Scams to Avoid When Buying a New Car
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Buying a new vehicle is already hard enough without a car salesman putting pressure on you while you are browsing. We all know that almost every car dealer can be negotiated down on the sale price of a car. The thing is that to watch out for the scams so that you can maximize your hard earned cash. In this article I am going to share a few sales tactics that you may want to be on the lookout for the next time you purchase a new car.
1. Some dealerships may try to scam you by charging you for having the VIN# etched on the windows, saying that it is a requirement by the loan compnay. It is not. Lenders will never ask you to add features you don’t need. Their main concern is your ability to repay the loan.
2. “Subject to loan approval” is a common phrase on car loans. Some dodgy car dealers will try to scam you by mentioning this phrase, with a view to squeezing more money out of you. They can charge finance fees of $1000 up and and added $50 to you payments if you have a bad credit score. Those with good credit needn’t worry so much. The best thing to do to avoid this scam is to get a loan from a bank instead.
3. The credit score scam is very common nowadays. This involves the car dealer telling you that your credit score is lower than it really is and attempting to charge a higher interest rate. When purchasing a new car it’s a good idea to bring along your credit report to dispute any claims that they could make.
4. Next is the forced warranty scam where the auto dealership will insist that in order to qualify for the car loan you will need to purchase a $2000, 2 or 3 year warranty. This is total rubbish and the truth is you don’t need the warranty.
5. Another good scam that you may have seen is the dealer prep scam. This is an extra $500 that seems to appear on your contract to compensate the dealer for that hasn’t been done because the car arrives in the dealership ready to be driven off the car lot to a prospective buyer. Try and avoid paying this if you can otherwise find a dealer that will knock off this ridiculous charge.
6. Another fake fee is the ‘dealer mark-up’. This has no purpose other than to increase profits. You can usually see this fee on an orange sticker attached to the manufacturer’s suggested retail price.
These are just 6 of the many scams that can surface from time to time when you are attempting to purchase a new car. Although these scams do go on, there are many trustworthy car dealerships with integrity that can and will sale you a car for the right amount of money and without trying to rip you off. The trick is to find that dealership. Good luck!
Keep Your Money To Yourself!