More Car Buying Scams
As you see, there are many ongoing scams that some dealerships (luckily, not the majority) will try on you in order to get some extra money from you. I’ve shown you the most popular, but let’s take a look at some more:
Written contract scam: This is basically when the finance manager sits you down and begins to write himself into frenzy, while quickly throwing numbers at you until you are so confused, you end up paying more than you agreed upon.
This may seem impossible for a person to get away with but it happens all the time.
You see, the finance manager is counting on you being confused and desperate to get out of there, so he assumes you will simply go along with whatever he says. And most of the time, it works.
Avoid it by forcing the guy to slow down, and make him explain his calculations. Go right along with him 'number for number' to make sure you're getting a fair deal and that both of you come up with the same numbers.
...On to 12 more...
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Price Beating scam: This is when the dealer tells you that they will beat anyone else’s prices or give you, say, $500.
They ask you to get the price from another dealer and they’ll beat it. The hard part is that other dealers will not just hand over their information for you to take to someone else. Your dealer knows this and so confidently makes this challenge to you. Most dealers sell different makes and models anyway. Don't believe the hype, or in this case, the "lie".
Avoid this scam by not buying into it in the first place.
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I Won’t Get Paid scam: This is when the dealer tells you that he won’t get paid if you don’t purchase the options package. This is another attempt at making you feel sorry for him---similar to the "I'm losing my shirt" plea.
To avoid this simply tell them that you refuse to buy something you don’t want just so that they get paid. If it's really that much of a problem, they should get another job.
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No Payments Until scam: This is when a dealership advertises that you don’t have to pay for 6 months or more. Next thing you know, you buy the car and they tell you that it is due for payment in 2 months. Sometimes a payment is due immediately. They might claim a typographical error or that the deal was really for a week ago. It’s an outright lie, and you should get your deposit back ASAP.
Avoid this by asking the dealer to put in writing (before you purchase the car) this "no payments due until____" statement. Make your deposit by credit card so that you can refute it later if necessary.
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The We’ve Got it scam: This happens when you call a dealership asking for a specific car make, model and color and are told that they do, indeed, have it. However, when you get there, you are told that---coincidentally---they sold the only one they had (the one you wanted) before you arrived. Next they will tell you that they have another car similar to it for only $500 more.
Avoid this by leaving and telling them that they just plain suck for pulling that amateurish scam on you.
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No Cheaper Rate scam: This is when a dealership tells you that you can’t find a cheaper price anywhere else on the market.
Get real! Of course, if you’ve done your research, you already know that the prices don’t change on the value of a car; the car's cost remains constant.
Avoid this by simply leaving if they won't budge on their price.
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The Phone Call scam: This is pulled off when you have successfully negotiated a car, but the salesman suddenly gets a phone call with an offer for the car that is higher than the price you agreed on. Then he casually lets you hear him state that he will call the man on the phone right back if you opt out of the deal. Next, he tries to talk you up from your set upon price to compete with the guy on the phone’s offer.
Avoid this by telling the salesman that you understand completely if he chooses to take the better offer - let the other guy have the car.
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Paperwork scam: This usually happens after you have already paid your bank draft for the financing of your car, and the deal has already been set in a contract. Conveniently, the salesman wrote down the wrong date on the sales contract. You are then told that you will have to finance the car through their company for extra fees within 2 days or you will be stuck with a higher financing and interest rates monthly.
To avoid this watch the salesman write your contract and check the dates before you sign them, just to be sure.
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Factory Holdback scam: Dealerships depend on a buyer’s ignorance so that they can mark up your prices. Holdback is money paid to the dealer by the factory for about 2-3% of MSRP, but is perfectly legal and, ordinarily, an honest business practice.
However, it's basically a bonus or "kickback" paid to the dealer for having bought the car from the factory. But some dealers will tell you that it actually costs them money if they don't get this "extra money" from the dealer. This way, they can charge you for it later and so get the money twice.
Avoid this by letting the dealer know that you know better and simply will not pay it. Another case where "doing your homework" can pay off handsomely.
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Insurance scam: This is when the dealership tells you that you must get your insurance from them or a company that they work with if you want to avoid paying higher interest rates. This scam is the same type that requires you to pay life insurance or extended warranties due to “bad credit.”
Avoid this by leaving. What they are doing is just flat out wrong.
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Turnover scam: This is when the dealership sends over several different salespeople hoping to wear you down and get you to hurry up and buy. This is also called harassment.
Avoid this by threatening to leave if they don't let up the pressure.
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Hidden rebates: This is when the dealership advertises that the price of the car is lower than the MSRP. What they don't tell you is that the price already includes the rebates. Which simply means that the rebate that you were offered doesn’t really exist because it's already subtracted from the price.
Avoid this by ignoring it or requesting in writing that the rebate is in addition to the price of the car.
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Deposit scam: This is when the finance manager insists that you pay a deposit before you have signed the purchase contract.
You will be told that the finance manager has to bring in a copy of the contract offer to his boss and he needs a deposit from you just to ensure that the boss will sign off on it. It’s just to make sure that you are “serious” about getting the car.
Avoid this by refusing to give a deposit before the contract is finished and signed by both parties. Dealers run this scam so that they can keep you there. Tell them that the fact that you made an offer on the car shows that you are serious.
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