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Buy your next car online
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April 1, 1998: 7:49 p.m. ET
Auto-By-Tel makes purchasing a new vehicle simpler -- maybe even cheaper
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - If you need a new car but hate dealing with car dealers, it may be time to log on to the Internet.
With Auto-By-Tel, you can buy a car online without ever stepping foot into a dealership. The California-based website works with dealers to give car buyers easy access to new and used car listings in their neighborhoods.
It's free for the user, who simply inputs his or her make and model preference, along with other options requirements.
Auto-By-Tel then will do research, a competitive analysis and price comparison based on your request, according to Pete Ellis, the company's president.
"We'll route them to a dealer that subscribes to the program," said Ellis.
Even once Auto-By-Tel finds the right car for you, you may be able to avoid the dealership, as online buyer Matthew Massana did.
Albion Motors went the extra miles to deliver the new Ford Contour SE to Massana, who lives about thirty miles away.
Indeed Massana's new car was delivered right to his workplace and he never set foot in the dealership, just the way he likes it.
"It makes my life a lot easier," said Massana, who has disdain for car dealers.
"They come down on you like a pack of vultures," he said.
Buying a car on the Internet also can be cheaper. According to a study by J.D. Power and Associates, fewer than 10 percent of those who bought a car or truck online paid the sticker price. That's half as many as walk-in buyers.
Business is booming.
"Right now [Auto-By-Tel] accounts for thirty percent of our business," said Bill Vann, president of Albion Motors.
Auto-By-Tel estimates it's responsible for $500 million in vehicle sales per month. 
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Auto-By-Tel
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