When I was car shopping a few years ago I "played" one dealer against the other. I found a 97 Chevy Blazer with all the bells and whistles at one dealer and a 98 GMC Jimmy at another. Since I wanted the best deal I struck a deal with #1 then drove to #2 and sat down and told them what #1 was offering and they made me a better offer. I then drove back to #1 and told them about #2 and they made me an even better deal and I got a full 2-yr bumper-to-bumper warrenty to boot.

As for the kind of vehicle, I'll always stick to SUV's.