M C
My husband and I are in the process of buying a new car as well. Actually it's a used car, we don't buy new cars because we feel that it's a waste of money to since it depreciates so much once it's off the lot and in the first 3-5 years.
Anyway, We are pretty much only looking on line at autotrader.com and cars.com. Many many dealerships list their cars on those two sites so you are sometimes buying it from a dealership even though it's online.
If you feel over whelmed try narrowing down the different qualities you want in a vehicle. Is gas mileage and issue? Then maybe look for a Honda civic which is a little smaller or an accord which has more room, they both get about 31-35 miles to the gallon depending on what year/model you are looking for. Also Mazda and Toyota get great mileage as well. Pretty much honda and toyota run forever so even if you buy one with 100,000 miles on it it's golden for a number of years yet.
if you are looking for an suv, I would again try honda's crv, or a 4runner, or highlander, all great cars.
Also, if you are willing to drive up to 300 miles for a car you can potentially get one that is 1-2,000 less since it's in a different part of the country, it's odd but you would be surprised by the price differences just a couple hundred miles away.
HOpe you find one soon!!!