My father, whom was a auto mechanic, loved car shopping and making deals...
I approach it completely different. I'm a bit of a minimalist, and hate paying for stuff I likely will not use... I also view a car as a point a to point b device, not as a luxury. I also refuse to give a auto salesman too much leeway in the deal.
So...
On a new car I actually research it on-line first.. pick the absolute lowest model that has what I want to see in it, and figure what options I need from there. I try to look at the insurance standards assigned symbols for the car as well as if you know what doing, can potentially save on insurance that way.
Generally speaking, for me, the options I want are generally practical or protection, and can sometimes be had elsewhere cheaper
- floor mats
- step in protection plates
- rear hatch protection plate
- front acrylic hood shield (aka bonnet protector)
- cargo are mat
- license plate frames
- roof cross bars for roof rack
I will then before going to a dealer do the following:
- print all that up right from the manufacturer site, with the manufacturer costs and part numbers,
- pick two colors from the web site
- plus my current trades worth based on several sites,
- plus my credit score...
- see if there are any on-line manufactures incentives
- see if there are any on-line dealer incentives
- if I went to the auto show recently, ask on specials from attending (note some dealers allow all these to be stacked)
Then go in for a test drive to make sure I'm comfortable in it, show them the paperwork, and state 'I want the car on these pages at this price'.
I may not come out with a haggled deal, but I found that all the above combined makes the process many times smoother than on the spot decisions.
EDIT: One other thing I do... I make a bit of a list of notes to get answers on before going... so can either ask them, or just present them the list and get them answered. I actually tried contacting manufacturers before purchases, and find that rarely works as well as it should...