Research Cars Before You Buy

Books to Consult Before Buying a Car

• Consumer Reports Used Car Buying Guide: This is the definitive guide to buying a used car. The book has profiles of the best cars to buy used, including photos of each car, a summary of each car’s standard and optional features, reliability history, crash-test data, and details on which optional safety features are included in each car’s various model years. The book covers cars manufactured from 1998 to the present.
• Consumer Reports New Car Buying Guide: This book contains everything you need to know about new cars on the market, including several hundred in-depth reviews with photos, comparison charts, prices you should expect to pay, and more.
• Kelley Blue Book: This is the most comprehensive source of all the key data you need on more than 10,000 models of new and used cars. It includes suggested retail prices, lists of standard and optional features, mileage, current trade-in values, and private party values (for use when buying a used car from a private party). It’s published in print twice a year.

Websites to Consult Before Buying a Car

• Edmunds.com: This site is the leading online source for all new and used car-buying information. In addition to up-to-the-minute pricing info and optional features data, Edmunds.com offers a vast array of free tools that help you determine the price you should pay for a new or used car based on make and model year and the options you select. The site’s most popular features include the New Vehicle Calculator® and the Used Vehicle Appraiser®, which provide the estimated average price consumers are currently paying dealers for new and used vehicles, respectively. The site’s True Cost to Own® service is the only tool available that calculates the cost of owning a particular new car model over the life of the car.
• ConsumerReports.org: ConsumerReports.org offers thorough, unbiased reviews on new and used car models based on road tests conducted by automotive experts. It also features guidelines on getting fair prices for popular models of new and used cars. All data and reviews are subscription-based: you pay $14 for an in-depth review of a particular new make and model ($12 if it’s used) or $39 for a three-month pass to the entire archive of reviews and data on new cars ($24 for a used-car pass).
• SaferCar.gov and IIHS.org: SaferCar.gov and IIHS.org provide safety ratings and detailed reports on all cars, trucks, and SUVs that have been crash-tested since 1990.