[methodtim]

1. Dealer trades should be transparent to you unless it involves shipping the car, in which case, you'll be on the hook for the shipping charges. I've not experienced this myself, but from what I've read, it's around 800 - 1000.

2. I'm not a dealer, blah, blah, but I think that if you offer $500 above invoice for the car (so $43,980), you'll be well-received. <--- Strike all that....

Edit: Umm... it must have been late when I wrote this, because I'm totally wrong. I thought you were talking 09, but I just re-read everything and you're talking about an 08 model (otherwise you wouldn't have mentioned free auto). Go with invoice, they won't turn you down.