edmunds.com

Full review
As a woman, I know that some people will always stereotype me to some degree, no matter how inaccurate those stereotypes may be. Some stereotypes ring true for me. Yes, I do park like a "girl" sometimes, and in fact I throw like one too. Most stereotypes are harmless, and as long as they aren't harmful, I ignore them. But there's one harmful stereotype that I can't ignore: the belief that women can't negotiate well for cars. And thanks to Edmunds.com I have been beating this stereotype into the ground for years, quite successfully.

About Edmunds.com
Edmunds is a wonderful resource. Founded in 1966 with the goal of empowering consumers to make informed car purchase decisions, Edmunds was originally only available in published guides. In 1994 Edmunds pioneered delivery of their information by using "Gopher", a menu-driven Telnet/FTP tool that most people who surf the web have never heard of. And always on top of the next big thing, Edmunds introduced Edmunds.com on the World Wide Web in early 1995.

What Edmunds provides is simple: They provide easy database access to vehicle information including pricing, trim lines, available options and professional and consumer reviews. This information alone proves to be invaluable when I'm searching for a car, but Edmunds takes it one step farther. Edmunds makes it possible for you, the home web surfer, to get actual quotes from actual dealers nearby on the car that you want without you ever having to leave your chair.

Think about it: From the comfort of your own home you can virtually peek into a car and see all the options it has and whether or not you like it. You can check out the sticker price and then fill out a form to splattercast dealers and find out what they'll sell you the car for. No salesmen accost you on the showroom floor. No more spending hours in a cramped sales cubicle while the pushy salesman and the sales manager act out their poorly acted play of "Good Cop/Bad Cop".

The power shift is immediate, and obvious. Through the wonder of e-mail and Edmunds you can now make dealerships sweat. You can actually pit dealerships against each other because you can send your quote request to any nearby dealership you want. If your offer from dealership #1 isn't what you wanted, perhaps dealership #2 has a bit more freedom to push incentives or provide rebates.

Basically all the ugly work is done in the comfort of your own home, and you don't even have to be in front of your computer monitor to do it.

But many people I know shy away from Edmunds, and from the car quote "Power Shopper" service that they offer. Why? It's a question I've asked a lot of those people and the number one reason is because they don't understand it. They don't really believe the service is free. They also don't believe that the quotes are "no obligation" quotes. A select few, my mother included, actually believed that if she clicked on the "Get Free Price Quote" button she would have to complete a purchase of a new car on the Internet, paying for it via a web page and all.

None of this is true. The service is free to consumers. There is no obligation and you're not really "buying a car over the Internet" (this is what people always say when I tell them about Edmunds, "Oh I don't know. I just don't feel comfortable buying a car over the Internet."). What you are doing is simply getting price quotes, quotes that you can print out on paper with a salesman's name next to them, and then take to the dealership where that salesman, or another one, sells you the car at the agreed-upon price.

The only downside to using this service is that car salesmen have your e-mail address, and we all know how bad it can be to give pushy salespeople your e-mail. For this reason, I recommend creating a new free e-mail account through Hotmail, Yahoo! or Gmail for the sole purpose of using Edmunds. When you've finished purchasing your car, you never have to check that e-mail address again.

Myths Busted, But How Easy Is It To Use?
The Edmunds website is terrifically easy to use, and very simple to navigate and their Power Shopping feature is equally as easy. When you get to Edmunds.com you are presented with a series of tabs for "New Cars", "Certified Cars" (used cars certified by a dealer), "Used Cars", "Car Reviews", "Tips & Advice", "Forums" and a feature called "Insite Line".

To begin searching for a car, choose from among the New, Used or Certified tabs. You can browse by make, market segment (exotic, luxury, hybrid, etc.), vehicle cost or vehicle type (SUVs, sedans, trucks, etc.) As you browse and drill down through the car data, you can still refine your choices further by cost or market segment if you wish.

Finally you get to the car (or cars) that you're looking for. You can either click on the car you specifically want or compare several cars side by side to determine the best prices, financing, warranties and a host of other features.

Once you've chosen your car Edmunds provides a wealth of informaiton about that car including the "True Market Value" price based on your location. Edmunds provides pictures of the car, usually very detailed shots of the interior and exterior, pricing, reviews and specifications, financing and insurance information as well as consumer ratings. Want to bring the information with you? Edmunds lets you download it to a PDA or e-mail it as well.

For site "Help" options, Edmunds provides a searchable FAQ list as well as a Contact Us page where you can submit your request via e-mail.

My Experiences With Edmunds
I have consulted with Edmunds on three occasions since 1999.

Car Purchase #1 - 1999
The first time I used Edmunds was to buy my new Miata. I received quotes from several dealerships and went to the one that provided me with the best quote. Upon entering the dealership and speaking with the salesperson, I mentioned that I had read there was a $1,000 rebate on the car as well. (Edmunds had this information on their site.) The salesman was happy to honor the rebate offer. Then the game of Good Cop/Bad Cop ensued. The contract was written out and taken to the sales manager. She came to me and said the $1,000 rebate did not apply on "Internet" sales. She said that the color car I wanted was moving off the lot faster than they could get them in and that I should just take the price without the rebate. I suppose I could have, but I chose not to. I thanked her and the salesman, whose shoulders slumped a bit as I said, "When you're willing to honor the price on the contract you just wrote up, call me" and left. A week later, coincidentally the last week of the month, I got a call from the overjoyed salesman. They had decided to honor the rebate offer and that, in conjunction with the Edmunds information, meant I got my new car at quite a discount.

The situation was clearly not "no haggle", but that was because an extra incentive was offered to me when I got to the dealership and then promptly taken away. Edmunds came through for me and knowing that they had that rebate available meant I had a chance to really deal for the car, which I did.

Car Purchase #2 - 2000
My second experience with Edmunds came when I decided to buy a used small SUV as I was hauling furniture on a regular basis and had other household needs for something a little bigger than a standard sedan. So I went to Edmunds and based on their reports decided on a used Toyota RAV4. Because it was a used car, dealer quotes on specific models, colors, etc. weren't possible, but Edmunds gave me a great idea of what the car should cost. Armed with that information I went to a dealership one afternoon. I test drove a used RAV4in their inventory and laid all the documentation I'd found on the Internet, including pricing, in front of the salesman and said, "I've had a rough week. I'm not in the mood to haggle. I want your best price on this car. If I have to negotiate something better, I'm just going to leave."

The salesman left with my Edmunds pricing and went to his manager. I had a number in mind based on what I'd learned via Edmunds and Kelly Blue Book values for a used car. He was gone a long time, easily 20 minutes. But when he returned, he said that they weren't going to haggle either, and since it was the end of the month they could price a little more aggressively. He offered me the car for $600 under the maximum that I was willing to pay. No fuss, no muss, I signed the papers and drove the car home that evening.

Car Purchase #3 - 2005
I recently made my latest purchase using Edmunds.com and their Power Shopper feature. I bought a Toyota Highlander and Toyota dealerships abound where I live. There are no fewer than 5.The Highlander I wanted was not in stock at any of them, but Internet sales managers from all 5 dealerships e-mailed me within a four hour time window with their best prices. I chose the lowest quote and went to that dealership. Walking past the pushy salesmen with, "No thanks I'm here to meet Pat" I felt immune to the vultures dying to sell me a car. Pam came down and said instantly, "You know, I made a mistake in the e-mail I sent you. We can actually do better than that price. There's a $1500 cash back incentive if you buy by the end of this month."

We hammered out a deal and I signed on the dotted line for my new Highlander, due in from the factory within two weeks. Unfortunately, the Highlander I wanted got dinged on its way to being delivered, so the sales manager called and offered me the same model Highlander in a different color, with the extra ToyoGuard feature, Toyota's vehicle protection program. I would never pay the $800 for ToyoGuard, but the sales manager cooperated and said because my first choice had been damaged, he'd sell me the other car, with the additional $800 option, for the original price we'd agreed on for my first choice of car.

Summary
The key to all of these successful negotiations was Edmunds. Each time I wanted to buy a car I went armed to the gills with knowledge I had found at the Edmunds website. I knew the MSRP of the cars, and I knew the price dealers actually paid for the cars. Thanks to Edmunds I also had up to date information on incentives and dealer rebates. And one thing I have noticed is that salespeople do not try to lie to me. They know that all I have to do is walk out of that dealership and check Edmunds, so they're completely up front about available rebates and deals they can offer.

I heartily recommend Edmunds to anyone who is in the market for a car, or anticipates buying a new car anytime in the future. Edmunds doesn't just help you decide which car to buy, it makes buying the car much easier. Yes there will be times when you still have to haggle, but Edmunds arms you with every number you need to know to haggle wisely.