How hard is it to buy a car today? For Kevin Peters, it recently involved a one-way flight and 330-mile road trip to avoid overpaying for a new truck.

Mr. Peters initially spent three weeks shopping around San Diego for a new F-150 Lariat pickup, only to encounter extra charges of $5,000 to $8,000 above the suggested retail price. He decided to fly to a dealership in Las Vegas, where he got what is considered a bargain: He paid the sticker price of $73,520.