)My first time buying a car was absolute hell. I came on the used car lot to pick up a Toyota and left with a 2000 Dodge Neon, which later became known as the Dodge Death Trap. It was the first car I ever bought with my own credit (such as it was). It was a mostly reliable car, until I finally paid it off by transferring the last of my 14% interest loan to a 0% credit card.

It overheated. Not too badly at first, then just on hot days’¦ or when it rained ‘¦ or in traffic. The solution was always to pour more coolant into its insatiably hungry engine and keep an eye on the temp. Taking it in to Jiffy Lube for a coolant flush seemed to work for a little while. I put the car in neutral at stop lights and when it got hot vented the heat through floorboards of my car. In the summer.

Finally in 2007, as it was warming up, I’d had enough. Repair was one option but I’d had the car for five years and truthfully hated driving it. Automobile repair is worse than the dentist for me and once a car really starts to break I don’t feel safe driving it. It was time to buy a car.

I wanted the cheapest, most reliable car with good gas mileage. According to Consumer Reports that was a Toyota Corolla. All I had to do was pick the color.

As I drove to the dealership, my coolant tank lid was now just some tin foil with rubber bands around it. The car started to overheat, as if it knew our final moments were at hand. It was the longest drive of my life, uphill with frequent stops and I prayed, which for an atheist is the equivalent of blasphemy, that I could make it to the lot. Once I parked, I knew I was in the worst spot for negotiation’”I was not ready to walk away from the deal.

But this time I did well.

First, I did my own calculations on monthly payments. The car was advertised as 16K so I did the math over three years. There are an insane number of fees on car purchases and you will never pay what online payment calculators say but, it gives you a lowball number. Bonus if you used the calculator on another dealers site.

Second, I’d shopped around and found a lower price somewhere else. Anywhere really. They’ll find a way to match it. If they can’t then you’re in the wrong place.

Third, I turned down the extended warranty. Toyotas are very reliable and manufacturer’s warranty covers almost everything anyway. The dealer tried to dissuade me from my decision unsuccessfully.    But then he cut me a deal–Miraculously my monthly payment plummeted to less than $300 for 36 months. The warranty was going to be “free”. The dealers must make crazy commission off of these.

Fourth, I took the price with the extended warranty. Then a week later I went back to the dealership and returned it. When you do this, the amount is applied towards the balance of the loan. In effect it was equal to the amount of interest I would have paid, and then some.

I’m sure QC readers have lots of great tips when it comes to driving a hard bargain at the auto dealer. How do y’all wrangle the best deals on new cars?