For the past few months I’ve been on the hunt for an Audi A4 Avant, but I still haven’t found one that has screamed, “Buy me!” I’m the type of person that tends to go with my gut when making decisions, and my gut hasn’t quite guided me towards making a deal just yet. Ideally, it would look like the one pictured above.

In my quest to find this A4 Avant that is meant for me, I’ve learned a few lessons and tips that I wanted to share...

If it looks too good to be true… I came across this 2010 Q5 that is being offered at $10,500, so I was pretty excited even though it’s not the car I want. I wouldn’t mind a Q5 if it was a great deal. Come to find out that it was a salvaged car with a rebuilt title. What this means is that the car was damaged, but has been repaired and inspected by the jurisdiction that issues titles.

If there was damage to the body of the car and I was planning to keep the car forever, I probably wouldn’t mind so much about the rebuilt title, but there could be issues in the future with trading the car in or reselling it. I just don’t want to deal with the hassle.

Deals can be found at auctions - At first I was just checking the big used car directories like Auto Trader and Car Gurus, but somehow I forgot about auction sites. There is that risk of bidding on a car with mechanical issues, however. If do you consider yourself a handy DIY mechanic, though, you could always download one of these Audi service and repair manuals and fix any issues.

Check your credit score before you shop - When I was doing research on car loans, I came across this story someone shared about a car dealership who wanted to charge a higher interest rate because they said his credit score was too low. When the buyer asked to see this information, all of a sudden the deal changed for the better.

It would probably be more beneficial to have a car loan in place before you even start shopping for a car. That way you already know ahead of time how much car you can afford.

Get an offer in writing - Although I haven’t gone this far in my own process of buying a car, I learned this from a friend who recently purchased a new Volkswagen. Her husband is a pretty good negotiator and was able to get a dealership to give them a discount based on a written offer from another dealership. Get your offers in writing and there will be someone willing to price match or offer a better deal.

Buy a car at the end of the month - In my research of negotiating car deals, I learned that most car dealerships have monthly quotas that they need to meet, so if you shop for a car near the end of the month, they may be willing to offer a really good deal if the salesperson/dealership is getting close to meeting the quotas.

As I continue my quest for the A4 Avant, I'll be sure to keep you updated. I may post more lessons learned here or write a whole new post depending on how much information I need to share.

Have any car shopping lessons you'd like to share?