I don’t know many people who look forward to buying a car. It’s usually incredibly stressful, from the time you walk in the door to the time when you finally leave with a car. While it’s a necessary evil for many of us, my recent experience can help you walk in the dealer with less stress, and out with the car you want at a price you can afford.

With my car lease coming to an end, it was time for me to either re-up the lease, buy out my car, or turn my car in and get another. In my case, even though I loved my car (Honda Accord, can’t say enough about it), my car needs had changed. I now needed a smaller car to fit in my very narrow garage, wanted a hatch-back to get my two dogs in, needed it to sync with my cell phone, and wanted my monthly payment to be similar to what I paid currently. I also didn’t want to put a lot of money down . After a bit of research, my husband and I determined exactly what cars would fit the bill and decided to trade in my car for a new one. There were two choices and we set out to check them both out. The time we took up front on research and setting financial parameters made the experience work far better.

Here are the steps that can save you anxiety and money:

Research what types of car will work for you

I had a specific list of needs and wants, and a price range. The internet is a wonderful resource here. We could search cars by size, price, availability, color. We could see if dealers had special deals worth exploring. We could see consumer feedback on makes and models. We put our short list together based on what we learned and found dealers that had what we wanted to see. We had an idea of the pricing, knowing that there would be negotiating required.

Know which car you want before stepping in to the showroom

Before we stepped into the first car showroom we knew exactly which car we wanted to see. While each brand has a variety of makes and models, with my budget and my specifications, only one of the cars in the showroom would actually work for me. It saved us from getting the sales pitch I really didn’t want to deal with. We looked at all the variations of the car I could afford, and ultimately decided on one. At that time, I took the car for a spin.

Have your finances in order

I knew before shopping for cars exactly what my credit score was so I knew how much leverage I’d have when it came time to negotiate the price of the car. While I was leasing and not buying, your credit score will have an impact on your ability to negotiate pricing. The better the credit score, the better the pricing you can likely negotiate. The dealer will pull your credit once you’ve decided to move ahead with a car, and this is not the time to find out that your credit is not what you thought it was.

Decide how much you are willing to pay BEFORE you go shopping for cars

Because I had a budget, I knew how much I was able to pay. This was helpful when it came to negotiate the price for the car. It’s much easier to cut to the chase on the pricing when you know exactly what you can afford. I made it very clear to the dealer that I had a maximum amount I could pay for a down payment, and for a monthly payment. I also have very good credit, and I knew that before we walked in the door. I think there is great negotiating power when you are clear you have parameters and you are willing to walk away if your numbers are not met.

Just say no to the extras

Once we decided on a car and started the contract signing process, we were inundated with a menu of extras. As someone who knows little about how cars work and what is necessary maintenance, its daunting when you are presented with all sorts of extra services and add-ons. I was thankful my husband knows cars, but we had also decided before we walked in the dealer that when we decided on the car we would turn down all the extras. Three years ago, when I went through the negotiating process we did sign up for some of the extras only to find out later that they were most definitely not necessary for maintaining the car. For example, with a 36-month lease and 12,000 miles annually, you wouldn’t need services for a car with 60,000 miles, but you’ll be presented with this sort of add-on regardless.

Stick to the game plan

Just as we were about to drive off the lot with our new car we asked to test out the phone syncing system. Believe it or not, it didn’t work. In fact, it turned out that unless the car had the super upgraded navigation, the software didn’t work with my cell phone. This was one of my major requirements, since I often use my phone while commuting to work. So, we had to void the contract for the car we had just bought and start negotiations again for one that had an upgraded navigation system. I had a budget and was now looking at a car that was above my budget. By sticking to the budget and being prepared to walk away, we were able to negotiate a price that was within my budget and met my requirements. And, 6 hours after we arrived at the dealer we had a new car (that did sync with my phone).

Doing research before going car shopping most definitely made the process easier since we knew what we wanted before we stepped in the dealers. It also kept us in line financially, since we knew what we could afford. For the first time, as a woman shopping for a car I felt empowered when it came time to negotiate, and I attribute that to knowing exactly what make and model worked for me and knowing my budget and sticking to it. I absolutely recommend a little prep work before heading out next time you buy or lease a car. It will make the dreaded process of buying or leasing a car that much less stressful.

If you’d like to learn more tips and tools on  how that can empower you and other professional women to make better financial decisions, keep an eye out for our book Corner Office Choices:  The Executive Woman’s Guide to Financial Freedom, being published in June.  And in the meantime, you can reach out to us at WealthChoice for any questions you might have on women and money.