Top Dealership Scams

Car Dealers have numerous ways to scam a possible buyer. Let's continue examining a few of them so that you understand what to look out for when making your next automobile purchase:

The Credit Score Scam

This scam is ridiculous at best. That is when the finance manager tells you your credit rating is lower than it actually is so that they can get you for higher interest rates.

This scam is pulled on everyone; bad or good credit. This scam is easy to avoid. Just get your own copy of your credit report from Equifax.com, and bring it with you. It's actually tough to lie to you about your credit rating if you have your own copy of it. If your newspaper and theirs does not say the exact same thing, go somewhere else because that dealership is lying to you. Do not forget to let them know it too because it will be wonderful to see them squirm.

The Forced Warranty Scam

That is when the finance manager tells you that you're not eligible for the loan from the bank unless you pay an additional $2000 for a 2-3 year extended warranty.

This scam just does not make sense. Basically the fund manager is telling you that the lender will not trust you to cover the $20,000 loan for the vehicle, but they'll trust you if you pay even more money. That is just stupid.

You can avoid this scam if you're able to force them to put it in writing that you"have" to pay the extended warranty so as to have the loan. This way you can bring a copy of the contract to your local State's Attorney's office to confirm that the deal is legitimate. I can bet that the finance manager will change his tune pretty quickly.

The Dealer Prep Scam

Let me first tell you that price isn't just legal but very much common practice. I still refer to it as a scam because it's simply one more way for you to end up paying more money for your vehicle.

Basically the dealer will tell you have to an additional $500 to cover the labor costs of the dealership's 5-point inspection. You're paying for the time it took for the dealership to be certain that the car would not explode on you in the first week of owning it.

This check up that you're spending so much money for is for the dealership to remove plastic from the seats etc, vacuum the car out, and making certain all the fuses and fluids are ready to go. When factories deliver the new cars to the dealerships the cost of prep and delivery is already covered, so basically you're paying the dealership for work they haven't actually done.

I swear they could find the car in perfectly prepared to drive condition and set everything right back in it just so that they can force you to pay the fee again. You can avoid this scam by simply asking the dealership to add an additional $500 credit to the deal to be sure you don't need to pay the cash. If they refuse, you may then determine if the car is worth the cost. If it's fine; purchase the car, or even; go to another dealer that will get rid of the dealer prep prices.