in great shape
that go for ridiculous prices if you spend a little time
shopping. You'll find that some people will go nuts on new cars
and expensive houses but once their fortunes change and they
can't keep up the payments, they're property is seized and
auctioned off. Many of these auctions have no reserve and can
start at 95% off retail prices. Two really good online
Government auction sites are SeizeCars.com and ICarFinder.com.

Another key recommendation I have is to make use of a great
system known as CarFax.com. The information they offer is
crucial in that they have information on all major repairs done
on vehicles through information compiled from insurance claims
and repair facilities. Once you see a car you like you can run
it through CarFax.com and find out if you're getting a lemon or
a gem.

You can also check with local rental car companies that may be
reducing last year's fleet. Be careful with this as there seems
to be a 50% chance to get that car that others have been kicking
around without care. No having said that, the other half of the
time you can get a good deal on a fairly new car with low
mileage.

Some might suggest going to check out some dealer auctions, but
it has been my experience that in many cases the vehicles end up
going higher than they should. Dealers will pay the higher price
because they know they can mark it up and hard sell someone to
buy it.

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