Online car buying allows you to shop for the car you need from the comfort of your own home, eliminating some of the more stressful aspects of the traditional car buying process. Before buying a car online, you should know how it differs from brick and mortar dealership purchases so you get the most out of your online car shopping experience. 
Initial Used Car Research
The first step in buying a car online is conducting the initial research. With a car budget in mind, begin looking into the kind of car you are thinking of buying. Dealership websites and consumer reports on the make and model of vehicle you are considering are a great place to start compiling information. Reviews written by people who have actually owned and driven the car are valuable resources of honest and pointed evaluations. Online car search tools allow you to narrow the field of car options in your area based on your budget, features you need, and upgrades you may want. While researching the car itself, you can also start exploring used car financing options that may be available to you from different car retailers.
Car Price Comparison
After your initial online research pinpoints one or two specific makes and models of vehicle you might buy, you can use similar research techniques to conduct a detailed price comparison. The sticker price of a car will vary only slightly from one dealership to the next, but the internet can give you details on all of the other expenses associated with purchasing the vehicle which are not as standardized.
For example, two dealerships may have the car you want listed at the same sale price, but one of those dealerships may charge a lower fee for document processing or an important feature you want to add. You can use those fee differences to negotiate a better price with the more expensive dealership or as a deciding factor between two or more purchase venue options.
In-Person Test Drive
Even if you are handling most of the purchase over the internet, you cannot test drive a car online. However, having done all of the pre-purchase research before stepping onto the lot will simplify the test drive experience. Instead of test driving a car after browsing several vehicles and working with a salesperson for several minutes to several hours, you can schedule a time to go to the dealership to test out a specific car they have for sale. Never buy a car, new or used, without test driving it and ensuring it meets your expectations.
The biggest advantage to shopping for a car online is the wealth of information you can gather before going to the dealership, to do little more than test drive and sign papers. The entire car buying process is streamlined and simplified once you have all of the research you need on cars in your price range.
*Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
