Deceptive Car Dealer Ads and Activities - Pervasive As Ever

You hear them on the radio and TV everyday. Some have outrageous ads and sales gimmicks. "Push, pull or drag your trade in for $4000 minimum trade", "Best price in the world!" "Best bumper to bumper warranty ever - we cover everything." "Repo'd car sale today." Bet you didn't know that these ads can be and usually are very misleading and can be illegal.

According to Leslie Anderson, AAA, Misleading advertisements and deceptive marketing from car dealers has been on the rise in recent years. Car dealers, due to a struggling economy are resorting to grey market sales tactics and ads. Many of these ads are either borderline or even illegal in nature. With all the publicity in recent years of scams and illegal business activities by businesses from every state you would think most states would have toughened up their laws and started to crack down on bad car dealers. Only one state, New York, has really done anything.

There are laws already on the books that make many of these advertisements and such illegal, but few states will even look into these activities. In New York, if you run a Push, Pull or Drag sale the odds are you will get fined. The thinking behind New Yorks laws is that if you promise someone a set figure for their vehicle it should not be factored into the discount or markup of the newer, replacement vehicle. This is deceptive advertising. Yet I hear these same ads, with even higher amounts promised on the radio and TV in North Carolina and South Carolina all the time. Then there's the matter of expressed and implied warranties.

Expressed and implied warranties are actually covered under federal laws. Every car dealer must have a federally approved warranty disclosure placed in the window. This is to show if a warranty exists and what is actually covered. This was done as there was too much discrepency in the past with car salesman blurring the line of what is really covered and what isn't. On a recent drive from North Carolina to South Carolina I saw 11 used car dealerships that did not have these in the windows - at one we found they were in the glove compartment. When we asked the salesperson why it wasn't in the window he said it wasn't necessary. In New York, every car dealer you drive by or visit will have these prominently displayed.

Then you have the usual lies - car dealers advertising a repossession sale, cream puffs, etc... They will lie about the origination of cars just like in a recent Carfax ad. Oh that was just a little fender scratch (complete repaint from a 50mph accident) or new upholstery (due to a flood and complete submersion). These repossession sales, like Repo Joe, do a media Blitz and claim they have all repossessed vehicles for a great buy. When in fact they probably don't even have one repossessed car that is for sale. Most car dealers get their cars from either trades or local auctions.

Regardless of what they claim they most likely do not know the vehicles history. You can't even rely on Carfax 100% as many vehicles are repaired without full salvage disclosure or even any repair history. A carfax report is only as good as the information that is actually entered into the system. Before you rely on that Carfax or what the dealer says is the cars history listen to this - Tennessee attorneys Frank Watson and David McLaughlin charge that Carfax's ads promise more than it can deliver. "Carfax fails to disclose the limitations of their database," says Watson. "People think they have a little insurance policy on their Carfax report, and it's just not accurate," says McLaughlin. Carfax is an online company that searches databases for a vehicle's history, claiming to be "your best protection against buying a used car with costly, hidden problems." But, critics say when it comes to many accidents, online reporting companies fall short. A class-action lawsuit against Carfax claims the company doesn't have access to police accident data in 23 states.

This article should be a wake up call to car buyers to be more on the alert to car dealer scams, lies and untruths. It should also be an alert to states from Oregon to Florida that more needs to be done to curb bad car sales tactics. Most car dealers aren't small mom and pop organizations. They are large million or billion dollar companies that will do anything to make a dollar. Even crossing the line or blurring what is legal and what isn't. And according to one big dealer in Charlotte, North Carolina whom didn't want his name or dealership mentioned for obvious reasons - "its all about that bottem line and if we get caught, thats what our lawyers are for. Per another car dealer, "it's a buyer beware market: Buyers must beware and be detectives too."

David Maillie is an alumni of Cornell University and specializes in biochemical synthesis. He holds numerous patents including his recently awarded patent for headlight cleaner, repair and restorer. He can be reached at M.D. Wholesale: http://www.mdwholesale.com

Car Dealer Scams

If you are looking to buy a car then you might think the safest place to buy from is a car dealer, since they should be the most knowledgeable and trustworthy people to buy a car from. However this is not always the case, some car dealers are out to make a fast buck and so will try anything.

Many people know what car sales men are like, and so hate the experience of buying a new car. Of course not all car dealers are the same, it is just unfortunate that there is no easy way to differentiate them.

Sometimes when you buy a car the dealer will charge you for the advertising fees twice, because they have already been added to the invoice the dealer received. To beat this one ask about advertising fees demand to see a copy of the invoice if you are not completely satisfied. They will usually also add a bogus processing fee of from $100 to more than $500 (the processing fee is pure profit for the car dealer that he does not have to pay any commission on to salespeople).

Cars are like any other consumer product, the more desirable it is the more somebody is willing to pay for it. Some dealers add on additional fees on top of the prices of the cars if they are very popular, this is not completely unfair as it should help to even the demand and supply functions out. However you should never pay over the MSRP of the car or even close to the MSRP, if the car is more highly demanded then the maximum you should pay is the MSRP (or better yet wait a few months until its popularity wains and buy it at invoice).

Some dealers quote a certain figure in an add for a certain car, but when it comes down to it the actual price is much higher than this (you may not be able to get one with no options, etc..). Make sure that you continually ask the dealer exactly what you are paying for and the exact price so that they realise that you are not going to take any messing.

When trading in your car there are also cons to be aware of, some dealers will quote figures when you are outside, but by the time you get inside these figures have vastly shrunk - or better yet, they will switch you to negotiating payments where you have no idea how much total you will end up paying and they will break it down as its only $25 a day, etc.... (Lets see, $25 a day is $750 a month and that is $9000 a year and $45,000 over a typical 5 year car loan - it adds up very fast and that may not include interest and compounding of principle! Lets say you only over pay by $5 a day - that doesn't sound too bad and the dealer seems like a really nice guy, right? $5 a day is $150 a month, is $1800 a year, is $9000 over 5 years too much you paid! Think about it).

For the rest of this article and for many more great articles on similar, helpful topics, please be sure to visit http://www.bestskinpeel.com

Buying A Car? Do These Things First

In order to ensure you get the best price for your car, follow these steps:


1.Shop around for auto financing before going to the dealer. Get pre-approved for a loan. This is one of the biggest mistakes people make in their haste to buy a new car. Take the time to get pre-approved; you will get a better rate and a better deal.

2.Compare APRs from local banks, thrifts, and credit unions, websites, and newspapers. Again, there is a lot of competition amongst lenders for your business.

3.Order a copy of your credit report and correct any errors a few months before shopping for a car. This one takes a little more planning, but should be done anyway.

4.Make the largest down payment that you can. Beware of a low down payment or long repayment plans. The more you borrow and the longer you take to pay the loan, the more interest you pay and the more your car will cost you in the end. Additionally, if you have to sell your car in the first few years, you could owe the lender more than the car is worth. This is a HUGE trap that car dealers have gotten into. They wonder why their sales are hurting. They have been putting people into these long term loans and financing negative equity so long that now people will have to be buried in their cars!!

5.Consider paying for the tags, title search, and taxes separately, rather than financing them. This can reduce the amount of interest that you will pay. Financing those items is just plain dumb, enough said.

6.If you are going to apply for a loan at the dealership, make sure you first negotiate the best price on the car. Beware of dealers who insist on asking you how much you can afford every month. These dealers might be interested in making you stretch out the term of the loan to make the loan sound more affordable. However, by extending the length of the loan, your total cost will increase. This is a BIG trick at dealerships, never negotiate based on payments.

7.Be aware of penalties. Some lenders might charge you for paying off your loan early. Many states have laws against this now, be sure to check the laws in your state.

8.If you need to give the dealer a deposit, make sure you know whether you will get the money back if you change your mind. It is best to get this in writing. Be careful of this and only do it if you really want the vehicle, don't fall for the "deposit before negotiation" trick.

9.Service contracts, credit insurance, extended warranties, and other options are not required and can be costly over the term of the loan. All of these things are almost pure profit to the dealer, don't buy them.

Gregg Hall is a consultant for online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. Get your car parts at http://www.autopartsplusmore.com

Are There Really Better Times To Buy A Car?

I am sure you've heard it a million times. If you buy at the end of the month you will get a better deal, if you come back tomorrow I can get you a better deal. Whatever. The truth of the matter is that unless the dealer has a quota to meet that will reward him monetarily for hitting it you won't get any better deal at the end of the month than any other time. Besides, how are you going to know how close the dealer is to his quota? You don't have access to that information.

With all that said let me tell you that there are times that are better and worse to buy and trade. For example, if you buy a car at the end of the model year it is already a year old. In a couple of months it will be considered two years old by the appraisal books. You better darn sure have stolen it or you are going to have to keep it for a few years before it catches up.

If a dealer is having a big sale you may be able to get a better deal, not because of the sale but because they don't have the time to keep beating you up for more profit. During these events the salespeople and managers usually have bonuses tied into the amount of the sales they make which motivates them to make every deal they can.

In times when the economy is slow and you see on the news that car sales are down is a good time to try to get a better deal. If sales have been down the dealer is more willing to take less profit just to get a deal.

Christmas time is also a good time to get a good deal. Car sales are usually slower the week before Christmas, if you need a new car and you have the time it is a good time of the year to get a bargain sometimes.

One of the tricks that I can tell you as an insider is to go late. I was a used car manager and worked from open to close six or seven days a week and I can tell you that by the end of the day they are ready to get out of there. Go in about 20 minutes before closing and if you find a car you like really drag the process out, trust me they will give it away just to get you to leave.

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16 year old son. Get quality car care products from http://www.stopwaxing.com