Auto-by-Tel, the leading online car-buying service, recently announced that it is selling $1 million worth of new cars every hour. The service and its competitors, such as Autoweb.com and Microsoft's Carpoint.msn.com, must hold some attraction for car shoppers.

The main attraction is low hassle. You can go to one of these sites, see the MSRP and invoice costs, and, if you are ready, fill in exactly the model you are looking for and your Zip code and possibly your e-mail address. You then will get a phone call or e-mail from a dealership offering a fixed, no-haggle price. If that offer is as low as $100 or $200 over dealer's invoice (and if they have a model and color you want), you have struck a great deal with a minimum of hassle.

The drawback: Most Internet services guarantee participating dealers exclusive territory. So while you almost always will get a good price with Web services, you may not get the best price that results from competitive bidding.

If you want to use the web to help you do your own shopping, General Motors' gmbuypower.com lets you see what specific cars local dealers have and negotiate by e-mail if you wish.

If you want to be sure you are getting the best of competing bids, you might want to hire a service that shops for you. Started as 800-number telephone services and now with Websites as well, these shoppers will, for a fee, find the best available deal near your home:

AutoAdvisor: $395 full-service fee or $165 for three price quotes (800-326-1976; autoadvisor.com)

CarQ: $475 full-service (800-517-2277; carq.com)

CarBargains: $165 for competing bids from local dealers (800-475-7283; carbargains.com).