car shopping

We have 2 high mileage vehicles, so we keep our ears open. Recently, some friends purchased a new vehicle and had some great ideas on how to do it affordably. Of the 2 cars we have now, we purchased one new and one used. With the current economy and resale market on cars, I'm not sure how statistics have changed on buying new versus used, but our friends purchased new and got a good deal.

• They decided what car they wanted first. My husband swears by consumer reports, and the preferred brands have changed a lot in the last few years according to them.
• They used Truecar.com to get real information on what cars are selling for by region
• They e-mailed the different dealers in the Twin Cities that sold that model, and started their negotiating/price-determination that way
• Dealers who refused to e-mail specifics were ignored (because that was harder)
• The dealers that gave specifics were informed of the things other dealers would give them & the e-mail negotiations happend that way - something like 10-15 e-mails
• The closest dealer wasn't the lowest price, but agreed to match the lower price with documentation - see truecar.com and get specifics in writing via e-mail for this purpose.
• They wanted one upgrade that came with a ridiculously expensive package (that they didn't want the rest of), so they got an aftermarket upgrade on that one thing & it was very reasonable - plus, I got to check it out - it was good!

If you have tips on car shopping to share, please do - I'd love to accumulate other people's knowledge on things so we can all help each other save! Please leave a comment if you have tips, too! Thanks & stay cool!