Consumer Reports usually ranks the annual models by every metric imaginable.

So I'm now officially the owner of a vehicle I can't afford and don't want (Jeep Liberty '04, trade-in value at about $8,500-9,000) and need to get rid of it for something I *can* afford. I'd like to trade it in for something used, I'm thinking a Honda Civic, hatchback if I'm lucky, but I don't know where to start.

Do people recommend buying over the internet, individual owner, or lot dealer? What about insurance? What the hell am I doing?

You beat me.

CarMax, believe it or not, was great for us.

Well, within the past 5 years I have successfully bought 2 new cars, and a motorcycle. Here is my advice.

Let me break it down the way I did my first car. My wife and I figured out what we could afford for a monthly payment. You have to figure in if you are going to put anything down or not as well. That will effect what your monthly payment will be. Since you are doing a trade, that will be your down payment, that is unless you are upside down in your loan, meaning you owe more on the car than the car is worth. To put it another way, if your Jeep is worth $9000, and you still owe $10000, you are upside down by $1000. This will hurt you on the trade, because if you do a trade at a dealer, they will have to pay off the rest of the car, and that will negatively affect the trade in value of your car.

You have two options, as far as what to do with your Jeep. You can sell it privately, or trade it in at a dealer. You will get more if you sell it privately, but if it's not paid off, that can be a hassle. You would need to consult your loan company first before you do a private sale about what happens with the title. If you do a trade, you will get less for the Jeep, but it's less hassle. To get good figures on what the retail value and trade in value of your Jeep is, go to www.kbb.com.

If you do a trade at a dealer, and you have your heart set on a late model used honda civic hatchback, then you will have to shop around. Honda's are great cars, and run forever, so anything with under $50,000 miles that is no more than 5 years old should be good. Just be careful with warranties. A lot of times dealers sell used cars as-is with no warranty. This is why I will never buy a used car after my mess with a 96 taurus I bought in 2001. This is also why I'll never buy another ford. Anyway, if you can afford something new, I'd go that route. You'll have the peace of mind of a 5 year warranty, and that you have a new car. When I buy a car, I'm not buying it worrying about that as soon as I pull off the lot, it's already decreased in value. I buy a car to keep for a long time, which is why I do a ton of research on the web before even test driving.

Once you decide on the car that you want. Go to kbb.com, and you will get what sticker price is, what the average going rate is in your area, and what dealer cost is. In my opinion, 10% over dealer cost is a fair price, and I don't budge from that when I'm negotiating with the sales people. I used to be a sales guy (not for cars, for pro audio), and I know the game. I tend to work the sales people over pretty good before I'm out of there.

I would be leary of the internet, and I would only by from an individual I know personally.

As far as insurance goes, there is a lot to consider as far as what kind of coverage you want. I use State Farm, and they have been great with me. I have been in 2 accidents, and they really helped me out. Again, you'll really need to shop around for what insurance company to go with. I think progressive has their rates, and rates of other companies on their website. For me, they were the most expensive out of everybody for some reason, but that's just me.

If you are looking for a small hatchback, look at the Nissan Versa, and the Mazda 3 hatchback. Both are awesome cars.

How much of a sucker are you? And how willing are you to be forceful with a used car salesperson?

When we bought our last car (from a lot) we searched the inventories of nearby dealerships ahead of time, and then went to the lot and said that we were only interested in one specific car. Still, the guy talked my husband into a way more expensive NEW car. I talked him right back out of it. That salesman HATED me. He was really intimidating, too (he had a teardrop tattooed in the corner of his left eye. You know a dude with a face tattoo is gonna be a hardass).

Determine EXACTLY how much you can spend ahead of time, and stick to it, no matter what. Be prepared to leave without a car, or at least act like you're going to do so. When I was younger, I witnessed my father yell at a used car salesman, leave the dealership, get into his car, and start to drive away. The salesman ran after the car, got my dad to roll down his window, and agreed to my dad's price.

Stephanie, great points.

If you are going to a lot, you gotta be a hard ass. Don't let them talk you into stuff you don't want, or fiddle with numbers and try an trick you. Take your time. When we bought our Nissan Quest, the sales people were trying to give us the runaround, trying to trick us into paying more. I had to tell them to leave the little sales office a couple of times so I could sit down and run the numbers they gave my myself, and see what it came out to. I caught them 3 times trying to screw me over, so finally I said "this is what I am going to pay for this car, and it is a fair price. take this offer right now, or I'm outta here", and they made the deal for my price.

when we bought our Mazda, we were dead set on our price, simply because we couldn't afford any more at the time. I told the guy what we could pay per month, and he spoke to his manager, then came back 5 minutes later with a higher number, and I said no, I told you what I can pay, and no more. He went to his manager again, and came back with a number that was still higher than what I could pay. Finally, I got a little asshole-ish and said, "I am assuming you can speak english, since we have been talking for the past two hours. I told you what I can pay for the car, which is a fair price. Enough of these games. Give me the car for this price, or I'm going to go get a corolla for less money right now". It totally worked.

I always buy from used from an individual, and it's worked out great for me. The trick is persuading someone who knows about cars to go on the test drive with you, because you have to be a little more careful about checking it out in advance. If you can find someone in your area who makes a second income by fixing and selling used cars, go with him. Those guys are great.

Cog what kind of bike?

The Jeep is mine in full.

What can I expect doing a trade-in?

I would avoid a trade if possible. You'll get far less value for the vehicle because the dealer will discount the value so it can turn around and sell it for what you could sell it for to a private party. Check the Kelley Blue Book values for your vehicle as a private party sale vs. a trade at www.kbb.com. If you don't have to get rid of the car immediately and can wait a few weeks, you might get much more out of it via a private party sale -- it could be thousands of dollars.

On the buying front, I can't help. My father worked for Ford for more than 30 years, so we get cars on the "A plan" -- we pay dealer cost, no dickering. I'd just say try to buy union-made American.

God, the Mazda3s look delicious.

JTP, how exactly would the private sale go?

Mind you, the $9000 that I quoted above is the trade-in value. I'm doing some research on my own but I'm having problems putting it all together.

I'm not an expert -- the last car I sold outright instead of driving until it was ready to donate to charity was a 1979 Mustang that I sold in 1989 for about $750. You'd advertise your car and sell it to someone, either through your local paper or via some web service, like KBB.com or autotrader.com. States differ as to registration and title, etc. Essentially, you get the cash in hand and sign over the title to the buyer. The buyer might get financing from a bank, etc. It's a bit more work, but, on your car, I'd guess you might get about $2000 more in a private sale than you would get from a dealer in trade. Why give that much money to the dealer, who is already going to make money by selling you a car? If you poke around a bit on the Internet, you'll probably find some guides as to how to sell your car.

I agree on the Mazda3s -- I like the hatch especially. Mazda is mostly owned by Ford, so if you're going to buy Japanese, at least some of that money is going to a U.S. company and possibly to U.S. workers -- they have a plant in SE Michigan, but I don't know if any 3s are made there. It's also based on the same platform as the Ford Focus/Volvo S40 (Volvo is another Ford brand).

Xavier: I ride a Honda CB600. It's their naked sport bike. I love it. It's my first bike.

I'm going to go out on a limb and disagree with Capp about buying american cars. They don't last long, and have reliability problems. Just do your research online, you'll see. My parents used to buy pontiac cars when I was a kid, and they were always in the shop. Then we got a Chevy van when I was in high school. It was always in the shop. We also had an 89 Mazda 323. Over 100,000 miles, never had a problem with routine maintenence. My folks now have a 97 Toyota Avalon, and a 2005 Toyota Highlander. Both have never had problems. My first car was a dodge shadow. Problems galore. My second car was an 86 Honda CRX. I got this car in 97 with 80,000 miles on it. Never had a problem. Sold it when I moved to L.A. in 2001 and got a 96 Ford Taurus. It died a few years later. The last time I took it to my mechanic, he said never to buy American made cars unless I want them to be in the shop all the time. Your best bang for the buck is a Japanese car. We had a Mazda 3, and we loved it. We traded it for the Nissan Quest when we had our third child because we needed a bigger car, and I still have the motorcycle.

Since you have paid off your jeep, I agree that selling it privately is your best bet. You will lose at least a grand on a trade. I know from a friend's experience that trade in values on Jeeps are really really low.

Many domestic models are now surpassing Japanese cars in quality and numbers of problems reported.

I've got a '97 Tracer wagon that's going strong--no problems--and a 2004 Freestar that's never had a problem. Before the Freestar, I had a '91 Escort that was great aside from developing an air conditioning leak around '99 -- I drove it until I donated it to charity in 2004. Yet my next door neighbors have a 2005 Camry that's always in the shop.

Anyway, if you don't buy American, you're contributing to the loss of good blue collar jobs, mostly in blue states, and weakening unions.

Capp, I don't want to get into a domestic vs. foreign car pissing match here. There is merit to your argument when it comes to supporting our local unions and blue collar jobs. On the other hand, it's my hard earned money that I am spending, and I want the best I can get for my money, and from my personal experience, japanese cars are the way to go.

Now, having said that...I had a friend in high school that had an 86 t-bird with 250,000 miles on it, and he didn't take care of it at all. It finally developed an oil leak, but that was it. Not bad for not taking care of a car at all.

Lauren, the trade-in value on paper is likely far more than what a used car dealer would actually pay, especially if you're looking for something cheaper.

I financed my car through USAA (I was an Air Force brat) and they walked me through the process of getting all the right papers shuffled around. Maybe if you call your bank tomorrow, they can walk you through it?

Before I bought my first car I read a book that offered practical, logistical information on both new and used vehicles. What I retained (not the title or author) was that timing was everything. Buy at the end of the month, when sales quotas need to be met. Buy on a Saturday night, the later the better. Salespeople are less willing to fight you over a grand or so when they want to go out and get into a bottle of Jameson's. I've done this every time and always gotten my price, with not a speck of trouble or salesman shenanigans. You can find the dealer cost and "real" sticker prices for your area in a number of places online (I like edmunds.com).

I'll second (third? fourth?) the importance of knowing your terms before you walk into a dealership and being willing to walk out if you don't get them. You're the one with the advantage, especially if you have good credit and especially if you don't need to leave the lot with a car today. If you have a hard time arguing or bargaining, borrow someone else's persona for the day. You have to be a hard-ass here. And despite how dreadful it sounds, it can actually be kind of fun. I'm very proud of the deal we got on our RAV4 because we learned about the process ahead of time and pulled out all the stops during bargaining. The salesman still looks kind of half-excited, half-nervous when he sees us. So that's fun.

Also, bring several snacks or full on meals with you. Bring a calculator. Hell, bring a pillow. And get a babysitter who can stay with your kids indefinitely. It can take all f*ing day.

You know, I actually heard that bringing your kids with you is a good thing. Not for the kids, but if they get kinda unruly, the sales people will be more likely to make a deal with you to get you out the door. Of course, since my children are angels, I can't speak from personal experience.

Another thing to look at is to see if that have any previous year models on the lot. It's unlikely you'll find any 06 vehicles now, but if you wait till the end of the year, dealers are more willing to give you a deal on an 07 when they have a bunch of 08's on the lot. Also, keep an eye out for holiday sales. We bought our Mazda 3 on a 4th of July holiday weekend, and got in on a sale.

You can use the internet to find deals that are not advertised elsewhere for some dealerships. Twice I have found internet ads that showed a price thousands of $$ less than the sticker price on the same car in the lot, both times they honored it - they had to.

If you do bring kids, train them beforehand not to say things like my friend's kid said in front of the salesperson, e.g., "But Mom! You really wanted the blue one! Remember?" or "We have to get it today, or how will we get everyone out to the beach tomorrow?" Only take kids who can keep their mouths shut, or Cog's kids. It improves your bargaining position.

My kids are available for rent, if anyone is interested.

We have a Mazda3 also. Can't recommend it enough. I imagine you could get one that's a couple years old for a great price.

Our other car is a 2000 Chevy Malibu with a zillion miles on it. Not nearly as fun as the Mazda, but a ridiculously reliable car. Gets great mileage in spite of its V6 too.

Oh, and for what it's worth, my cousin has bought two cars on eBay and had incredibly good luck both times.

so I read through this whole post waiting to see my wife's comment...looks like I may have gotten here too quick

you should check out our car issues though - you might find them either funny, scary, or both :-)

http://mostly-irish.livejournal.com/

Lauren- Where do you live? I could go with you. I rock at buying used cars.

Here are the keys:
1) Never buy new, and never more than 2 years old, and it must still have some manufacturers warranty.
2) Smell the car. This sounds weird. But, really smell it. If it smells like Febreze, walk away. There is something nasty there.
3) If you are going through a dealership, hook them then be ready to walk. Any salesperson who has spoken to you has used an "up" and won't get another one until everyone else on the floor has. So, they have invested in you and are ready to deal. This does not work on the phone. You must go in person.
4) If you are buying from a private party, call the DMV and check on the tags. They can tell you whether or not they are current (even if you see the 08 tags, they may be stolen) and if there are any tickets or liens on the car.
5) At the dealership again, don't buy up. If you want to spend $8,000 out the door tell them that and don't budge. They will always try to hook you into financing more for a "better" car. Truth is, most people don't need the upsell car. If you have a family car and want a second car that gets great gas mileage, don't buy an SUV because it is "safer for your kids."

Never bought a new car, but got pretty close to one. We get used cars, take good care of them and sell them in better shape than we got them. Not our plan, but we're so darn esponsible when it comes to transportation.

We were thinking of buying a Kia Rondo a few months ago. My dad, who buys all the new cars that I eventually get used, gave me some suggestions.

1. Pick out the car you want by pricing it with options on the manufacturer's website.
2. Talk to a credit union, not a bank, about a loan, aim for the amount your car was priced at.
2. When you have that amount, send around emails to various dealers in your area, and possibly across the country, and say "I have $_____ (write about 10% lesss than your actual loan amount). I want to buy a _____ with _____ options. Can you sell it to me with everything - price, tax, tags, extras - totalling the amount I wrote above?" Dad got two of his cars for $3,000+ under sticker this way, and only had to drive an hour to pick them up.

I disagree with never buying new, but that's just me. Although, getting a used car that isn't more than two years old is almost like buying new if it doesn't have more than 20,000 miles on it, and since it is only 2 years old, it should still have the warranty on it.

What does "using an up" mean? I haven't heard of this term.

The best advice you will ever get - get financed through your bank or credit company and not the dealer! We have bought our last two cars this way. It is amazing the difference.

Your bank or credit company will almost always offer you a loan that is so much better than your dealer. Contact your bank or trusted credit company first (this is assuming you have good credit) and ask for their rates on new and used car loans. They can approve you online, over the phone, or in person. We had our check (with instructions) Fed Ex'ed to us within a day. The best part is you are pre-approved you know exactly how much you are approved for, what your payments will be if you buy new and what they will be if you buy used.

You have to go through a dealer this way, usually, but that is all we would ever do, anyway. Other than that I'm 100% with Alternadad.

The check in hand is just like paying cash it takes half the time to get out of there and you don't have to haggle. Don't tell them you are paying cash until you get a fixed price quoted on the car, though. They often give you a better price if they think they can fuck you over on the financing.

Of course the last car I bought was a Scion so it is a set price already, that was the best car buying experience of my life between easy trade, excellent price, and the actual handing over of the check and getting out the door with my favorite car ever - I love Cherry!

Mazda3. Do it.

"Using an up" is the sales term for greeting a customer. Salesfolk follow a system of ups. They each get to greet someone in a specific order. Once they say hi to you, you are their up until their next turn in the cycle. Saying hi to you invests a portion of their day. Depending on the volume of customers in the dealership, it can be significant.

I just thought of two more pieces of info for dealership buying. December, January, and April are their slowest months. They make the best deals in these months. And, managers are more likely to underwrite a good deal at the end of the month to push the dealership over quota.

My dad was a car salesman. Can you tell?

And, new cars are a waste because of the depreciation. Get something recent with under 20,000 miles on it and all you miss out on is the depreciation. I saved $15,000 on my last car that way. It was less than a year old and had less than 12,000 miles on it.

What Dann said.

Hate buying cars. HATE it.

I did the progressive.com thing to find insurance. It was very easy and I got a good deal and decent coverage.

Not sure if you are going to have to float a loan for this car, but if you do don't let them keep you in the dark on the details. Car dealers are famous for asking you "how much can you afford a month?" Be wary of that.

You need to make sure you know these three important factors: interest, term, and loan amount. If they are evasive about divulging any of those, they are trying to swindle you.

They could say your payment is $200, but you might not realize that the loan goes on for 7 years.... that sort of thing. So be careful with financing.

If at all possible, pre-qualify for a car loan through a bank or credit union before you go into the dealership. You have much more control then and don't have to be at their mercy.

Just because you can afford the payment they are offering doesn't mean its a good deal....

And I'm with Meg... I hate buying cars. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it.

the only problem with the buying a used car is for the most part you are buying someone else's headache...

and this certain red car that we now have darkening our driveway is proof...although I am sure there are very good reasons to get rid of a car that have nothing wrong.

Lease returns and rentals are both used cars that are for sale without something being wrong with them. I also know several old school car buyers who buy a new car every 18 months, or 30,000 miles, or whatever their personal rule is.

Lease returns and rentals are both used cars that are for sale without something being wrong with them. I also know several old school car buyers who buy a new car every 18 months, or 30,000 miles, or whatever their personal rule is.

I don't know about you, but I don't slow down for speed bumps when I'm driving a rental car. Geronimo!