Car Buying FAQ’s

A man from Austin, TX asked me how he could get a good deal when there was no local competition. In Austin there’s pretty much one car dealership per manufacturer. So I suggested expanding his search to Houston and Dallas to get competitive car prices. Each city is about a 3 hour drive, but has a wide variety of dealerships. By expanding his search he could easily find 5-10 dealerships for just about every manufacturer.

Read more about how to find additional car dealers.

Sure! Ask the dealer how much it would cost to ship to you. If that is still less than your local prices, then buy. Also consider taking a long road trip or flying to pick up the car. Again, if that costs less than local dealers and you don’t mind the travel then do it!

One reader, Sara, flew cross country (from South Dakota to Georgia) to buy her Lexus and save $8500.

If you find a good broker, then yes, they can save you a lot of time, hassle, and frustration.

I teach people how to negotiate great deals for themselves.  But I’m well aware the negotiation process takes time, patience, and a willingness to play hardball with several car dealers at once.  It’s not for everybody.

If you are short on time or just want a professional to help you through the process, car brokers will usually pay for themselves in savings many times over.

See my pick for the best car broker.

If you have flexibility, December is the best month to buy a car.  Car salesman and dealerships get sales incentives at the end of the financial year. Couple that with the holiday week between Christmas and New Years and you get one of the best weeks of the whole entire year to buy.

Absolutely! If you need to buy two cars and want to get the same make (example, Honda), this will help you get an even better deal. When you email car dealers, explain you want a price for both cars. Be specific with the make, model, and trim for each car and be consistent in your emails to every dealer.

Read more about buying two cars at once.

BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, and Volvo will each let you buy a car through their European Delivery programs.

You make arrangements with a dealer in the U.S. to pick up your car at the factory in Europe.  You take a European vacation and afterwards the manufacturer will have the car shipped to the U.S. for local delivery.  You’ll typically get a discount on the price of the car plus a travel deal.

Whether the savings and travel perks are worth the effort vary by manufacturer.  Read more about how European Delivery programs work and which are worth the money.

Here’s where you can find our picks for the best car deals across all car brands.  And here’s where you can find the best leasing offers right now.

If you want to get early access and to be notified as soon as deals are published, scroll to the very bottom of this page and subscribe.

Aside from all electric vehicles, typically hybrid cars have the best mileage.

Here’s where you can find our picks for the best cars for gas mileage.