Advice on car shopping

[ItsaDuc]

SO and I are looking for a new car. We have a couple that we are interested in but I want to research a little more.

What are your go to guides for comparing cars? Also, what publications if any do you use on reviews that are trustworthy? ie...consumer reports, Edmunds and so on.

[Dirty Duc]

I think the publications should match the intended use of the cage.

For example, if reliability and ownership costs are important, I find Edmunds to have pretty decent information.

Consumer Reports?  I don't believe they can tell a car from a refrigerator.

Road and Track, Car and Driver are pubs that at least try to emulate an unbiased position and both have relatively large online repositories.

I have found price guides (KBB, NADA, Edmunds) to have little in common with reality other than as a really broad guideline.

[duccarlos]

Depending also on the vehicle, I check TopGear.com. If they're available in Europe I like that other perspective. I believe MSN Auto uses consumer reports, but as Dirty Duc mentioned, sometimes they're way off. I would recommend narrowing down your choices, first by type, then brand. Once you have it down to 3, ask around for any first hand accounts, be it through forums or asking someone at work.

When I started looking at buying a car all I knew was that I wanted something relatively fun, since I'm not buying another bike any time soon. From there, I narrowed it down. If you have anything in mind, post it up.

[Speedbag]

Consumer Reports?  I don't believe they can tell a car from a refrigerator.

This.

[Grampa]

do what I do

buy what I buy...

you can't go wrong.

5 out of 5 bp's agree