I've never bought a car by myself before and I'll very likely have to do that sooner rather than later. I simply don't know what to do.

Obviously, I know the obvious....go to the place, find what I want, test drive, etc. But I absolutely feel like I'm going to tricked into paying more than expected by shady car salespeople.

Everyone has been saying how much car prices are now. Can I find anything affordable? How do I negotiate? Is negotiating even a thing with prices how they are now? What's a normal interest rate today? Can I just request a cute salesperson so I can at least have something fun in this process? Lol.

I feel like car buying is too complicated for anyone to actually answer here, so I guess I'm just looking for any tips. Or just cyber hugs in the form of kind words. Idk. Just stressed. Lol.

Thank you in advance