Many of us are all-too-familiar with the car buying runaround. The hounding you get the minute you set foot on the premises. The hard sell tactics. The ‘I’ll check with my sales manager’. The pervasive feeling that you’re not getting the whole story. Undercoating.

With a little preparation you can make the process a lot less painful. Here are tips that will give you a bigger club to wield next time you go hunting for an auto.

Know Your Credit Score before Shopping

Your credit score will determine the interest rate on your car loan and thus will significantly impact not only the price of the vehicle but also the terms of payment -- and even whether or not you may be eligible for financing. If you have relatively bad credit (less than 675), you can still qualify for a good financing. But it might help first to secure advance financing from lenders who specifically deal with bad creditor applicants. Even if you’ve suffered the "slings and arrows" of bankruptcy, tax liens, and terrible credit, you can still qualify for certain loans -- as long as you have a FICO score above 525.

Research Online Extensively Before You Go To Dealerships

Often, you can find amazing deals online through factory direct websites or consensus car buying sites that you could never get by going through a specific dealership.

Shop at the Right Time

There are two best times to shop for new cars: the last week in December and the late summer/early fall season.

During the end of the Christmas season, consumers get "wrapped up" (so to speak) buying gifts for the holidays. Car dealers often must struggle to get any business at all. Thus, they mark down their vehicles and otherwise incentivize purchases.

In the period beginning around the end of July and ending in the first week or so of October, on the other hand, dealerships roll-out their new cars for the next year. They must thus incentivize customers to purchase the last remaining old models.

Learn about these and other various dealer incentives, and you can whittle down prices even further.

Plan Ahead

Is your lease set to expire in three months? Is your current car on the verge of falling apart? If so, get on the internet NOW to explore the new auto landscape, and schedule time to test drive your top vehicles. If you wait until the last possible weekend to shop and test drive, chances are that you will make a rushed decision and end up with a less than stellar deal.

If Possible, Pay for Your Car With Cash.

On the surface, the notion financing your car purchase seems more convenient and cost effective. After all, if, for instance, you $40,000.00 out of a savings account to invest in the car, that is $40,000.00 less cash you can earn interest on.

However, statistics show that buyers who pay "cash out of hand" typically encounter fewer problems and save more over the long-term than do people who finance -- even through solid low interest APR loans.

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