NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- Used-car dealers said they’re struggling across the board with fewer, fussier customers, and customers who have done their homework.

Employees at Town & Country Auto Center in New Britain said sales are down about 25 percent. They said people are also looking to spend less money than they have in the past.

“Customers that are coming in that would typically spend $10,000 to $15,000 on a car or $8,000 to $12,000 on a car for sons or daughters for college or just getting out of high school now are coming in and wanting to spend $4,000 or $5,000 on a car,” said Joe Genovese, of Town & Country.

The sales of new cars dropped by 30 percent in 2008 for Chrysler, 28 percent for General Motors, 22 percent for Ford and 15 percent for Toyota.

“People are smart nowadays,” Genovese said. “They're doing their history. They're looking at car values -- Kelley Blue Book -- and they're coming here prepared. It's a real fight to sell a car nowadays. People are coming in with all the information and they do their shopping."

The chunk of the business that’s booming is repairs, as more and more people try to keep the cars they have on the road as long as they can.

“We only have two bays, and with servicing our own cars and customers’ cars and getting the ones we sell ready for delivery, it puts a big strain and a lot of hours on my mechanics,” Genovese said.

Another interesting angle on the used-car game is the effect of the Internet. The staff members at Town & Country said they have customers coming in from neighboring states who know exactly what they want off the lot and exactly what they want to pay.