I understand everyone has different experiences. What I did last March, is go test drive all the top ten "Best buy" vehicles shown on TrueCar.com.
I am a firm believer in driving every vehicle I am interested in. And it definitely payed off this time.
Then after driving all (except the two that sold before I got there) I ranked them in the order I thought they deserved. Turned out that the second best price according to True Car, was the best of the top 10 in driveability.
They know where their vehicle sits in the "List" price wise, they do not know where it sits in my ranking of the top 10 in driveability. I used that against them to get a little lower price, then held their feet to a decent trade in. I even offered to split their $400 processing fee with the Salesman, knowing I saved a couple thousand on trade in and negotiations, I was comfortable throwing a small bone to the Salesman.
I was in and out with my new truck in an hour and a half, and did not feel too slimy after working with the dealers.
