Oh my goodness! That’s the exact spin I got when I bought my first car at the dealer ohh so many years ago.
You are right about what you’ve said in ‘What’s your Occupation’ and ‘How dealers Negotiate’, all the angle are covered by the experts. Last time I made a serious attempt to buy at a dealer I got many of the negotiating tactics listed in ‘How Dealers negotiate’. I went in with my family looking for a minivan. It was fun for a while the first sales guy got out his piece of paper and attempted to do a four square. With my two little ones crawling all over his cubicle, playing with his knickknack and asking for candy, he had a hard time keeping track of his own numbers. By the way, I was completely lost. When the second sales man showed up things changes noticeably. He was a pro! I was lucky to grab my credit card off the table and make a run for the hills (thinking back on it, they probably just let me go realizing that I was not going to buy that day). I was not really prepared and knew it. Spent a few weeks cooling off and doing some research on prices before purchasing .

Everyone needs to read’ Tips on how to negotiate’. And follow the first tip. Always sleep on it. All the incentives and ‘goodies’ offered by the dealer will still be there in the 12 hours it takes you to think things through.

The other thing to consider when buying is the price of insurance. The fuel saved on an efficient used small car and easily disappear versus a cheaper used ‘grandpa’ car, especially for younger drivers. When I was buying the van, the tipping point was insurance. One van was considered to be more reliable. The other can was rated lower. In the end I went with the lower van since the insurance was considerably less.
Wish me luck when I start to seriously look for a car in about 6-7 months. Hopefully I can remember a quarter of what you’ve said.