I've experienced none of this nonsense when buying a 4-year used car at a dealer. I came in, did the test drive, the sticker price was reasonable compared to craigslist, I bitched that the tires were on their last legs, argued down $400, wrote a cheque, and was done.

The most time-intensive part of this process was signing all the paperwork, and playing telephone games with an insurance agency.

I'd still, for all the obvious reasons, prefer to shop and buy on-line.