Car Buying Scams: When To Walk Away From The Deal
Posted by carsandtrucks on Wednesday, November 14 @ 07:21:14 PST
Believe it or not, every car dealer is not out to scam you. There are the ones that have unscrupulous business practices and will take advantage of you anywhere they can. How do you know when you are being scammed and when you are getting a legitimate deal? Educate yourself and believe that if it sounds to good too be true it probably is. When you see a dealer advertising repo sales, liquidation sales, bankruptcy sales etc, wait until the sale ends before you visit these dealers.
Likewise avoid the dealership that mails you a flyer with a timeline that you must meet to get "this one time offer. This type of sale is designed to prey on the psychological mind set that if you don't act now you are going to miss out. In fact the opposite
is closer to the truth. These sales tend to focus on people with lower credit scores that are payment buyers. The dealer marks up his asking price of the car by 3000-5000 dollars, quotes a low monthly payment by getting you a loan that is lengthened to the maximum number of months possible. If you fall for this you will soon be "upside down", meaning you owe a lot more on the car then the car is worth. Another scam to watch out for is when a dealer tells you that you will have to pay a higher interest rate because your credit score is not up to par. In reality what the dealer is doing is making money on the financing they are arranging for you. To avoid this scam, know your credit score before you go to the dealership and secure your financing outside of the dealership. Also, watch out for ads that list prices far lower then comparable vehicles in other ads. When you call the dealer about the ad price and are told the car is available for the ad price but you have to buy an extended warranty and/or finance it at a higher interest rate to get the sale price, walk away from the deal. In closing let me reiterate there are several legit dealers. Most of these dealers are the quiet ones that don't advertise unrealistic sale prices, promise you free trips or gifts for buying from them or add on warranties or accessory packages as a condition of the price.
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