Edmunds Review

Friday, August 12th

2022 New Car Buying Site Reviews

Edmunds

• "A+" rated and accredited by the BBB
• In-depth car research
• 50+ years of experience

Edmunds is an automotive expert. In business for half a century and then some, they offer an incredible array of resources to help you pick the right new car - even video test drives to go along with their thorough reviews and comparisons. Would you believe that their editorial team drives about half a million miles every year to tell you where the rubber really meets the road?

Easy to get started

So, let's say you've used all of the Edmunds research to pick the right make and model for your needs. Ready to find one to buy? Enter the make or model in the search bar at the top of the site, or go to the New tab. (Or you can use the By Type or By Price options on that page too, if you're still open to different makes/models within your budget or preferred body style.) Plug in your zip code to see the specifics for new cars near you.

...or not

You'd expect the next page to show you vehicle listings that match what you entered, right? Maybe not so much. Instead, Edmunds shows you the MSRP range for the make/model you chose, more in-depth review information"�and then way down at the bottom, you'll see a small selection of vehicles of various trim levels that are available near you. This didn't even come close to matching the inventory results we got when using other sites for buying new cars.

Extra steps that might get you there

From there, when you click on one of those nearby vehicles, Edmunds takes you to a page where you can see the dealerships that may or may not have it in stock; we noticed that, in our list, one dealer was not automatically included, probably because it had a one-star rating. When you enter your first and last name, email address and phone number, you might be taken to a page that shows specific in-stock vehicles and where they're located. You could use that information to go right to the dealer website. But, Edmunds makes a point of telling you that most dealers can't post their lowest prices online, and you should use the Edmunds quote request to get the dealer's best out-the-door price on the vehicle you want. You also have some Edmunds tools to help with your negotiations, like how long the car has been listed and if there have been any price changes.

Other services are more direct

But, it felt like a lot of hoops to jump through - ones that Edmunds' higher-ranked competitors didn't usually require before getting to the nitty-gritty of cars' locations and real-time availability. There's nothing saying you can't use this service to get a ton of research done, and maybe even request a price quote, but if you're in a hurry (or if you're looking at a car that's likely to sell fast) you might not want the added steps of the Edmunds process.

Good reputation, best for research

Edmunds has a reputation you can trust, demonstrated by their "A+" and accreditation from the BBB, and you won't risk anything by using their service. Just don't expect it to be as fast or as linear as its rivals during the actual buying process.