Level The Auto Buying & Car Leasing Playing Field
With This Unique and Empowering Information
Package For New Car Shoppers, Which We Can
EMail, Snail-Mail (USPS) or FedEx To You.

# Customers Served Thru 12-31-08: 102,571
(That's actual customers, not web site visitors or "hits.")

It's The Only New Car Buying Guide That Comes With
A "Coach" -- Someone To Talk To As You Go Through
The Auto Buying Or Auto Leasing Process. Got A Question
About Something In Our Package Or Something A Dealer
Said? Call Us. Want To Check The Numbers Before You
Agree To A Purchase Price Or Sign A Lease? Call Us.

It's Also The Only Car Buying & Leasing Guide That
Teaches You Exactly How To Negotiate In Today's
Radically-Changed Marketplace, Including The New
Way Automakers Are Structuring Dealer Incentives.

In Tough Economic Times Like These, You Want To Be
Sure You Get The Most Value For Every Dollar You
Spend — Especially On The Second Most Expensive
Purchase You Make. Empowering You To Do That
Confidently Is Our Reason For Being. You Will Control
The Process, Emerging As A Victor, Not A Victim.

Delivery Note: We Were Out Of The Office
Saturday, Sunday and Half Of Monday Because
The Building Was Being Tented And Fumigated.
Orders Received Between Friday Evening And
Noon Pacific Time Monday Will Be Emailed To
Customers by Tuesday, January 5th. The Balance Of
Monday And Tuesday Orders Will Be Sent By Wednesday.

January Will Be A Great Month To Buy Or Lease
A New Vehicle. It's Typically The Lowest Sales Month
Of The Year, As People Are Paying Off Holiday Bills.
In This Still-Weakening Economy, The Downward
Trend In New-Car Sales Will Continue Well Into 2009.
January Will Be The Lowest Overall Sales Month
In More Than A Decade. Bad News For Car Dealers,
But Good News For You.

The Auto Business Has Skidded Into A Deep Recession.
2008 Will Be The Lowest Sales Year Since 1994.
New Vehicle Sales Fell 16.3% Nationally In The First
11 Months. Of 36 Nameplates, Just 2 Registered Increases.
(How your target nameplates and models have been faring is
in the Fighting Chance package.) Why Is No One Else Telling
You This? It's Not Top-Secret Data, It's Reported Every Month.

The Recent 3 Months Have Been Disastrous.
(December Numbers Are Not Available yet.)
New-Vehicle Sales Plunged 26.7% In September,
32.1% In October And A Whopping 36.7% In
November. It's A "Buyer's Market" In The Car Biz.
So Arm Yourself With The Fighting Chance Package
And Take Total Control Of The Negotiation Process.

If Your New-Car Negotiating Plan Is One Other
So-Called "Experts" (Consumer Reports And Others)
Advise — "Start With The Dealer Invoice Price, Subtract
The Holdback To Get The 'Real Price' Of The Car, Then
Walk Into A Showroom And Bargain Up From This 'Real
Price' "— You Will Never End Up With The Best Deal Available,
Given The Ways Automakers Motivate Dealers With Cash Today.

If You Follow The Step-By-Step Instructions In Our
Car Buying Guide, You’ll Negotiate The Best Price
Available Without Walking Into A Car Store As Dealers
Bid Competitively To Sell or Lease You A New Vehicle.

Best Of All, You'll Learn How To Negotiate The Price
Of A New Vehicle The Smart Way for The Rest Of Your
Life. Never Again Will You Face The Pain And Suffering
Of Walking Into A Car Store To Negotiate Price.

Fact Is, While One Person Is Spending Painful Hours
In A Car Store Negotiating "The Best Price," That
Same Dealership Is Often In A Competitive Bidding
Process, Proposing Better Prices To Other Pain-Free
Shoppers, None Of Whom Have Walked Into That Store.

Why Are No Other So-Called "Consumer-Oriented"
Media Sources Telling You This? Check Out Newspapers,
Magazines, TV, And Even Automotive Websites Like
Kelley Blue Book And Edmunds. Look At All The Advertising
From Auto Companies And Car Dealers. They Would Never Do
Anything That Would Jeopardize That Critical Income And
Profit Stream. Without It, They'd Be In Big Trouble Financially.

(To Check Out All The Solid Reasons For Choosing
Us Over Any Other Information Source,
Click On "Why Choose Us?" On The
Transportation Bar On The Left Above.)

As one customer put it,
"Negotiating without the Fighting Chance car buying guide and leasing
information package is like going to the beach without sunblock:
You're gonna get burned. If you're shopping for a new car, ordering
this package is the biggest no-brainer in the history of mankind."

Quick Links

What's In The Package | Our Finest Testimonial
Links to Our Other Pages

What's In The Car Buying Guide Package

Ask yourself this obvious question:
With all the "free" automotive information on the Internet,
why have 102,571 new-car shoppers paid $39.95 for the Fighting Chance
car buying guide and auto leasing information package?

Here's the answer those 102,571 customers give:
"The five elements of this unique package empowered me to
negotiate with levels of knowledge and self-confidence I'd
never develop from knowing just the dealer invoice price.
Considering the price of new cars today, it's the best $39.95
I've ever spent because it's taught me how to buy or lease
a new car the smart way for the rest of my life. I'll never
walk into a car store again to negotiate the price."

Fighting Chance isn't just the most comprehensive
information package you'll find, it's a step-by-step
plan for using that information most effectively.

Perhaps most important, you'll be able to do all your negotiating
using our "Fax Attack", without going anywhere near a car store!
(Complete details included, with sample faxes for buying and
leasing.) We concluded a long time ago that only a fool would
actually walk into a car store to negotiate the price of a car. Most
customers tell us the "Fax Attack" information alone is worth the
price of the entire package because it teaches them how
to buy a new car the smart way for the rest of their lives.
(To read what customers have said about their experiences
using our information package, see our Testimonials.)

Here's what you'll get in the package that 102,571 consumers have used to negotiate
from a position of strength:

1. The complete pricing data for the vehicles you're considering, showing the suggested retail "sticker" price (MSRP) and the dealer invoice price for each model you order, including all trim levels and optional equipment. Click here for current list of model pricing available. To see a representative sample vehicle pricing file (not a current file) in pdf format, click here. You may find this data elsewhere, but it's not nearly enough to empower you fully in the your negotiation. It's just the starting point. You also need #2, #3, #4 and #5. 2. The Fighting Chance "Big Picture" analysis of how the manufacturer(s) and the specific model(s) you're interested in have been doing in the market, updated every two or three months. Are your vehicle's sales up or down or sideways? Does the average dealer sell two or twenty two each month? For most popular vehicles, these two-to-eight page summaries also include the actual transaction prices (in relation to dealer invoice) reported by Fighting Chance customers across the country. (Simply having the dealer invoice price tells you nothing. For some vehicles, $2,000 over invoice would be a terrific price; for others, $200 over invoice would be a terrible deal.) We also include the current information on holdback, additional profit that most (but not all) manufacturers build into the invoice price, then return later to the dealer. To see a representative sample "Big Picture" analysis (not a current file) in pdf format, click here. These Big Picture analyses are one of the elements separating Fighting Chance from its competitors: they're just providing data, while we're providing insight. The 2006 "Market Summary" information you'll find if you click on that button in the left column is a good example of the kinds of insights you'll find in our package. This is all public information, published in many places. Ask yourself why no other automotive information sources, on or off the Internet, are providing this kind of candor about who's up, who's down and who's in the tank in the auto biz. Well, duh! Automakers and their dealers spend big bucks to advertise on TV and radio, in newspapers and magazines . . . . and yes, on those automotive websites. (Surely you've noticed those ads that pop up whenever you're trying to research something.) And those information sources won't do anything that would make automakers and their dealers unhappy and jeopardize that much income. If you're still wondering whose side they're really on, think again! 3. The latest issue of CarDeals,a bi-weekly report with the most complete listing available of current national cash incentive programs, both consumer rebate offers and any traditional factory-to-dealer cash incentives that have been reported. You'll see the offers on all vehicles, not just what may or may not be there for the one(s) you're shopping. CarDeals typically lists about twice as many offers as the Incentive Watch column in Automotive News, the industry's weekly trade paper. To see a representative sample of the bi-weekly CarDeals incentive report (not a current edition) in pdf format, click here. Understand, however, that most dealer cash incentives today are not tied to the sale of any specific vehicle. Instead, they are geared to overall sales objectives set on a store-by-store basis. Just as in other sales-oriented businesses, dealers can earn significant cash bonuses by reaching these "below-the-radar" sales targets, but there is no way to learn where any individual dealership stands vs. its goals. The solution to this problem: casting a wide net via the "fax attack," which almost always smokes out these incentives by making dealers bid competitively for your business. Don't let this happen to you: A customer emailed us an order, then canceled his order the next day, saying,"I found the pricing information on the Internet, and I contacted Autobytel.com and the dealer gave me a great deal, just $500 over invoice." That poor guy really got taken! He would have learned from our package that most of our customers were buying that vehicle for less than the invoice price (up to $1,000 less), obviously because there was a "below-the-radar" dealer bonus program in effect. Some dealers responding to the "fax attack" were willing to sacrifice profit or even lose money on their vehicles to reach sales targets that would earn them big bonus checks. (Incidentally, research indicates that only one in five people who get a quote from Autobytel or the other car buying online services actually buys a car from them. Their deals frequently aren't that great. The reason: car buying online is not a competitive bidding situation. You will typically hear from only the dealer or dealers who have paid to get the contacts from your zip code or telephone area code.) 4. The fourth element in the package is a number of articles we've written that will help you navigate the entire car-buying/leasing process most effectively. Articles included in the package: "The Truth About Dealer Cash Incentives:Facts No One Else Is Telling You" A "must-read" because the vast bulk of dealer cash payments is no longer determined the way it used to be. "How The 'Fax/Email Attack' Can Get You The Best Deal, Saving Money, Time and Aggravation," including sample fax/email messages for buying and for leasing. You don’t just get information from us; you also get a plan for using it. Today you can do all your negotiating by fax or email for virtually all vehicles. As we noted above, only a fool would actually walk into a car store to negotiate the price of a new vehicle. You are shopping for a commodity, and you will always get the best price not by making an offer, but by making several dealers bid competitively for your business. We explain clearly how to do it, when to do it, and how to finalize the deal with the winning dealer to avoid unpleasant surprises when you sign the final papers. This is "the centerpiece" of our package, and customers tell us that this piece alone is worth more than the package price because it teaches them how to buy a new car the smart way for the rest of their lives. "If You Ignore This Advice, You Won't Get The Best Deal Available" How timing can significantly affect the price you pay, and the best upcoming date(s) to be soliciting competitive price proposals. "How To Avoid The Big Leasing Rip-Off" Explains how leasing works, what you can negotiate and what you can't, shows you how to do the grade-school arithmetic they use to calculate your monthly payment and invites you to call us to go over the numbers and check residual values on your best deal before you sign the lease. "Will Your Car's Value Drop Like A Rock?" Depreciation will be the largest component of your total ownership cost. The cheapest car to buy may not be the cheapest car to own. This piece shows the relative differences in projected wholesale values of models in each vehicle classification after five years of use. "What They Don't Want You To Know About Product Quality" How the nameplates you're considering measure up on initial quality and long-term reliability. (As you already know, a vehicle's perceived quality is the major element determining its value as a used car.) "The Crucial Importance Of A Dealership's Customer Satisfaction Rating" How dealer cash incentive payments are impacted positively or negatively by your responses to that post-purchase questionnaire. "Can You Get The Vehicle Configuration You Want?" Automakers publish pricing data implying that we can get exactly what we want without buying equipment we don't want. For most vehicles today, that's not true. "Dealing With A Trade-In" Two pages of solid advice on how to get the most for your used vehicle. Including how to think your way through the alternative ways to sell or donate it. "Should You Buy A "Demo"? At What Price?" How to assess whether buying a dealer's "demo" is a smart decision and the thought process to use to determine a favorable purchase price. "Traditional Vehicle-Specific Factory-To-Dealer Cash: Who Should Get That Money?" While most dealer cash is no longer tied to an individual sale, some auto companies use this method occasionally. Why it should all end up in your pocket. "The CarDeals Incentive Report: What To Expect And What Not To Expect" Not all vehicles have incentives. Many sell well enough not to need them. Some nameplates frequently offer customer rebates, while others avoid them like the plague. "Should You Buy Last Year's Model?" The thought process to go through to determine whether you'll save enough buying a leftover instead of the current year's model. "Smart Ways To Buy An Extended Warranty" The Consumer Reports April 2007 Annual Auto Issue advises, "Say no to dealer extended service plans." Why that's not good advice for everyone, why only the automakers' policies are a safe bet, and how to get the best prices on these insurance plans. "Have You Chosen A Crashworthy Vehicle?" The web sites to visit to check out the most current crash test ratings on the vehicles you're considering. Ask yourself, "Where else, on of off the Internet, can I get all this key information and sound advice emailed to me in one complete package?" 5. Perhaps the major reason 102,571 people have become customers: This is the only service in the category that gives you a "coach" - someone to talk to as you go through the negotiation process. Customers may call our customer service number and ask any questions of author/founder James Bragg or his assistant, Greg Santucci. Bragg started this business because the world had become increasingly automated, voice-mailed, digitized and impersonal, and he felt there was room for a consumer advocacy business that provided a knowledgeable real person that you could talk to. (Have you tried to talk to a real person recently about your phone bill?) For example, if you're leasing, we'll take out a calculator and go through the numbers with you on the phone, look up residual values in the current edition of the Automotive Lease Guide to be sure no one's trying to low-ball you, and tell you what we think before you sign the lease document. If your purchase gets postponed, you may also call to ask for updated information on incentive programs or price changes on your vehicle(s). And if you have any questions about the information we send you, we'd be happy to answer them. (How many products or services can you buy and also get access to the author of one of the definitive books on the subject, plus the benefit of the cumulative experience of 102,571 other new-car shoppers?) THE COST OF THIS UNIQUE PACKAGE? $39.95 (Includes all the information you need on any one vehicle.) Additional vehicles: $15.00 each. (More than half of our customers add one or more additional vehicles as "fall-back" alternatives. This could become a small, but wise $15.00 decision if you find it difficult to deal on your first choice.) Considering the substantial cost of the new vehicle you're about to buy or lease, isn't this a relatively small price to pay for the comprehensive Fighting Chance information package? Click here for complete pricing and ordering details, including a secure, encrypted order form you can e-mail to us or print, fill out and fax to us. If you’d prefer to place a phone order, or if you have questions that aren't answered on our web site, you may call our order desk at 1-800-288-1134 between 9:00AM and 4:00PM Pacific time, Monday through Friday. (We don't work on weekends.) Click here for current list of model pricing available. Important Note: This is a service for NEW VEHICLES ONLY. We have no information on used vehicles. Also, we have NO CANADIAN PRICING DATA. (For Canadian pricing, visit carcostcanada.com) A NOTE ABOUT OUR BOOK: If you like to have copies of the best "How To" books in your home library, why not also order an author-inscribed copy of our book, "CAR BUYER'S AND LEASER'S NEGOTIATING BIBLE," PUBLISHED BY RANDOM HOUSE? It's the 3rd edition, 252 pages, the most up-to-date book in the category, and one that's actually fun to read. (Mr. Bragg will write an inscription inside the front cover.) The price is $16.95 plus $6.00 for shipping. To see a detailed table of contents in"the Bible", click here. Does our information package work? For a sampling of customer feedback, click on the "Customer Testimonials" link at the bottom of this page. Our finest testimonial actually came from new-car dealers: On May 22, 1994 the San Jose Mercury-News published a great article on how to buy a car the smart way, quoting us liberally - including our line, "One reason God gave you feet was to walk away from car salesmen". The article rated the major information services for new-car shoppers and gave Fighting Chance the highest score. The next day all the dealers in the market pulled their advertising, and they boycotted the paper for a full month. That one article cost the Mercury-News over $1,000,000 in advertising revenue, a sad commentary on the state of editorial integrity in the media today. A tough economic blow for that paper, but we were honored. When the dealers reacted that vehemently to what we were doing, we knew we were doing something right. Links to Our Other Pages To learn more about us, click on the links below. See a more detailed description of the elements in our information package. Read a sample of the kind of irreverent, straight-talking overview of the automobile market that you'll find nowhere else - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. For an up-to-the-minute listing of model pricing available, see Current Auto Pricing Data Available. For a few grins and a creative challenge, play "The Car Name Game". To learn how and why Fighting Chance is a much better information source for new-vehicle shoppers, check out Bragg's Banter. If you want to get the information package or our book, "the Bible", place your order here. Customer Testimonials Why I Created Fighting Chance. Copyright © 2008 Fighting Chance Home | The Package | Auto Pricing | Market Summary | Bragg's Banter | Testimonials | The Book Play the Name Game | About Us Buying New Car | Car Buying Online | New Car Invoice Price | Car Buying Guide | New Car Price | New Car Quote | Dealer Invoice | New Car Purchase | Buy New Car | Auto Buying | Buying Car | Car Pricing | New Car Price Quote | Car Buying Service | Best Time to Buy a New Car | New Car Buying Tip