I had a simple goal: I wanted to buy a new car and I preferred to buy it online. I expected to be able to find product information, get pricing from various dealers, and even arrange for financing from the convenience of my home computer. I did buy a new car, and in fact got a better deal than I expected. You can do it, too.

Doing my homework
It was July, 2000, and I wanted a new Volkswagen Beetle. I was willing to consider other makes and models, but I especially liked the curvy look of the VW. Whatever vehicle I purchased would be specially customized with graphics and signage to serve as a rolling billboard for one of my more famous web sites, Freebies2Go.com.

Some people go to the dealer first off. Not me. I like to read up on the model I'm most interested in, so I can speak intelligently with the salesperson. I was also hoping to reduce the number of dealerships I would have to visit, since visit to a different dealer takes time. Time to travel there, to browse the lot, and to disengage from the salesperson! It's much faster and convenient to do it all online.

I first started with a visit to the auto manufacturer's web site (volkswagen.com). This provided quite a lot of information about the car, but not as much as I was hoping for. This was due in part to VW offering a pair of Internet-only models, which was their apparent emphasis for web shoppers at the time. I was able to obtain retail price information, which gave me a basis for comparison shopping and looking for the best financing package. (Volkswagen has since updated their web site with more information for online shoppers.)

I made a mental note to visit my local VW dealer to obtain a product brochure and to see how the various interior/exterior color combinations looked "in person," as opposed to on the web or in a brochure.

I should mention that I also did a quick check of my credit report to make sure that it contained no errors that would adversely impact my ability to get financing. Be sure to take advantage of this before you buy a car, so you are not surprised by any errors. What does your credit report say about you?

Using all my advantages
Do you belong to a wholesale club, such as Costco or Sam's? I visited my local Costco and discovered that they had arrangements with select dealers to offer special members-only pricing. There was a Volkswagen dealer listed in my area, so I called to ask about the price I could expect to pay for the New Beetle of my dreams. I was told that the best deal they would make was to sell it at MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price). That may sound like a bad deal, but the New Beetle was selling for more than MSRP in some markets, so at least I had a ballpark idea of what I would be looking at whenn it came to financing. I made an appointment to meet with this contact person and inspect the available models in more detail.

When I showed up for the appointment, the person told the receptionist that he was not available! It turned out that the person I had talked with on the phone was the sales manager; he evidently wanted a salesperson to talk to me in person.

I told the salesman that (1) I was ready to buy, (2) I wanted the car for my business and would appreciate having the car on hand for a local parade later that month, and (3) presented him a free ballpoint pen, imprinted with the name of my company, to prove that I was not just out "kicking tires." For all of this, the salesperson did not seem all that interested in helping me find the car I was looking for.

On my own, I looked over the various models and decided that what would look best would be the top-of-the-line GLX turbo model, in Techno Blue, with black leather interior. The dealership didn't have this car on the lot, but did offer to locate one on their computer if I was willing to sign a form to give their sales manager permission to search for it. I read and signed a form, then was left to stew for several minutes, while the search was performed. I was told that the color combination was not available anywhere. I was not invited to take a test drive, even though I specifically told the salesman that I hadn't actually driven a new VW. The salesperson then excused himself and began chatting up a couple who were browsing cars on the lot. I waited for a minute, two minutes, then left after ten minutes. There were other salesmen available on the lot that were available, so I found the salesman's behavior to be rude and left.

Back to the web
I was hoping to find toll-free phone numbers for other VW dealers within an hour's drive from my home. I still wanted to see the model and color combination I was looking for. I certainly wanted to avoid the time of driving to the various showrooms, perusing inventory, and having to deal with an endless supply of salespeople. I went to Google and HotBot web and did a simple web search on "VW dealers Washington" to try to obtain some phone numbers. Three of the eight or so dealers had toll-free phone numbers on their web sites. I called them to see if they could help me. No luck. One offered to add leather upholstery to a blue GL model, and another had a GLX but in red or black. No blue.

Financing
I checked with half a dozen online finance companies looking for the best deal. I liked the sound of three of them enough to fill out online applications. I was flabbergasted to actually turned down from one firm, offered a high interest rate from another, and another looked pretty decent but I wanted to compare it to the rate offered by my bank.

Remember when I said to use all your advantages? I hadn't yet checked with my own bank to find about all the various finance packages they offered. One of the online finance companies would go 80% of MSRP for the total amount lent. I wanted more flexibility, since the car I was looking at might well sell for higher than MSRP, because of high demand.

I filled out an online form from my bank and received a faxed letter of credit to take with me to speed up the deal-making process. By using payroll deduction for the car payments, I was able to shave a point off the finance rate. This option wasn't available from the online lenders. I was also able to get 100% financing. Now I was armed and ready to go out and find my car.

Back to the dealer
In the meantime, I went back to the local dealer to see about taking a test drive. I knew one of the sales staff when he worked for a different company, so I told him how dissatisfied I was with the earlier salesman. I was told that that first salesman had been fired, and was invited to take a test drive. I accepted. I wanted an automatic transmission originally, but test drove a 5-speed to make certain. I loved the smoothness of the 5-speed transmission, but since I have an arthritic knee that acts up when depressing the clutch pedal, I opted to stick with the automatic. Great car! I loved the almost-silent engine, the power of the turbo, and the nice ventilation offered by the power sunroof. My mind was made up: I was getting a GLX, but I wanted the blue/black color combination.

The salesman said that he would do a better job of finding a car for me. He said that he would have his sales manager check not only the inventories of the other dealers, but that he would check their incoming inventories. I was given the same dealer form to sign, and asked for a $500 deposit. I resisted, stating that I saw no reason to put up $500 for them to do a simple inventory search. He replied that this guaranteed that I was "serious" and that if they couldn't find me a car, the money could be applied towards another vehicle. I showed him the letter of credit and said that this should suffice. If not, then I would take my business elsewhere. I ended up walking out, since the sales manager apparently knew that there were no blue/black GLX's coming in to other dealers. Now, more than ever, I wanted to find a car online and have it delivered.

More research
None of the then-available car finder services could help me, since the best they could do was higher than MSRP (because of the popularity of this vehicle). One site did allow me to post an offer, but I was a little leery of locking myself in, should something turn up from another dealer.

I drove to three Seattle area VW dealers to look at other color combinations. I was convinced that the blue/black was the best, but none had any coming in.

The local salesman called me to state that he had had no luck finding me a 2000 model. I asked when the 2001's would be available. He said that they would start trickling in in October.

I did some different web searches and used the phrase "2000 New Beetle Techno Blue" to see what would come up. One East coast dealer had the car I wanted, only with gray interior. They would ship it to me for an additional $900 and would sell it for MSRP. I was elated. I said I would check with my bank and get back with them the next day. My car was nearly here and I had done it (or most of it, anyway) over the web!

A brief setback
As it turned out, the East coast dealer would not take a certified check from my bank. They insisted on receiving a wire transfer. My bank has a policy of having the dealer sign the bank draft so that the loan is tied to a specific vehicle. They do not want a dealer to substitute one car for another, or "inadvertently" sell a car that they didn't have on the lot in the first place. The dealer was adamant: no wire, no car. My bank talked with their auditing committee about it, and they, too, were inflexible.

During this time, I heard of some horror stories from people who had cars shipped by rail cross country. The cars were subjected to dust, scratches, etc. during transit. In my case, the car would travel from the dealer directly to me without my having an opportunity for a pre-acceptance inspection. If I didn't like the car, not only was I out the $900 freight charge, I would likely have to pay it going back, too!

Scrambling for options
By now it had been a solid two weeks since I had received the faxed letter of credit and I still didn't have a car. I went back to the search engines and tried one last dealer. This one was two hours north of my location, in the town of Burlington. They did not have the car I wanted, either.

Just to cover all the bases, I called a world class custom paint shop and asked how much it would be to buy a red or black GLX and have it painted Techno Blue. I was told that this was possible for the sum of $4500, perhaps a bit higher. That was something that my bank would not cover with the 100% financing offer. But it was still an option, if I could make a sweet deal on a car remaining on a dealer's lot.

During the next two days, I did some serious soul-searching. I looked at the Chrysler PT Cruiser. It was a cool rig, but because of its popularity, local dealers (and several non-dealers) were buying them from Canada and selling them here for upwards of $10,000 over MSRP! True, they had to get the speedometers converted, and I'm sure that the vehicles had to pass some sort of emissions test. But $10-$12 thousand more than list price? I opted to stick with the VW, since that car has more of a fun, hip image with the younger set. Older people do like the PT Cruiser (I like it, too), but my site demographics are for the younger crowd.

Lemon Check
I also looked at a few used cars in the $20,000 - $25,000 price range. To make sure I wasn't buying a lemon, I used Carfax to find the history of a particular used car, so long as I had the VIN (vehicle identification number). It's a good idea to check this before you consider any used vehicle to make sure that the car wasn't wrecked, totalled due to flood or fire then rebuilt, or returned to the manufacturer under the lemon law. Carfax also has a very low cost, 3-month subscription, that allows you to get additional information on as many vehicles as you want. (I did this, and have to admit that it was fun researching the histories of autos I found on the web and on dealer lots. I even checked the history of an existing car I bought from a buddy. Luckily, that one checked out fine.)

Ebay is another source for used cars -- especially the more exotic ones -- and you can use the Carfax Lemon Check with these listings, too, since the VIN is included with the description of the car.

Good news!
During the two days since I called the East coast dealer to cancel our pending deal, I got a call back from the Burlington dealer. They had a 2001 Beetle that had just arrived at the port of entry (in Texas) and would be arriving in Washington state in approximately a week. Now wait a minute! The local dealer aid they wouldn't be getting any 2001 New Beetles until October, and this was mid-July. What's up with that? It turns out that Volkswagen ships their vehicles on allocation, meaning that there is a system as to which dealer gets the new cars first, and in what quantity. The Burlington dealer is a five-star dealer, and thus probably received the first allocation of 2001s in the state.

Back to my phone call. Was the 2001 Beetle a Techno Blue GLX? Yes. Was it an automatic with black leather? Yes and yes. And just for the icing on the cake, they had five Techno Blue GLXs coming in, two of them automatic. So even if one did sell before I gave the okay, I was still pretty much guaranteed a car.

We hadn't talked price, yet, so I asked if they participated in the Costco auto dealer program. He said that instead of MSRP, they would go $500 over factory invoice. This actually ended up being less in my case. (The buy-a-car-on-the-web sites list the MSRP and dealer invoice for you.) It never hurts to ask!

I asked the Burlington salesman to fax a sales order to me, after first adding a CD changer to the original invoice. I signed it and faxed it to my bank. I called my insurance company and had them fax proof of insurance to the bank. I called the dealer and told them everything was set.

Sign on the dotted line
The big day arrived. A buddy drove me up north, which gave us two hours to reminisce about old times. Then on to the dealer, and there was the shiny, new Beetle, waiting for its test drive. I checked it out, test drove it, signed the papers, then drove it home.

A visit to the sign shop a short time later, and the Freebies2Go freebie cruiser was ready to go. It's been a great car for the business, and it's a blast to drive. There were a lot of bumps in the road during my three-week experience, but the Web made the process much better than I would have otherwise hoped.

One last thing
Salespeople will often try to get you to buy a car locally, since they say you can have the car serviced locally, too. If you buy a new car from a dealer in ABC, the dealer in XYZ where you live or work can service the car during the warranty, just as easily as if you bought the car there. Don't fall for the pressure to buy it locally. You do not have to take the car back to the original dealer for service.

As an incentive for the local dealer to give you good service, most new car dealers accrue points from good customer service experiences. You will likely get a follow-up card, or perhaps a phone survey, to determine if the dealer performed the service to your satisfaction. Even though I bought this car out of town, I have taken it to the local dealer for factory service. (Volkswagen of America warrants the car to have free scheduled service for 2 years or 24,000 miles.) The dealer's service department has treated me with the same respect as if I had purchased the car there.

Lessons learned

• Decide exactly what you want
• Be prepared to change your mind during the process
• The customer is always right
• If you're not getting good service, leave
• Don't believe everything you're told
• Use all your advantages
• Let the web help with research
• If buying used, be sure to get the prior history of the vehicle
• Shop around not only for the car but also for the financing

Here's a book that can give you the inside edge the next time you're shopping for a new vehicle. It could save you thousands of dollars! Don't Get Taken Every Time: The Insider's Guide to Buying or Leasing Your Next Car or Truck By Remar Sutton. Washington Post consumer writer Remar Sutton presents an updated edition of his popular how-to guide for buying and leasing vehicles. Readers looking for the best deal in town will learn how to select a vehicle, whether to buy or lease, the best time to buy, how to finance, and more.