YBC: check out online sites like auto trader and cars direct. Cars Direct will give you the price of a new one and auto trader will allow you to look up the prices on used ones. It should only take you a few minutes to do the research. Also make sure you are comparing cars with the same packages. It is always a good idea to go into the dealership already having obtained financing at say a credit union and having printed out a quote from a place like Cars Direct. It gives you a position from which to bargain.

PD, no worries… I can see what you mean that any time you use a large portion of money, it no longer invested. At the time I was looking to get into a new car I had the option of putting a lot down, or financing the car and investing the money. It worked for me because I was able to get substantially more of a return from my investment. I got a little lucky.
Other people have brought up the fact that you can look up a cars history. Yes this is true. The car history doesn’t take into account people like my good buddy who bought a pick up and launched it multiple times in baja within days of purchasing it and on numerous off-roading adventures since. He recently sold it and you would never know how hard this truck was rallied by looking at it or running a history check on it. Who ever wound up with that thing will wonder why the shocks just blow up one day.
Also there is a reason a few year old 911 Porsche Carerra sold for 30K. Unless the previous owner was a geriatric someone probably drove the piss out of that car. Yes the joints, trans, and engine look alright for the quick visual inspection that the mechanic does. Most of the damage done to such a car would be interior engine and trans which would only show up if you opened it up and noticed things like your rings were melted off the pistons for some unknown reason. Just curious does the 911 burn/leak oil?