BUYING NEW CAR

The most important thing to do when buying a new car, is to fully research the model you're interested in - after all, a new car is a significant financial investment, so it's important to be prepared. There are numerous sources of information that you can tap into to get detailed numbers on invoice costs and actual selling prices for the same vehicle you're planning to buy, which give you an advantage when negotiating with a dealer, as they are armed with this same information.
The Internet has become the great equalizer, not only because of the research you are able to do, but also because it allows you to tap into broader competition between dealers - instead of being restricted to local dealers, you can compare prices, get quotes, and purchase a vehicle, from a dealer outside of your local area.
When negotiating price, it is important to leave out the method of financing that you are looking at (lease vs. purchase), as many dealers are trained to work the numbers to try and fit a new car purchase into a monthly budget - this often works to your disadvantage, as the long term cost to you is often higher (for example, you might pay less per month on a lease, but at the expense of the residual value - meaning that you would have to pay a higher price to buy the vehicle when the lease term expires). Remember that there a variety of numbers under the surface that a salesman can 'tweak', focus on negotiating the price of the car first, then work out the best way to pay for it.
Also be aware that the cost of options installed by the dealer are marked up much more than the car itself, so when negotiating a price, you often have more room to move with the price of the installed options than you do with the base price of the car.
Once you have your research and know the true cost of the vehicle to a dealer, it is a common tactic to negotiate up from the invoice price, instead of down from the sticker price. Many salespeople are trained with high-pressure sales tactics, so if you feel uncomfortable at any point with the negotiations or terms, you should be prepared to walk away – you can always get the same car somewhere else, and you should never feel pressured into agreeing to something you’re not comfortable with. If you’re not making any headway with what you feel are fair negotiations, get up, leave your phone number and your fair price/terms, and walk way – if the offer is fair, you might be surprised at how effective this can be, and if you don’t get a call back you can pursue the same vehicle through another dealer.