I highly recommend a trip to Edmunds.com. I research all of my vehicles there. I like the editors reports, the True Cost to Own calculation, and the views of current owners. I own a Camry and a Sienna, so not in the same market as you are or I would share more.
I keep my cars and run them into the ground, so I buy new. (First car I ever bought I kept for 14 years. Second car I ever bought is still with me )
Also, doing my research, I learned what incentives were available etc. If you decide to go new, here are a few pointers (which you might already know!):
1. You should get the cash back/rebates that are being offered. These are from the manufacturer not the dealer.
2. You shouldn't pay much more than invoice price. The dealers pay less than invoice price based on their fleet volumes. This gives them the mark-up of the fleet volumes (usually 3-7%). Sometimes they tack on $500 or so for advertising expenses. I agreed to pay it on as this is a true cost to the dealer.
3. If you opt for a warranty, shop around online before going to the dealer. If you know what a third party will charge you, you know what the dealer should charge. Warranties are anywhere between 70-80% profit for the average warranty.
4. Don't buy any of the extras they offer you at closing. You can get them all, elsewhere, for usually less than half of what they are charging. Most of the time, its for stuff you would never want anyway.
5. Go see the car, decide which one you want, and write down the VIN#. Then, you can negotiate via e-mail. This makes it much, much easier to make a good, informed purchase and not be under pressure from the dealer. (And it makes sure you aren't making a $20k decision when you are hungry or tired!) Remember, many salesmen are trained on how to pressure you to get you to spend more than you want or buy highly marked up extras.
Sorry so long, it is just a car is usually the biggest purchase after a house someone makes.
