For the average consumer, buying a new car can be as pleasurable as a root canal.

Everyone wants a great deal, and buyers tend to feel like they’re about the pay a lot more than they should.

Savvy buyers have long sought the invoice price — the price that dealers pay for the car — so they can feel secure they have a good point to start negotiating. But with the Internet and smartphones, finding that invoice price — and, thus, getting a great deal on it — has never been easier.

Invoice price

First a lesson, and a little history. When I review cars, I include the price near the top of each article — I get this price from something called the Monroney. This is the sticker that’s generally posted on a new car on a dealer’s lot, and the price listed is the manufacturer’s suggested retail price.

Once upon a time, even the MSRP label was difficult to track down, said Jesse Snyder, opinion editor at Detroit-based Automotive News.

“You had no idea what the car would cost,” Mr. Snyder said. “This is in the really bad old days; this is the reason that car sales people used to be the least trusted people around.”

But wait, there’s more

Invoice price is generally considered to be the price the dealer pays to the manufacturer for the car. The thinking is, if you can get your hands on this information, then you can make yourself a better deal.

So, where can you find the invoice price? I asked Carroll Lachnit, consumer advice editor for Edmunds.com, who had this to say: “Will dealers make a habit of showing the customer the invoice? No,” Ms. Lachnit said. “You can find it on our website all day long.”

Edmunds and plenty of other automotive sites offer the invoice price information to the consumer. But even that doesn’t tell the whole story.

Ms. Lachnit gave me an example from the months of February and March, when Hyundai was unveiling the 2017 Elantra. This meant that the 2016 model had some good incentives on it.

The SE model Ms. Lachnit described had an average MSRP of $19,355, an invoice price of $18,980, and an average price paid of $18,508. So it was being sold on average for almost $400 under invoice.

“If you didn’t know there were incentives on that car and went to a dealer and said, ‘I’ll give you 200 over invoice,’ they would have happily taken that,” she said.

It’s important for consumers looking for the best bargains to keep an eye on these factors as well.

So, it’s the poor salesman, right?

In this arrangement, it sounds like the consumer wins mightily, and it’s amazing car dealers can stay in business at all.

But don’t feel too bad for the friendly salesman in the white shirt just yet.

“The invoice price does not tell you things like holdback and other incentives that manufacturers provide to dealers,” Mr. Snyder said.

This is a payment that manufacturers provide after the car is sold. But don’t expect that you’re going to make any dent into that money, Ms. Lachnit said.

“For a shopper, it’s better if you just don’t even go there,” she said. “The dealer considers that their profits and not for civilians.”

A dealer’s perspective

As for dealers, is it tougher to make money in this environment? John Putzier, CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Automobile Dealers Association, said dealers are not just having to sell at invoice but even below at times.

“The dealers aren’t making money on the front end at all,” Mr. Putzier said.

Where are they making money? Used cars. Add-ons, like extended warranties, service plans, and even with interest rates.

As for car prices, Mr. Putzier said the changes for the auto dealers match how the Internet changes the game in so many industries.

“It’s so transparent today that even the dealer will give you the invoice,” Mr. Putzier said. “Although it makes it a level playing field, it’s what they call a race to bottom.”

Scott Sturgis, a freelance auto writer: mrdriversseat@gmail.com.

First Published: April 1, 2016, 4:00 a.m.