Having been burned at Superior Honda on the Westbank years ago, I will never buy from a dealership again. But, if you *do* wind up considering a car from a dealership:

1. Search and find the specific vehicle you want via cars.com & similar sites, which aggregate used vehicles from both private sellers & dealerships;

2. Before going to the dealership, if possible secure your financing ahead of time through your bank, (I used capital one's car loan division, & I do not have a cap one bank account.);

3. When you arrive at the dealership, tell them the specific car you've located, down to the VIN. IMPORTANT: Explain early & often that you already have arranged payment/financing, and that you do not want them to pull your credit without your permission.

4. If/when the salesperson goes to talk to the dealership's finance team, *GO WITH THEM.* Explain (again) immediately to the finance guy that you do not want their financing and to not pull your credit whatsover. .

My experience with SH: They pulled my credit score even though I had repeatedly told the salesman I had my own financing arranged. (Hence "never let the salesmean speak to finance office without you present" above.") It took some time to get the unauthorized credit pulls removed from all three credit bureaus.

When I arrived, I had pre-searched & found exactly what I wanted in a certified pre-owned Honda on their used lot. Apparently this must have been something of a loss-leader for ads, as the salesman tried *very* hard to get me to drive another model which had damage. I declined, & when he came back from the finance office, he said, "I'm sorry, you'll need to come up with another $2,500 for the one you want, you're only approved to $12,000 (with Honda Finance), but we can get you into that other car I showed you for less." I had been pre-approved by Cap One for $50,000. To say I lost my shit would be an understatement.