Used car from dealership. Tips?

[MarkD]

Maybe new cars would be a new topic. Great links and references for car buying strategies/advice.
Interesting articles are the confession series at Edmunds.com
http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/confes...esman.html

The new car difference is that more standardized information exists to know the real cost of the car and you can better negotiate the price/purchase the car through the no hassle programs like costco, credit unions. Information is available from edmunds.com, cars.com, consumer reports on pricing and features (april issue is the car issue). Undoubtedly other programs exists to find new cars at cheap prices.

An interesting angle that is new is the internet group or pricing at car dealers. Had several friends have great success with the internet--reduces hassle and gets to a reasonable price faster. Reminds me of going to buy from the fleet guys.
http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/part-o...uying.html

I assume that there are differences based on size of city/area, type of car etc. My experience has been in a large metro area (Houston, TX) with "American" car brands such as GM or Ford.