In my opinion if at any way possible i.e. you have good credit or a credit union who likes you in spite of not perfect credit you should never shop for a new vehicle without a financing option already in place. That said, I would stay on price and not payments (even though they will give you both if you force them too)I would act interested in the payments they provide always being aware of what the price is that drives those payments so they think you are going to buy into the payments they have given you which they have loaded with 2-3 pts of rate ...I would NOT sign up for those rates ... or contract at all ... except the one you ultimately have them send to your credit union...that way you won't have to make sure they weren't packed with extras like etch or warranty or anything extra (buy nothing in finance) then immediately refinance it with your credit union where you can buy a warranty/ gap etc for about 1/2 the price as the dealers. I haven't reviewed Ray's method for buying but based on all of his answers here and on other well respected auto buying expert site I have seen him express his ideas whatever he says is at least one of the best ways to go and is usually THE best way to go ...I would never negotiate a car deal (ever) while sitting anywhere but the comfort of my own home in front of my computer ...and I would make sure I was not emotionally involved with the vehicle I was trying to buy and I would make sure I was not in a hurry at all...nothing like a day or two to think about things combined with a slow day or two in sales to make the idea of selling a car for less than they want just to not have a day where they sell zero cars to make your offer look attractive. (I would never buy a car with a trade also...sell it yourself (retail) on craigslist then with your pre approved financing in your hip pocket go find one you like ...then go home ...mull it over ...do your research ...come up with a fair and reasonable offer and hit them with it via email right between the eyes... the internet department people are notorious for giving great cars away way too cheap! start with them. Alot of dealers now have 'online negotiation programs' make sure you are dealing with a person ... computer apps don't have feelings and when it comes to car sales the fear of loss is greater than the desire for gain!!