Can You Buy a Car Without Having to Haggle?

Dear Driving for Dollars,

I'm disgusted with the process of buying a new car. It seems you never get the right price and you get inundated with salespeople trying to sell you extras. Is there a way to buy a car without any haggling for a fair price? 

-Bob

Dear Bob, 

Yours is a common complaint among new-car buyers, which is why there are quite a few car-buying services available these days. You can hire an individual or a company, such as CarsDirect, CarWoo or TrueCar, to essentially act as a middleman to broker the deal for you in much the same way you'd hire a real estate agent to help you buy a home.

There also are numerous membership-based groups, including AAA, Costco and some credit unions, that offer car-buying services. By going this route, you will eliminate the haggling that is common with buying a new car.

Keep in mind that you'll still be buying a car through a dealer, though, since no automakers sell directly from the factory. In many cases, using a car-buying service means that all the paperwork is done in advance and you may not even need to visit a dealership to finalize your purchase, which insulates you quite a bit from the up-sells that many buyers encounter for VIN etching of your vehicle identification number, extended warranties, security systems and the like.

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