-Do as much research as you can. MSN autos is a good source, they give you proffesional and user reviews. For the user reviews ignore the 10's and the 1's because some get lemons and some are just over the top. Knowing as much as you can about the car will save you the boring part of the salesman fawning over the car and showing you stuff that you dont care about. -Have a price in mind that you are willing to pay. Like everyone says, if you dont get it, get up and walk away. Even if you get close to what you want you should leave and take a break. You might get an even better offer, also it allows you to make a clear decision. Remember there are 1000's of cars out there, you dont have to buy that one. -To go along with the one above, dont fall in love with a car. When i bought my wifes CRV, we also looked at the RAV4. I played the dealerships against each other and was able to get a better price. During the haggling part, make sure that you bring up that you are interested in that other car and you may get some results. -Dont get bullied into buying a car or add ons. Remember they are selling you a car and have to convince you not to buy it, not the other way around. Don't fall for sympathy pleas, IE extended warrianties, under coating etc. There isnt a person or proffesional alive that thinks purchasing an extended warranty or the other add ons is worth it. They usually throw that stuff in when you are signing the finnacial paper work. They are going to throw it out there off the cuff making it seem that it is important but not that expensive. Although when you add up all the add ons you are going to end up paying 1000's more then you wanted to. -If you have a car that you want to trade in, try selling it yourself, especially if you can get 3000 or more for it. If you have a P.O.S. car that you would only get 1000 or so for it on the street you might as well take the 100 or so from the dealer to avoid the hassle. -If it is a used car you like and have driven past it for the last couple months, the dealership is going to be motivated to sell it. There is a 90 policy at most dealerships where they want the invetory to roll over ever 90 days or so. Any more questions just ask, i have bought several cars and my father was a buyer for a dealership.