Hello

[msmiz]

Hi Everyone (MD/DC area)
I am a newbie looking for some guidance in a car purchase. It will be my first time purchasing from a dealer and I know it can be intimidating so I want to know all the right steps before I walk in. I posted on the Lexus forum as I want to purchase a 2008 new ES350. I do have someone who will do teh money talking for me when I actually buy but I need to do the legwork and have no idea about it. I want Premium Package with Nav. & I know what color choices I am interested in. I am not sure what steps to take to start all this from A-Z. seems like deciding what i wanted was the "easy" part.

Someone said I should first approach the dealers on the internet rather than just show up even though I do not plan to purchase that very day and not let them be pushy with me. I am looking at buying between now and the first week or two of December. I am not sure what I should even be saying to them via internet. I also plan to pay outright for the car and do not want financing from them. So I also need to not allow them to run a credit check on me which I heard they do if you test drive.

I know the dealers are hurting now and I may fare well with the price but may be pushy. Not sure what deals people are getting in my area right now for what I want. Any advice on that would also be appreciated.

So looking for "step-by step" details of what I need to do and how to handle this. I want to start out right on this process.
Thanks in advance so much.

I will share my experience on this board to help others.