FYI - Car Dealerships Edition

Secrets New-Car Dealerships Don't Want You to Know

The window sticker's not worth the paper it's printed on

• The window sticker, aka the Monroney, isn't the real price you ever want to work with. Instead, there are several sites that provide reasonably close estimates of the actual invoice price of a car and its options. It's not the price the dealership is on the hook for, but it's generally several thousand lower than the MSRP, and it's the number you absolutely, positively need to know before making contact with a dealership.

There are a bunch of incentives, but the salesman doesn't have to tell you sh*t

• Knowledge is power, and I'm not even talking about knowledge of the actual car. I'm talking about all the rebates, incentives, and special financing offers that are available. Most manufacturers offer these, and if you don't know about them, it's quite literally your loss, to the tune of $500, $1,000, or more. The sales manager will usually know them, but there is absolutely zero obligation to pass that information on to you.

Always focus on the sale price, and nothing else

• Down payments, monthly payments, and interest rates can wait. Your trade-in isn't going anywhere, either. You need to negotiate the price of the car based on what the car is worth, not what you can spend. Opening with, "I've got $3,000 to put down and I can afford $300 per month," isn't just bringing a knife to a gun fight, it's bringing the gun, too, then handing it to the dealer, who will use it against you.

Complete list (Thrillist.com)