<prompt> Human: Hey guys,After living with a beater car since college, I was finally in a position to purchase my first new car from a dealership today dont worry, I understand the implications of buying new vs. slightly used, thats a different topic altogether. The resources on rpersonalfinance allowed me to feel completely in control of my purchase and helped me avoid common pitfalls that some folks may run into. Heres just a brief overview of my car buying experience: I did a lot of research on the quality index and reliability of certain makesmodels to help narrow down the specific car I wanted with help from the Long Term Quality Index I read up on two very helpful reddit posts: Step by Step Guide on how to buy a car and 3 Tricks Car Salesman Use to Take Your Money After finding the exact car I wanted, I submitted my information through TrueCar my employer has some sort of affiliationdeal with them. I submitted a Google Voice phone number an email address that I dont use for anything else so I wouldnt be constantly harassed by callsemails. I also calculated the exact loan terms and out the door price that I wanted and looked up the auto loan rates at my local credit union. After receiving offers from the local dealership 3 of them in my case, I sent the lowest offer to the other dealerships and asked for their lowest out the door price including taxes, title, and fees. This happened about 4-5 times. After receiving prices that were within 100 of each other, I scheduled an appointment at the dealership with the lowest OTD cost for a test drive of the car I printed out the emails from the dealership with the price I negotiated and went for a test drive. All went well so we sat down to talk about the priceoptions. I was then given a quote with an additional freight fee 895 and some added paint-protecting clear-coat 850. I said I wasnt interested and that the freight fee was included in the Truecar cost already which was in the email correspondence. They removed both charges. I then went to the finance office. The finance manager initially gave me an interest rate of 4.65 which was WAAAY too high. I advised her that my local credit union could do 1.79, so I would go with them if they couldnt match it. I told her the exact loan term that I wanted and emphasized the total cost of the car over the monthly payments. She went over the warranty options multiple times, but I stayed firm with my choice of not wanting any additional coverage. They were able to go down to 1.8. I went with their financing because I also got an additional 500 incentive through Honda for being a recent graduate.In the end, I walked out with the car I wanted at a great price and felt completely in control. I just wanted to personally thank all the posters at rpersonalfinance for empowering me with the knowledge I needed!If anyone has questions about my experience, feel free to ask. Edit: Missed a word in the title. Should be First NEW car purchaseEdit2: It was a 2016 Honda Civic EX for those who were asking.  <response>: My last two car purchases were also new and through the dealerships Internet Departments. Car buying has gotten so much better because you can inform yourself and have proof in hand when signing the paperwork. I was literally in and out within 90 minutes on my most recent purchase, which I will now set as a walkout point in the future. People should not feel like they have to spend their entire day closing the deal. Much different from my very first dealership experience in 1990 thanks Dad! 