Making the deal can be the most exciting part of getting a car. Checking Out a New or Used Car will provide you with a checklist of tests. Troublesome Cars will warn you about models with the worst repair histories. You can also avoid buying problem cars and verify a clean history with Carfax and if you want to take a new model for more than a 10 minute test drive, you can always try renting the model of your dreams. It never hurts to talk to your trusted mechanic either.
Mechanics repair cars all day, so they know which models they see more often.
If you're really clever, you'll make a date for your mechanic to meet that used car of your dreams, before you buy it. They may often put it up on the rack' for free, if you're a good customer.