In the car business they say “sticker is quicker” which means you can have a hassle free car buying experience as long as you are willing to pay full price. Simply accept what you are being told by the car salesman and sign the buyers order as directed and before you know it you are on your way home with your new ride without negotiating or any other type of hassle. How does that sound to you?

Getting a Good Car Deal without Haggling

The No Haggle Car Sales premise is an advertising gimmick, a rouse that some of the car buying public has swallowed hook, line and sinker. Think about it for a minute, the car dealer advertises “no hassle” car buying at their dealership and then they show a reduced price from the M.S.R.P. on new cars and a reduced price on used cars that they determine to be a fair profit regardless of market value and you are willing to pay that price because they have advertised a no hassle and no negotiation policy.

Now that the price of the vehicle has already been determined by the dealer it’s time to settle up. If you are going to write a check for your automobile great, just hand over the check and drive home in your new vehicle after you paid the price that the dealership thought was fair. Sounds like the scenario I mentioned earlier that can be done at any dealership in the country. However if you are going to finance your automobile you will have to sign a contract with an interest rate that has been determined to be fair by the dealer. Is the dealer making a profit on your finance charge? Then you might want to add an extended car warranty to your finance agreement, but is the price of the warranty fair or do you also assume that the cost is reasonable?

Is No Haggle Car Sales Right for You

Ok, so what about credit life insurance, options and accessories are they also priced reasonably? Maybe you have bought into the dealership’s advertising so thoroughly that you assume you are getting a deal or perhaps you don’t want to take the time to do some car buying homework and research. Either way or whether it is used or new you are willing to pay more than you need to pay for your vehicle. That’s Ok with them as long as it is Ok with you and their no haggle car sales advertising dollars were well spent.

Do your research before you buy a car with the steps to buying a new car.

Credit Reports and Automobile Dealership Legal Obligations

Many people are hesitant to supply their driver’s license when they go for a test drive because they believe that the dealer will run a credit report on them without their consent. To clear up this misconception you should know that a car dealership does not have the ability to run your credit without your social security number and written approval is the only way that your credit history can be accessed legally.

The act of pulling a credit report requires you to provide them with your social security number and sign a form that you are giving them permission. This is the only way that the dealer can legally check your credit. Only a few years back dealers would run your credit with your S.S. # without a signature of consent over the phone, but the laws have changed and this is no longer legal for car dealers to do when trying to sell you a car. Violating this law can result in the dealership paying a very costly fine that could be several thousand up to eleven thousand dollars depending on the state where the business is located.

Trade Keys and Legal Auto Dealer Methods

Another one of the most often asked questions about the legality of car dealers practices is holding the trade-in keys so the customer can’t leave. The customer can feel like they are being held hostage because the car salesman will take the potential buyers keys for their trade and give them to the used car manager to appraise their car, but not return them. Not until they talk or pressured to buy a car by the salesman and sales manager are the keys returned. As far as this being legal for a car dealer to do when they are trying to sell you a car is a gray area.

Technically it may be an illegal automobile dealership practice, but if you were to pursue the matter by calling the police you keys would be returned before the authorities arrive and when they finally do show up no report would be filed. It is not uncommon for the police to summoned to an dealer’s showroom either by the dealership or the customer, but it very rarely goes farther than the policeman making sure that things are under control and asking the customer to leave. The local authorities will almost always side with the dealership because they are a local tax paying business. You offered up your keys and that cannot be considered an illegal act as far as the law is concerned. Keeping your trade-in keys is a risk you take when visiting a dealership, but usually a firm and continued request will get your keys returned.

Paperwork and Legal Car Dealer Practices

One area where the legality of dealership practices is often questioned is the paperwork. Many dealers have been accused of adding items to the bill of sale or other documents after the buyer signs, but that is not very common because it is illegal for a dealer to alter a contract at a later date. The penalty and fines that accompany an illegal act like altering a document are quite stiff and not worth the risk. There have been cases where car lots or dealers have been found guilty of such a practice, but it’s not typical. Usually the car dealer will hide, cover or divert the buyers attention from an area that they don’t want the buyer to read, but when it comes down to it the buyer did not carefully go over and read the documents they signed. You might consider this to not be legal for a dealer to do, but signing legal agreements without reviewing them is not illegal, but the consumer’s mistake.

Yo-Yo Scam or Legal Car Dealership Move

The most written and talked about practice that automobile dealers do is to call a customer back to the dealership a day or two later and say that the lender said they have to put more money down or pay a higher interest rate. This may sound illegal, but in many states across the country this is a standard practice. It’s called a spot delivery, the paperwork is completed and the car delivered without the final approval of the lender.

The buyer assumes that everything is done and that they are approved, but in fact the finance manager thought the lender would approve the deal as written, but the lender has an issue with the borrower and they require more money down or a higher interest rate which in turn raises the monthly car payment. It sounds like an illegal move on the auto dealers behalf, but the truth is that the states where a spot delivery is legal this practice is legal for the car dealer to do when selling a car. In the states where a spot delivery is illegal the dealer won’t allow you to take delivery until your loan is approved which may take a day or two.

You might wonder about some of the techniques and methods that car dealers use to sell a car, but for the most part they are legal. There are some gray areas as shown above, but overall most of their practices are within the law. The business of selling cars is closely monitored by each state’s attorney general because of some of the methods they used in the past were illegal, but today the fines and penalties outweigh any profit they can make.

Car dealerships have many tricks and methods for getting your money when you buy a car legally so in most cases they don’t need to do anything illegal to sell you a car. However they are very good at pushing the envelope and staying in the gray areas because buyers that don’t do their homework and don’t pay close attention will pay them very big profits. Use the steps to buy a car to avoid scams and get you best price on a new car.

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What 72 Hour Rule for Buying an Automobile?

Buying an automobile does not fall under that law when you go to a car dealership and sign a contract to buy a car. The details vary from state to state slightly, but overall once you signed the contract or buyers order paperwork you signed a binding legal document. The reason most people don’t know about the 72 hour rule for buying a car is because most people take a vehicle purchase very seriously and don’t have a reason to return their purchase.

However there are people that have either not done their homework or they were talked into buying something they couldn’t really afford by a very good car salesman. You would be surprised how many people go to buy a car without doing any research and then when they get home and the excitement fades they read their paperwork and find out they paid more than they thought. The first thing that comes to mind is the 3 day rule for buying an automobile and they want to return their newly purchased car.

You will also find a post about the new car spot delivery which has some similar information. I have talked about written many times about how important it is to read your paperwork carefully before you sign anything because there is no 72 hour rule about buying a car. It doesn’t matter if you buy a new or used vehicle because you are signing a contract to purchase. There are a lot of documents to sign when you buy an automobile and most of them are designed to protect the car dealership not the buyer.

I can’t say enough about how buying a car is serious business and if you don’t have your head in the game the dealer can clean out your wallet or purse every step of the way. Selling cars is big business and automobile dealerships do this everyday and if there is a way to make more money off of your vehicle purchase they will find it. You are on your own when you buy a car, there are laws to protect the consumer, but they know what they can do and can’t do to stay within the law. It is wise to follow the prudent car buying steps that you will find in the menu bar above to protect yourself and your hard earned money.

There are some car dealers that offer a return policy when you buy a car from them, but you better read the fine print. You will find yourself paying for mileage and buying a more expensive vehicle to qualify. So forget about any kind of 72 hour rule for buying a car or 3 day return law on vehicle purchases. Once you sign on the line you are the owner. Spend some time doing your research before you buy a car and take it seriously.

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The 100 Best Selling Cars of all time!

The Car Salesman Can Screw You

The real reason why the car salesman screws you is because you let them. The car buyer lets the car salesman screw them because they buy a new car blindly. Buying a car is a major purchase and one that should not be taken lightly. When you go into the car dealer’s showroom unprepared you are asking to be taken to the cleaners. The car salesman is paid on commission so they are trained and focused to sell you a car for as much profit as possible. They are paid a percentage of the profit on your car purchase. So what would you do if you were a car salesman?

I am not defending the car salesman, I am trying to make a point. My point is that you are spending your money to buy a car and it is up to you to spend it wisely. This blog contains the information that will guide the average car buyer through the car buying steps and process plus the research and homework that you need to buy a car without becoming the victim of car dealer scams.

Pricing and the Car Salesman

The car salesman has a saying that “Sticker is Quicker” which means you will pay full price just like you do at most other retail establishments, but who wants to pay sticker. You can buy a car for the sticker price, but it does not stop there. You are also need to make decisions about car dealer financing, car window etching, car dealer fees and the list goes on with more ways to get your money. The price of the car you buy is only one aspect of buying a car. Just like most businesses today the car dealer has found ways to squeeze every penny out of every transaction.

After the Car Salesman

When you are at the car dealership you have completed negotiations with the car salesman your next step is to see the Finance Manager to complete your paperwork. The first thing the Finance Manager tells you is that you can relax now because the negotiations are over and rest is easy. Guess what, the Finance Manager is really a car salesman that is very good at what they do, but they aren’t selling you a car. They are selling you a whole menu of options, services and extras, the items I mentioned earlier that are designed to squeeze every penny out of every car sold by the car dealership. I have seen car buyers that have paid much more profit to the Finance Manager than the car salesman because they though the most important part of buying a car was the price of the car.

Protecting Yourself From the Car Salesman is Only the Beginning

Buying a car without being screwed is up to you, get to know know all of the car dealer tricks and car scams. Follow the steps to buying a car and get the answers to all your car buying questions before you make a trip to your local car dealer. The car salesman and the rest of the staff is waiting for the car buyer that is not prepared. Buying a car is a major purchase that allows you to decide how much you are willing to pay. If you are thinking of the “One Price Car Dealer” think again because the price of the car is only one area where you can be screwed when buying a car.

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Car Buying Help to Save a Bundle

When it comes to the car buying process and getting some car buying help everyone can pick up some tips and advice that can save them anywhere from a couple hundred to several thousand dollars by going over the following information and links. Simply reading and comprehending the information contained on this website can save you money  even if you don’t follow the car buying steps, step by step.

Everyone Could Use Car Buying Help

I have been in the car business for years and I often get asked by friends and relatives for car buying help and advice. The first thing I recommend is that they do so homework on the particular car they are interested in buying. They should to the car makers websites and determine the car they want and also make sure that the car they choose fits into their desire price range. Once they determine which make and model of car I suggest they go to Yahoo! Autos and request FREE quotes. You can do this for Free and get 4 competing price quotes from 4 different car dealers. These dealers know that they are competing with 3 other dealers so their prices are VERY competitive, plus they email you a price in writing right to your email. It’s crazy not to take advantage of this free pricing service. Click Here..NOW! and get 4 quotes for FREE on a car you are considering. This can be a huge help for car buyers. Not only do you get 4 competing quotes, but you don’t have to visit or talk to a single car dealer or salesman and it’s a written quote. Follow the steps to buying a car and get the step by step car buying help you want.

Car Financing and Car Buying Help

Getting the best price on a car is important, but a little known car dealer secret is that the dealership can make as much or more money by providing dealership financing and selling extras. When you make a deal with car salesman at a great price the next step is to go into the “Business Office” to do your paperwork. The person doing your paperwork is going to tell you that you can relax now and that the hard part is over, but that is where you really need to be ready for their car dealer tricks and tactics. The Business Office of the car dealer is where most people need car buying help. Even the person that has bought a dozen cars in the past can be subjected to car dealer scams. Knowing the tactics they use when you finance your car with dealership financing and how the interest rate plays a huge part is a big help for buying a car.

Often Overlooked Car Buying Help

The two main areas for profit and potential car dealer scams are pricing and financing, but many people fail to consider the car buying fees that car dealers charge and that is where car buying help comes into play. Most people will tell you that they are normal and everyone pays those charges. However the hidden costs of buying a car can potentially add hundreds to the price of your new car. Some of these hidden costs and fees are not even legitimate charges and yet another way for the car dealer to get in your pocket.

I hope you can see that even the seasoned car buyer can use some car buying help at times. Laws, taxes and fees are changing all the time, so by doing your homework and going over the information and links above you can get some car buying help that will save you some of your hard earned money.

In my years of selling cars I have either seen or used these car salesman tricks to make a deal or at least help it along. These car dealer tricks are very common and actually encouraged in more dealerships than you may realize. I am not saying that every customer will experience every car dealer trick when buying new cars or used cars or that you will be tricked by all car salesmen, but it is very common throughout the car business to be subjected to one or several of these dirty car sales tricks.

Car Dealer Tricks to Help Car Salesmen Sell Cars

1. Holding the Trade Keys: I am sure many of you have heard of this car dealer trick. The idea is to get the keys to your trade-in so you can’t leave without getting the keys back from the salesman or sales manager. In effect holding you hostage so they can try to sell you a car without you getting up and leaving. This a very common car sales trick and one almost everyone has experienced. If you demand your keys back you shouldn’t have any problem getting them back, most dealers understand that an upset customer is not very likely to buy a car.

Car Dealers and Car Salesmen Tricks

2. Pulling the Keys: Pulling the keys is a trick car dealers use to help move negotiations forward. Another salesman will come to where the salesman and customer are negotiating and ask for the keys to the car they are negotiating to buy. The customer will either say they are buying the car or they will be quite and become more agreeable during negotiations. The car salesman that came to get the keys does not have a customer, they just say they do so the buyer will get off the wall and make a deal. The salesman will take the car and park it behind the building or somewhere and stay out of sight until the deal is made. Pretty sneaky car salesman trick, but it can work if the buyer is serious about that specific car.

3. Take it Away Closing Technique: This car salesman trick is used when the car buyer is stuck at a certain monthly payment and the car salesman can not get the customer to come up to where they can make a deal. The car salesman will leave the desk and get a lesser value car or a used car that the customer doesn’t really want and then tell the car buyer that they can buy that car for the payment they want. Then they tell the car buyer that if they raise their car payment limit xx number of dollars a month they can get the car they really want. Then they ask them “would you rather save a few dollars a month and get the car you don’t want or spend a few more dollars each month and get the car your really want. This car dealer trick doesn’t always work, but it does more times than it doesn’t.

4. Pre-Installed Accessories: It is a common car dealer trick to install accessories on a new car that is a popular model. Because it is a popular model many customers will want that model and color, but when they want to buy that car the buyer must also pay for the accessories that are already added and installed. This dirty car dealer trick can add anywhere from a few hundred dollars up to a thousand or more to purchase price of the car. These accessories are usually marked up very high and can add quite a nice additional profit for the car dealer and a nice commission for the car salesman.

5. Make Them Wait: This car salesman trick is not something to be proud of, but there are times when a salesman gets a customer that is negotiating extremely hard to get a great deal and the salesman will tell him he will be right back. The customer is assuming that he is going to talk to the sales manager to try and get the OK to make the sale when in fact the salesman is just taking a break. They might go to the back or the other side of the building and have a cup of coffee and a smoke. I have seen car salesmen leave customers sit there for half an hour while they take a break. This car dealer trick may be used because they either don’t believe that they are not going to make the sale or if they do they will make very little money. So they make them wait and work at their pace not the customers.

6. Advertised Special Car: This car dealership trick has been around for many years and that is to advertise a car at a special price that is practically unbelievable. The car will be a stripped down model with a standard transmission, maybe no radio or air conditioning and crank windows. The car that nobody wants after they see it, but the idea is to advertise the car at such a low price that customers will come into the dealership. Car dealers use this trick because a certain percentage of the customers that came to look at the low priced car will buy the higher priced car. The odds are in the favor of the dealer. This is one trick that car dealers will use as long as it continues to bring customers to the dealer and sell cars.

7. 0% Financing Tease: Car dealers love to use this to trick on car buyers and customers and as a way to bring more customers into their dealership. They will advertise 0% car dealer financing and hide the restrictions in fine print so small that it is hard to read.

This car dealer trick shows that the car dealer has 0% financing on new or used cars in big print and then in a very small paragraph at the bottom of the page that you can hardly read it says; to qualified buyers, with approved credit, for 12 or 24 months, with $10,000.00 down, maximum amount financed $9000.00 or less, on selected vehicles only or something very similar or even more restrictive. Then the customers come in for 0% dealer financing only to find out that the offer is not good for the car they wanted to buy. The restrictions are so strict that so few people can or want to qualify. Then they work their salesman skills and sell some cars because people have been talked into buying or their don’t realize that they are paying a regular interest rate based on their credit score.

8. Incomplete Price Quote: Car buyers that are doing their homework call around to several dealers for price quotes on a specific car. The sales person that they talk to gives them a verbal quote that leaves out freight or destination. Then when the car buyer gets to the car dealership because it was the best price the car salesman will add on the destination or freight charge and try to charge you a dealer prep fee. This can be anywhere from $500.00 up to almost a $1000.00.

Plus they ask for a copy of the quote and the car buyer says they got a verbal quote. The dealership says that they can’t sell the car for that price without a written quote. This type of car dealer trick is very rampant on some brands more than others in a competitive metropolitan areas. Either way the car dealer is is tacking on more money to the purchase price.  This car salesman trick and dealer trick gets them in the door and allows the dealer to sell a certain percentage of these buyers. Some will walk out, but some are so tired of shopping and dealing with car salesmen that they end up buying a car and paying more than they should so car dealers keep using this trick to sell cars.

9. That Car is in Stock: This car dealer trick also involves the customer calling several dealers trying to find a car that has the options and color that they are looking to purchase. They talk to someone that tells them that they do have the car in stock. So the car buyer goes to the dealership and asks for the person they talked to on the phone, but is told that they went to lunch or left for the day. (the trick is that they gave a name that the car dealer staff knows is fictitious because they lied about the car being in stock) The car salesman that greeted them takes over and tells them that that car was just sold but they have several others that are very close. Like the price quote given above a certain percentage of these car buyers will buy a car rather than run around and being lied to by and tricked by car dealers (and the car salesmen and car dealer know that).

10. Low Monthly Payment: This is also a trick that car dealers use to get car buyers into their showroom. They will advertise a very low monthly payment on a popular car that catches the eye of many car buyers. The car buyer heads down to the showroom to get a car with the low monthly payment only to find out that there is huge down payment required, plus tax, plus title, plus license, plus car dealer fess, excellent credit is required and the term is for 84 months ( 7 years). Again the car buyer is upset but they wanted a new car and a slick car salesman tricks them into buying a car at a monthly payment that is much higher.

This was only ten of the dirty car dealer tricks and car salesman tricks that are used everyday to sell cars. Yes, there are more sneaky tricks that car dealers and car sales people use everyday. When you know of the tricks that car dealers use to a sell you a car you can protect yourself from the underhanded dirty tricks and save your hard earned money. Follow the steps to buying a car for a smooth experience.

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Unavoidable Car Dealer Fees and Costs

Sales Tax: This is one fee when buying a car that there is no way around. It doesn’t matter where you live you are going to have to pay sales tax on you car purchase. The sales tax will be calculated at the percentage rate of the state and county where you live and not where you buy. It will be based on the price of the car along with any accessories or extras. However in many states there is a clause that let’s you deduct the amount of your trade-in from the new car purchased and then that is the amount that is used to calculate your sales tax. So if you are trading in a newer car it could substantially reduce your sales tax. Other than that sales tax is one car buying fee you can’t avoid.

Doc Fee or Dealer Documentation Fee: If you have never heard of this car buying fee it is an amount that the state of the car dealership selling the new or used car is allowed to charge you for processing documents. The amount of this fee is regulated by the state in which the car dealer does business. This fees ranges quite a bit based on the state. I have seen Doc Fees from around hundred dollars up to $800. This may sound like a car dealer scam, but it is legal and one car buying fee that is unavoidable so remember to include it in you car buying budget.

License and Title: License plates is one car buying fee that doesn’t need too much explanation. If you buy a new or used car you will to need to allow for the expense of license plates. In some states you can transfer the plates from your trade-in to your new car so check with your local state for the amount of this car buying fee to use for your budget. Next is the title fee, this is usually include in your license fee if you have your title or if a lender still holds your title. However if you lost your title you will need to pay a lost title fee so the dealer can process the paperwork to get a new title. The amount of the lost title charge varies by state, but if you lost your title you will need to make allowance for this fee when buying a car.

Local Tax: Some counties and states have a local tax that doesn’t amount to much, but it is still something that you should be aware of because it is a required car buying fee. Usually this fee is when you are buying new cars and it is between $10 and $25, but it will be tacked on to your new car purchase no matter if you want to pay it or not. Usually this local tax is only on new cars, but it depends on your local state and county.

Insurance: If you are going to buy a new car never assume that your car insurance will cost almost the same as the old car. This is not a charge that you pay at the car dealer when you are buying new cars, but when you contact your insurance agent after your purchase you may be surprised. Obviously this is not a car buying fee, but it is something you need to research before you buy a new car. Your car insurance is more of a hidden cost rather that a fee when buying a car so check with your insurance agent as part of your car buying homework.

Dealer Imposed Car Dealer Fees and Hidden Costs

The following are car dealer fees that are not required by law, but car dealers may try to add these charges to your car purchase both with and without your knowledge or permission. Being aware of these car dealer fees when buying a car and knowing what is legal and what is a bogus car dealer charge can help save you quite a few bucks.

Dealer Preparation: Commonly know as a dealer prep fee or dealer preparation was once a standard charge for the new car buyer to prepare a new car for delivery. In an effort by the manufacturers to eliminate car dealer scams Dealer Prep is now included in the price of the car (the car maker pays the car dealer to prep the car). I don’t recommend paying any type of dealer prep fee when buying a new or used car. If you stand your ground the car dealer will usually remove this car buying fee, if not maybe you should be shopping at a different dealer.

Window Etching: You will find car dealers that will add this car dealer fee into every new car purchased. They will etch the windows on every new car and then try to charge you for this service. This more of a car dealer scam rather than a car buying fee. If you really want car window etching (click the link and think again). Check the paperwork and refuse to pay for car window etching.

Extended Car Warranties: This is not a car buying fee, but it can be a hidden cost of buying a car. If an extended warranty for your new car is important to you click extended warranty and read the article before you decide. Some car dealers have been known to add in an extended car warranty as a way to make additional profit. Check your paperwork for any extended warranty charges or car dealer fees and be sure that you are buying what you agreed to buy.

Service Contracts or Agreements: Service contracts or service agreements are not required car buying fees, but car dealers will very often do their best to add this to your contract and make additional profit and commission. Check the numbers before signing  for any service agreements or contracts.

Rustproofing, Undercoating, Paint Protection or Fabric Protection: Obviously these are extras and add-ons that car dealers want you to buy, but when you are using  dealership financing they may add these on to your bill of sale because they may only change your monthly payment by a few dollars. This a car dealer fee trick or scam and not a car buying fee. Read and question everything before you sign on the line!

Insurance-Life and Disability: Just like some of the others above Auto Loan Life Insurance and Disability is not a required fee when buying a car. Not even a lender can require life or disability insurance. This a car dealer fee that they say is stipulation of a car loan or purchase, so don’t sign for these items.

The Hidden Costs and Car Dealer Fees When Buying a Car – You Decide

So you can see that there are plenty of car buying fees that are required by state and local governments, but there are many others that car dealers would like to make you think are necessary fees when buying a car. Know the difference between the required car buying fees and the car dealer fees can save you a bundle in the long run. Do your homework and research before you become the victim of a car buying scam and follow the steps to buy a car.

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