Check the pricing sites like Kelley Blue Book (KBB), NADA and Edmunds. They all have functions where you can drill down by model, year and accessories and get prices for "dealer" price or "private party" price or "trade-in/wholesale" price. "Trade-in" is what the dealer paid someone to get the car, and "dealer" is what he's going to charge you to buy it. The negotiating room is between those two points. Dealers make little profit on new cars, and a ton of it on used cars.

Most dealerships have their inventories online now. Just go to the website of the dealership and click under inventory and pre-owned and you'll see them there. Now, some dealerships won't put prices there, but most of them will.

If you're not bent on a Toyota dealer and want to do a nationwide search, try the CarMax site. You can search for a particular model within a chosen radius of your location. Now, CarMax prices are high -- they charge a premium for the no-haggle pricing thing. And people pay it, apparently. But it will give you an idea.

I don't know if Toyota has this, but with VW you can search the inventory at individual dealerships from the main corporate VW website. You put in a radius, just like the CarMax site.

Also, once you've done your research and know basically what you want, search ebay and autotrader. Dealers use those sites.

Regarding certified pre-owned, a dealership is going to charge more for those, because essentially they're going to add on to the warranty period, and the warranty costs money. CPO doesn't guarantee that the vehicle won't have a problem, but is a bit of a security blanket for a buyer. You can also shop extended warranties individually.

Hope this helps,

jen, who spent a lot of years working with car dealers

We use Fighting Chance.com You have to buy their info for about $40, but they give you the latest on which states have sales & rebates (it varies around the country & changes rapidly), which models are offering deals, which models you rarely get deals on, and other good stuff that you can't get from the popular car sites.

In essence, the way it works is, you narrow down your choice & your price, then you bombard dealerships with emails or faxes saying you want X car with Y features for Z price. A few dealerships will be willing to do the deal because they can make money back from the manufacturers for moving volume.

We have bought our last three cars using this method & have gotten great deals. One tip we got through Fighting Chance is that Toyota would give us a frequent customer discount if we called & asked for it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fighting Chance.com

AutoTrader.com is a good site for comparing prices in your specific area. Also, go to the individual dealers websites because they usually have their entire inventory listed and they keep them updated.

If you are interested in a specific vehicle you see online make sure you note the price listed because legally they have to sell the vehicle for no more than the lowest price advertised, whether it's online, in the newspaper or anywhere else.

Toyota has a website for finding certified used cars in your area

Here is a link that might be useful: Toyota Certified Used Vehicles

"www.cars.com" Punch in the make, model, mileage, and amount you want to spend, put in your zip code and distance from your zip code (I usually put in 100 miles to get a good feel of the pricing)and hit search. BEST search engine for used cars on the internet - most dealers use this site. You'll be armed with a lot of knowledge when you walk in. Good Luck!

Usually if the used car is a few years old with lower miles, it was a lease turn in bought from the auto auction. Make sure you also run a report on the vehicle before buying.

I worked at Kelley Blue Book for many years and their web site is fabulous. Just recently they were purchased by Auto Trader. It really depends on where you live, NADA has a site that also has car data. They tend to be more predominant on the Eastern side of the country, KBB is more predominate on the Western side.

Just a comment on the "Certified Vehicles", that program was just coming out pretty strong when I was at KBB, it's not all that it's cracked up to be so don't get sucked into it. If you go with a used vehicle, be sure to do a Lemon check, vehicle history against the VIN and to have your own mechanic look the vehicle over.

Wow, I'm surprised nobody mentioned Edmunds. It's my go-to place for car education.... edmunds.com

How old of a car and what model are you considering? Because Toyota has been crippled by the events in Japan, some used Toyotas are almost as expensive as the new ones. Toyota is operating their production plants at 30% and prices for both new and almost new Toyotas have gone up as a result.

We were planning on picking up a Prius when the earthquake struck. I decided to buy that same day and we saved thousands as a result. We were able to get a great price because no one knew how production was going to be affected. Today, many Toyotas are selling above sticker price due to gas prices and limited availability. I saw a 2010 Prius for sale last week with 12,000 miles on it. They were asking more money than I paid for my 2011 (same package) with 6 miles.

Personally, I like certified cars. Many come with extended warranties that are better than the new ones and I don't have to worry about getting a car that hasn't been maintained.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! You folks are all so fabulous! I wouldn't have known some of this stuff, and I am grateful for the information.

Golddust, that's a great point about Toyota. We would be looking into another Subaru, but this last one has had so many problems, we are gun-shy.

Thanks once again!

I recall on one of those 20/20 type of shows they did a report on the "certified pre-owned" gimmic. Dealers aren't not doing 20 point inspections, it's a ruse to get customers to think the car has been thoroughly checked out. Don't trust the person selling you the car, have an independent source do that for you. Check carfax.com or similar to make sure the car hasn't been in a wreck or a flood.
When I brought my car to a used car salesman he ran this magnet thing all the way around it, to see if the car had body work that we weren't admitting to. Then he ran the VIN to see if it had been in an accident. We ended up not selling him the car but I learned some things just watching him check out the car.
BTW...why Toyota and not a Honda?

Hi Flyingflower,

The fellow who works on our car is a "mechanics mechanic", and he feels Toyota is the way to go for sheer reliability. Have you had wonderful experience with Honda?

We have two Hondas (2008 CRV & 2009 Accord) and love them. No problems at all. My neighbor has a Toyota Camry and is so fed up he says never again, next car will be a Honda. Toyota seems to be having one problem after another lately which is why I'm not so sure they're as great as they once were.

This may not be on your list of must haves but it was mine and became the single biggest negative I had against buying a Toyota. I wanted GPS but Toyota has rigged a protection with their navigation system ...it won't work while you're driving. Honda's will. I can see why they did it, to prevent drivers from being distracted on the road fiddling with the navigation. BUT what if you have a passenger in the car, they can punch in information while the car is in motion. I even use my GPS while I'm at a stop. Can you imagine driving long distance and have to exit a freeway just to use the navigation? I hate that Toyota is dictating when I use the system I paid for. As long as it isn't against the law they have no business disabling a very useful feature.

You can't go wrong with a Toyota. Clark Howard said in this car buying environment, one should consider buying new. First time he's ever recommended buying new.

We financed our new Toyota with a mid sized down ($6,500.). We qualified for 2.0% financing through Toyota. I know you said you want to pay cash but we figured - for 2% - we just couldn't pass up the financing.

Good luck! What model are you looking at??

I am on my third Camry. I totally agree with the comment about reliability. I have had so little done to all 3 and drove the first two over 100,000 miles. I think the biggest repair I have had was a water pump. They are top selling cars. My sister had a camry before the accord she has now. She travels in her business and does alot of driving. She said next time she will go back to Toyota. She likes her Honda, just not as well as the Toyota. Of course it's a matter of personal choice and many people who have good luck with a certain car will stick with it.

Goldie, I've never financed with Toyota, but I have seen 0% financing, which is great but I sometimes feel like you are not going to get as good a deal financing as in paying cash.

My camry I have now we actually had them find for us because I wanted a certain color. This one was actually made in Japan while my first two were made in Kentucky.

One more thing, my first two I sold (we don't trade) and got an excellent price on them.

Good luck!

Maybe not, Tina, but I always make the deal with the price before I will even talk financing. They always ask and I ignore them or say "I'm flexible. I may pay cash or may not. Haven't decided."

I'm the car buyer in my family. My presence is requested for everyone from nieces and nephews to sisters and kids. I love the sport of negotiating! I do lots of research before I walk in and am not afraid to walk away. (I usually get an agreed upon price before I show up.) I paid $500. over invoice for my new car. Being in business, I realize everyone has to make money but it's easy to find out the invoice price if you know what package you want.

I doubt you will see 0% financing in this market. Gas prices and the shortage of Toyotas play a huge part in both pricing and financing.

What model?

I will say that in the "which is better, Honda or Toyota" question, they are both pretty much equivalent. I have a 2001 Honda Accord with 105k miles on it that was NOT maintained by my husband (when he was the one primarily driving the car). I made sure that the major services were done every 15k miles but he never did intermediate oil changes. Even being abused such as it was, I STILL get 30mpg highway and even though I do have to throw a quart of oil in between oil changes and have never had a non-wear related problem with it. Ever. I would guess that if it were property maintained I would not even have to throw in the oil every 1500 miles. Toyotas are similar and honestly I would be extremely comfortable recommending either one to anyone. The whole discussion reminds me a little bit of those bumper stickers I'd used to see along the lines of "I'd rather push a chevy than drive a ford" etc. I know people have extreme brand loyalty sometimes but they are both very very very good and reliable cars (I would also add nissan and mazda to the list btw, they might be a tiny bit less reliable over a large sample set than honda and toyota but they are still very very reliable cars). I have also heard that Hyundai of the last few years is what Honda was when it first came out... extremely reliable and extremely economical with a lot of bang for the buck. Honda is still extremely reliable but you will pay for it (both new and in higher retained resale value, same with Toyota).

All that said, my BIL is in the used car business and has lots of friends in the new car business too. I will probably never drive a new car again because of it - he just has access to too many resources and no matter what kind of a deal I have been able to track down for new, he has always been able to blow it away with used. But even without someone like him as a resource, he does have a few "tricks" that have yielded very good results.

He does buy most of his cars privately and through auction but there are times when he will go to a dealer to purchase a car also... usually when he is trying to track something specific down for a family member. Here are the things I have picked up over the years.

1) get the carfax report. Make sure the car has clear title and few owners (1-2 depending on age of the car.. if a car has changed hands many times it is usually an indication of annoying problems). Many carfax reports will list the dates of services performed if they were performed at the dealer... although I have seen many that don't show anything about service either. If it's not reported it doesn't mean it wasn't done but if it IS reported, it's great for peace of mind. It will also list any open recall items and remaining manufacturer warranty. He doesn't buy anything without checking the carfax. The other thing it will tell you is the date of all of the title transfers, including the transfer to the dealer - so you can see how long the dealer has had it. If it's over 90 days chances are good they will be willing to deal... they don't like holding cars much longer and will likely be putting it in the auction soon to get rid of it, where they will have to pay to insert it and will probably not get all that much over trade in value... why not save them the hassle by buying it (then they will at least be able to get doc fees off of you too)? If a car has been sitting at the dealer for a while you can really go for the jugular in dealing price and maybe get it for $500-1000 over dealer trade in values.

2) Don't go to a toyota dealer if you want a used toyota. You will pay the highest prices there and really they will be trying to convince you to just buy new anyway. I've been looking to replace my accord, maybe with a subaru and you would not believe the crappy junk they had there at ridiculous prices and for everything i looked at he just kept telling me how much better a deal the new cars would be (although agreed that things are weird because of the japan situation, they can't get subarus either). The BEST place to buy a used car, especially in the "average person price range" is, believe it or not, at a luxury car dealer. People trade in their newish mid priced cars (hondas, toyotas, hyundais etc) all the time for upper end cars when basically they realize that their car that was reviewed as being the poor man's bmw is still a poor substitution for an actual luxury car. Luxury car dealers take them in as trades to make the sale obviously, but they are not really in the business of selling used hondas and toyotas... it seems to be easier to get a deal there because they just want to get rid of the things. Even better if they are holding the car upward of 90 days. The other nice thing about buying from dealers like that is that their detail shop does not discriminate based on the type of car... if you want a used car that has been put as close back to new condition as possible, the luxury car dealers are the place to go. We bought a 2008 hyundai santa fe from an import dealer (they deal in bms, mercedes, aston martin, rolls royce etc) and the thing was immaculate (both mechanically and cosmetically) and because they had been holding it for 90 days we got it for pretty much $500 over what they paid for it (including the mechanical work they did like new brake rotors and tires etc). Now my BIL bargains like no one's business but I would think that if you say "i see on the car fax that you have had this car for a while, what's the best you can do on it?" that you will find them ready to deal.

3) Don't forget the "hidden costs" of buying a used car... like the replacement of wear items (like tires, you can easily spend $1k on new tires) or major services that may be soon required. It will be less expensive to buy a car at say 105k miles that has had the timing belt and water pump changed (for cars that require that) than a car with 95k miles that will require it very very soon. That only really applies for older used cars and I think the OP is talking newer cars but I figured I'd throw that in for completeness.

Anyway, good luck! I am looking to trade up my accord a little bit too (tired of driving manual, tired of burning oil) so I'm back on the hunt myself (and want to pay cash as well).

I just found my pre-owned car on autotrader.com. I only looked at dealers (was not interested in buying from a person, or a used car place). You can narrow down your search to the exact car you are looking for. In my case, I wanted an Infiniti G35x. I found the exact car I wanted at a dealer about 15 minutes away from my house at a great price.

This is my 3rd Infiniti. I bought the 1st 2 new. First one had about 160,000 miles on it when it was hit by a truck and totalled (no one was hurt thankfully). 2nd one was bought new in 1996. Had 350,000 miles on it when I just got rid of it last month! I cannot say enough good things about Infiniti. Their cars last forever!