Review: Arm yourself with Trucar before new car shopping

Using the Truecar interface I then picked the all-wheel drive version, the model, the color, and some options such as accessory/navigation packages, build in  Car DVD, etc. I won't bore you with the remaining details, but it was a quick and easy process and then Truecar gave me an estimate right on my screen.

Their projected value of the car was almost $3000 less than the asking price. Truecar claims they can lower the average sticker cost of a car by $3221 so that was right in the ballpark we wanted.

If you're a Tolkien fan you'll remember that scene from "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" where Sam Gamgee drives back the evil spider Shelob with the magical Light of Earendil which the elf Galadriel gave him. Obscure reference, perhaps, and while I don't mean to compare the dealership manager to a malevolent arachnid, it had something of the same effect (hey, both the Light of Earendil and my smartphone glowed).

The manager immediately accepted the price decrease without any fuss or hedging. A little bit more drama and discussion brought the final cost down a bit further to something we could both live with. We're not out to squeeze blood from a stone; if we drive off feeling we paid a fair cost and the dealer made a fair profit, we're perfectly satisfied.

I later thanked Mike for his advice and commented that "dealers must really be feeling the pinch from mobile access to car prices; that was like having a Wookie guard my lunch!" His response made perfect sense in this technologically-oriented world:

"Are you kidding? Dealers love that stuff too. It helps them close deals. Do you know how many people walk off the lot without completing a sale because they just can't believe they're getting a fair price? How long did it take you guys to start signing the paperwork after you showed him the Truecar cost of the van?"

"About fifteen minutes," I admitted.

"See? It was a win-win. You had the data you needed to make a decision and he didn't have to convince you that you were getting a decent price. Less time arguing over price means more sales. It also means more happy customers who write positive reviews of the dealer."

There is a Truecar app for Android as well as one for iOS; both can provide new car buyers with the option to save vehicle details, obtain offers and even locate the ideal salesperson to work with.

There are other free mobile apps for car shoppers as well to make the experience more pleasant and streamlined. Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds offer similar apps to Truecar. The Carmax app can help used car buyers and sellers close deals. Bankrate.com offers an online auto loan calculator. AAA (also known as Triple-A) provides an Auto Buying Tool app which can provide vehicle pricing information, ratings, reviews and comparisons, but it's only for the iPhone at this time.

Looking for car insurance? Your provider may have a mobile app, or if you are starting from square one, Allstate has an app for Android and iOS, and Liberty Mutual, Progressive as well as Geico provide the same (of course, you may have alternate provider preferences so finding the app that matches your specifications is likely just a Google search away).At last,I hope that you would buy a Android Car Stereosincerely.