The best way to assure that you"re getting the best deal on that new car is to be an educated consumer. There is so much information available on the internet today you should have a very good idea about what the price of that new car should be. All dealers are very well aware of this and as a result some dealers are putting their bottom line prices on their cars. They know that you know.

There may be a case you find you do need to do a bit of "haggling" on a car price. (actually some people find it fun, but not most). Here are some tips for you.

Exactly what is the factory invoice price? How does this figure into your deal? The factory invoice price is what the dealer wants you to think he paid for the car. This isn"t necessarily so. Just listen to your salesman and remember he"s in this to make money. If he says he"ll sell you the car "below factory invoice" that means that most likely the dealership received some incentives on the car from the manufacturer. There are things called carryover allowances and other discounts that make the cost of the car much less to the dealer, it"s estimated between $500.00 to $2000.00 less than their professed factory invoice price.

Do your homework first. Go to edmunds.com and find out the cost of that car you"re interested in. Start your bidding from there.

Hold off on that trade in. The best way to get an idea of what your car is worth is again checking online. You"ll get an idea of what you"ll get for your car if you a) sell it yourself or b) trade it in.

Make sure you work your car deal first, get the lowest price possible, then tell them you have a trade in. If you let them know that you have a trade in first they"ll generally add the cost into the price of the new car.

Generally extended service contracts are not worth the extra money. New cars tend to have long manufacturer warranties. If you do consider purchasing an extended service contract remember that you"ll be including it in the price of the car, hence, you"ll be paying interest on it. Also, make sure you understand everything that it will cover.

Don"t forget to check interest rates. Check with your bank, and with your credit union. They often have better annual percentage rates than are offered by car dealers.

Using these tips and doing your homework can save you a substantial amount on a new car.