Where have I been?

I go to get my car registration renewed, but I can't because I need my emissions tested. So I take my 10 year old Forester in and I flunk the test. I flunk it because my check engine light is on. Can't fix the problem, can't pass the emissions test, can't register plates. So... I am now the owner of a 2008 Forester that will have the same problems in 9 years when they change the fuel mixture standards again.

I did learn some lessons in the new car buying process:

1. Get your own financing. I went through USAA and got a great loan and walked into the dealership with a blank check. It was liberating.
2. Don't bring your trade-in the first time you go to a dealership. It says "I'm not going to buy anything tonight" so they don't play any of the waiting games with you. I was able to hit 4 dealerships in 3 hours, and test drive six vehicles because they just wanted to get me out of there.
3. Don't take the extended warranty on a used car. They offered me one for $2200, and then when I refused, they offered it again for $1300. I still refused. These warranties don't cover anything that could conceivably be the result of wear (like breaks or belts or gaskets or shocks). And even if I need a new alternator, or a new Knock sensor, these repairs will be less than $2200.
4. Bring a spare key for your trade-in. They almost always make you wait while they "find the keys". The logic behind this is that the longer you sit in that sales room , the longer you have to consider their last offer. If you bring a spare key, then they are just jerks for losing your key.
5. Everything is on the Internet - I spent about 18 hours online for about six hours of showroom time.
6. Some stuff on the Internet is a LIE. I went to Midway Dodge because of an ad I saw on Cars.com. I called 4 times to confirm the car was on the lot. I got there an hour and a half after my last call. It was 11 in the morning on a day with thunderstorms and lightning. They said they had sold the car a half hour before they got there. They lie. Which brings me to my next point...
7. Trust your gut. The guys at Midway Dodge just SEEM sleazy. Pinky rings, manicures, fake gold, the works. I should have walked out immediately.
8. The dealers only want to get every penny they can out of you. Even the nice ones. Return the favor. Know the blue book values (trade-in, private party, and dealer) for every car you look at. Don't buy anything more than you need.
9. Get the CarFAX from your dealer. As well as the maintenance record from that ubiquitous "129 point inspection" that everyone talks about. If they are serious, they will show you this stuff before you buy. If they don't - forget it.
10. The weapons they use against you are: time, ignorance, confusion and fatigue. They make you wait for no reason to make you tired and hungry. All you want is a new car right NOW and they keep throwing around terms that you don't know anything about. Take these weapons out of their arsenal by being prepared.

Anyway - I hope these lessons help you out. If I missed anything, let me know. I don't feel like I ripped off the dealership, but at least I don't feel like they took advantage of me. I used my iphone for a loan calculator and a used car finder (so I could show them what their competition was offering). I knew what I wanted going in, and I pretty much got it. The only thing that worked against me was that I gave myself a pretty tight timetable, so I did the whole process in about 5 days. I would have rather had a few weeks to check out different inventories, but... oh well. I got a car and my wife likes it, and that's all that counts.