Car buying guide:new car, truck, SUV, or minivan

Here at Car and Driver, we've cultivated an exceedingly

knowledgeable and passionate team of automotive experts. Since

1955, these invaluable resources combined with C/D's rich

history of comprehensive vehicle testing have helped us become

one of the most respected voices in the industry. Our Buyer's

Guide team utilizes this institutional knowledge to deliver the

most comprehensive shopping advice you'll find anywhere.Click

here for car buying guide

Over the course of the previous year, our editors have had the

pleasure—and sometimes the pain—of driving and testing

hundreds of new vehicles. We've counted cupholders, rated seat

comfort, loaded in luggage to measure cargo room, and taken

the vehicles to our test track to see how well they accelerated,

braked, and cornered. Those evaluations and our collective

opinions feed where we rank the vehicles in every class.

These Editors' Choice picks represent roughly 20 percent of

the vehicles currently on the market. They include those named

to our 2020 10Best Cars and Trucks list as well as vehicles that

are highly ranked in their respective segment. These stellar cars,

trucks, and SUVs are the ones we recommend, and they are the

ones we believe should be at the top of your shopping list.

If you walked up to the cashier at your local grocery store with a

gallon of milk in hand and said, “It says $2.49 on this sticker,

but I’ll give you a buck-fifty,” you’d be going home thirsty. If you

walked into McDonald’s and said, “I don’t see a lot of people

eating Big Macs today. I’ll take that value meal off your hands for

just three bucks!” you’d leave hungry. But walk into a car

dealership, and you are expected to bargain with the salesman.

Pay sticker, and you’re giving the dealer hundreds or—in most

cases—thousands of dollars in additional profit.

Considering that the car dealership is a business and

performing a necessary service—getting the car from the factory

to you—some profit is definitely deserved. How much is fair

profit depends on a number of factors, including the specific car

and demand for it, the options, your location, and how long the

car has been on the lot. So we can’t tell you exactly what to pay.

But we can tell you what to do to optimize your chances of

paying what you want.

For most of us, financing is the only way we can afford a new

car. Most dealerships can provide you financing, but be sure to

check at your bank or credit union before you go to the dealer's,

as those other organizations will often offer you a better interest

rate. At the very least, shopping around will give you an idea of

what rates you qualify for, so you can police the dealership’s

offer later.

This is the most important thing to keep in mind when

shopping for a car. It might be uncomfortable to walk away, but

remember that it is your money on the line, and it really doesn’t

matter if anyone at the dealership thinks you are irrational or

whiny. There’s certainly no reason to be unpleasant, but if you

feel you are being treated unfairly or are the victim of classic

dealership tricks, walk away. There’s a good chance someone will

stop you, and negotiations will begin again in earnest.

 Invoice price is what the dealer pays the manufacturer for

your car. Anything over invoice is dealer profit. Even if you pay

exactly invoice, the dealer makes some money in the form of

holdback, a percentage of the car’s MSRP that most

manufacturers pay back to their dealers quarterly. Once you

know the invoice price and any rebates, start negotiating there

and work upward.

Most car salesmen use a worksheet called a foursquare to map

out the major factors of your deal: purchase price, down

payment, monthly payment, and trade-in value. Some will try to

juggle the elements of this sheet, forfeiting a little to you on

down payment but inflating your monthly payments while you

bask in the glow of victory, or giving you a good deal on your

trade-in but negating that with an inflated new-car price. The

foursquare leaves out two critical numbers—interest rate and

loan term—that will dictate your monthly payments and total

amount paid. Keep track of each quadrant and these two

additional figures, and try to keep each at a fair level.