The Essential Guide to Buying and Selling a Car in Canada

Geoff Cragg is a tenured instructor in the Faculty of General Studies at
the University of Calgary.

Although the car has been a part of middle-class life in Canada since
the 1920s, buying a car is still not an easy task for many Canadians.
Next to buying a house, a car is the second-largest investment for most
of us, and the proliferation of vehicle types, equipment lists, and
purchase options has made buying a vehicle far more complicated than it
was a generation ago. This guide to getting the right vehicle at a fair
price is more comprehensive and attentive to Canadian realities than
other publications (notably Lemon-Aid and Consumer Reports) that
evaluate vehicles.

Following a consideration of buyers’ needs and desires, the authors
look at a variety of vehicle types and optional equipment to assist in
identifying the vehicle of choice. They then offer a series of logically
linked chapters on the sequence of buying a new car from a dealer, which
culminates in vehicle maintenance and insurance. The format,
appropriately, is that of a manual. Each chapter opens with a short
overview of major contents and outcomes, and concludes with quick tips.
Many checklists and sample forms to help the reader put the concepts to
use. The authors’ style is direct but not simplistic, and they
maintain interest by presenting frequent examples, often from their
personal experience.

The guide is particularly strong in its discussion of the process of
negotiation, its understanding of how dealerships work and the situation
of the salesperson, and its appraisal of various leasing arrangements.
The more mechanically inclined may not need this book, but the average
consumer will benefit from its advice.