I just realized that it's been a year since I bought my Infiniti g35x and I never wrote about my buying experience. Tons of articles have been written on this but I feel they leave out how to create leverage in the sales negotiation.
Like all the other how-to buy a car articles
Do your research - go to sites like autos.yahoo.com, find out about the different cars and their features, don't go into a car dealership without knowing what you should be paying according to base sticker prices. Consumer Reports is one the best sources of this information because they tell you about the pros and cons of each vehicle, it's safety rating, and what you can expect to pay.
Shop around - Go to several car dealerships and talk to the sales people, definitely ask to drive the car, find the trim level and price range you can afford. Write down the trim level, the options included and the price of the vehicle
Never talk about financing until you have a firm price worked out! Sales people can confuse you with numbers and financing options. Find the car you want and more importantly, find the car you can afford. Then let the sales guy show you what he can do in terms of financing.
Shop around for car loans, often times your company credit union can offer better rates than dealerships, sometimes the dealership has factory incentive financing that is better than credit unions. Just like buying the car, do your homework on the financing before you head into the dealership, otherwise the sales person will use pressure tactics like the deal is only good for today (they don't want you to walk out the door)
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Now this is how you create leverage
Always be willing to walk out of a deal if you honestly believe you can find lower elsewhere.
When you're really ready to buy go to the car dealership toward the end of the month. Sales people and sales managers often have quotas they have to hit in order to get bonuses, so they are more willing to work with you toward the end of the month than toward the beginning of the month because they have less time to hit the quota.
Go to the volume leading sales dealership, there is probably a reason this dealership is selling more, either they have better service, or they can offer the car closer to invoice price, either way it makes sense to check out the dealership that's selling the most of the car you're interested in.
