Jessica, having been through this a few times, I have only one piece of advice: TAKE A MAN WITH YOU. Your dad, your bf, someone you grab off the street and pay to come along :-), whatever -- just take a man with you. I have done it both ways. When my dad went with me, I got good, honest deals. When I've gone alone, I've gotten steamrollered by salesmen who look at me and think to themselves, "Oh goody! A woman! She doesn't know jack about cars, so I can take advantage of her!" Seriously. On the occasions I have gone to buy a car by myself, I have been completely disregarded as not knowing what I wanted or what I was talking about. If you go with some muscle behind you, you'll have a much easier time of it! :-)

Good luck.

Candy

PS: Consumer Reports has an annual car-buying guide. That's a good place to start.