Jack Gillis is Director of Public Affairs for the Consumer Federation of America. Previously, he spent three years with the U.S. Department of Transportation, where he was responsible for developing the government s automotive information program. He spent ten years as a contributing correspondent for NBC’s Today Show on consumer affairs and for over thirty years has authored “The Car Book,” the annual guide that has provided invaluable assistance to consumers in the ever more complex process of buying a car.

“One of the things that I really strongly recommend is don’t talk price until you’re ready to buy. You should make at least two trips to the show room. The first trip is to simply check the vehicles out and take a good long test drive… Once you’ve narrowed your choice down to two or three cars, then you can start talking price with the dealer. But keep in mind, the best way to get a good price is to pit the dealers against each other. Unfortunately, that takes a long time, which is why we recommend the Car Bargain Service, which is issued by Washington Consumer Checkbook. And it’s a non-profit comparative purchasing service.” Jack Gillis, author of The Car Book 2018