Resources - New Car Buying
Utilize these BEST OF resources for dealership and vehicle reviews, pricing information, credit scores, "F&I Products" and up-to-date automotive industry news articles.
MANUFACTURER SITES, Edmunds, US News, FuelEconomy.gov and JD Power provide cost-of-ownership, vehicle reviews, fuel economy statistics and dependability information.
Car & Driver makes it easy for you to research award-winning vehicles from competitors within the same class.
NHTSA.gov powered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides safety, crash test ratings, recall data and complaints & defects information.
Utilize DealerRater to help you find a highly-rated dealership near your home.
“Trade-In” Values
One of the best resource for evaluating the value of your current vehicle is Kelley Blue Book ®.
A few other good resources include Edmunds and JD Power.
If you live near a Carmax location or one of the many independent car-buying services, take your vehicle in for a free evaluation.
Many charities would also happily accept your old vehicle as a tax-deductible donation. Kars4Kids is one of the organizations that make the vehicle disposal process easy for you.
New Car Pricing
Costco provides its members with the simplest way to get a fair no-haggle price on a new car.
With a little extra work, you may be able to obtain an even better price by utilizing online resources such as TrueCar and Edmunds for fair pricing information for your area.
Currently available major “Rebate” and “Rate Incentive” information for all vehicles can be found at Edmunds and Cars.com. Alpha CBA’s “Expert Buyer Report” included with your upgraded Level 2 and Level 3 membership provides a listing of all available incentives (major and minor).
Credit Check
Find out what your credit score is by using one of the many free credit score providers online such as Credit Karma.
Annual Credit Report, Experian and Bank Rate are other resources which provide credit-related information for little or no charge.
Finance and Insurance
Always consider the cost of insurance when deciding on a new car. Call your primary insurer or use a great company like Esurance for a no obligation quote. Also, don’t forget to recheck your rates every six months going-forward.
Get pre-qualified for a loan from a trusted affiliate like Bankrate or your local Credit Union before you even step foot in a dealership. Recheck rates every six months to see if you would benefit from refinancing.
Find the best online price for “Extended Warranty” and “GAP” products from credible third party providers such as CarChex.
Estimate your state’s Doc & DMW fees using Edmunds and research Sales Tax Rates by zip-code using Avalara.