More Bang for Your Buck: Buying Online

WSVN--When Tim Ross isn't entertaining his two-year old, he's entertaining a crowd playing guitar for a local band.

Tim Ross: "Playing in a band is a lot of fun. It gets a lot of the stress off of me."

Life was especially stressful when he was shopping for a new car.

Tim wanted to upgrade his set of wheels so he decided to test drive a new trend, online buying.

Angie Hicks: "In the past few years car buying has made a major transformation in that you don't just go to a dealership to buy a car an longer. The internet has become a very valuable tool whether you're buying a new car or a used car."

Angie Hicks is the founder of Angie's List, a website that rates various services including internet auto sales.

She says if you want to put the brakes on overspending, you must research both the car and the seller.

Angie Hicks: "It's gives you a lot more information. People are saving anywhere from 4 to 5 hundred dollars on their car purchases just from the information they gather online."

You can find out a lot about the car by going to Edmunds.com.

If you're dealing with a dealership, compare prices with the competition.

If you're dealing with a private seller, try to read reviews from past transactions.

Angie Hicks: "Remember this is someone you may not meet face to face. you want to feel comfortable with the reviews youre seeing."

Also keep all dialogue with the seller within the site.

Don't start a conversation on your personal e-mail account and definitely don't trust a phone conversation.

Everything need's to be in writing and all payments must be traceable.

Angie Hicks: "Beware of the second chance scam where they'll tell you oh, the first buyer backed out and now it's available so be careful of emails like that."

Then once you feel confident you found the right car, make sure you test drive before you buy.

Angie Hicks: "It was just very, very convenient."

After a little work on the web, tim drove away with a new cadillac.

Now the time and money he saved can be spent on little Brianna.

Angie Hicks: "I think this was the easiest way of all. you just figure out what you want first and you go right on there and do it as quick as i did."

Also remember, before buying a used car, run a title search. This will give you a list of problems in the car's history.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Angies List
www.angieslist.com

www.edmunds.com