Buying a new car

Auctions rock and it's worth making friends with someone who can buy at them.

Some dealers offer the service so they will buy for you at Copart etc. You can find more info online.

>The downside there is you're more open to getting screwed over.

Not if you know your shit. I worked at a used car dealer and I always buy private party unless I put the vehicle together myself. Dealers only care about getting the shitbox off the lot. Many dealer vehicles are auction buys slapped together with varying quality using other salvage parts. If done right on something like a pickup truck it's fine, but many dealers don't do it quite right.

I'm driving a salvage truck I helped build from three others. It has a clear title (a clear donor beats Carfax) and runs fine, but Joe Sixpack won't do as well from a dealer.

Want a deal? Learn more about cars than "ooh, shiny!" then haunt Craigslist for scores. They are always out there.