10 Common Car Dealer Scams

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So many scams, so little time.

If you've ever had the pleasure of being on a car dealership lot, you've probably know that buying a car can be challenging sometimes. Selling cars is a business, and both used car dealers and new car dealers alike want to make profits at their business - at all costs. There are a number of frauds that the worst car dealers out there habitually try to pull on unsuspecting consumers, so here in this article, we're going to tell you what they are - and how to avoid them.

1. All That and a Bag of Chips
Based on the ad you just read, you decide to jump on the car deal. After all, according to the photo in the ad, it's your perfect car, and it comes with every possible option. Driving recklessly, weaving in and out of traffic, you arrive - breathless - at the car dealership and jog to the salesman counter, clutching a soggy copy of their advertisement in one sweaty hand. "Oh, so sorry", says the salesman. "We just sold that car a few minutes before you got here" (he or she might point out the small print in the ad that identifies the car in the ad by its stock number. "But I've got another car that's similar, that's only $5000 more…"

Bait and switch is alive and well.

Avoiding Tip: stick with car dealers that offer prices that are competitive on ever model on lot.

2. We Accept All Credit Apps
Sure they do. It just doesn't mean that you'll be approved. Be prepared: before you go shopping for a car, check out online car loan lenders for car financing first, which is a fairly straightforward process. Once you get approved for a car loan online, take that loan to the lender who won't then be able to give you an excuse for not approving your credit application.

3. Take a Load Off
Try the car out for a night or a weekend if you leave your current car with the dealer as collateral. When you get back, your car has been mysteriously sold, since the dealer made the mistake of taking in for trade already.

4. Credit Score Isn't Good Enough
It might not be as bad as some dealers lead you to believe. Giving you the impression that its worse is a common way that some dealers get you to pay higher interest.

5. Transaction Times Three
Car buying consists of three different transactions, the car price, and the trade in value, and financing. Many dealers try to get people to look at is as one. Negotiate each one separately.

6. It's Not All About the Monthly Payment
Sure, $350 a month as a car payment sounds great, but not if you have to make a really big down payment, or your loan stretches out forever.

7. It's Not All About the Sticker Price
That's the MSRP, what you want to know is what the dealer's invoice price is as your starting negotiation point.

8. Stop Holding Back
Car dealers are usually given incentives, or holdbacks, by car manufacturers for selling particularly slow moving cars. Many car dealers fail to mention this, so come right out and ask. Make sure to also ask what the car's built-in warranty entails.

9. Financing Fell Through
Don't believe it if a dealer contacts you days or weeks after the deal's been closed to tell you that financing fell through.

10. Stretching Things Out
An auto dealer might be really gung ho about offering you a deal with terms that stretch out for 6 years. Sure, it looks good since your monthly payments are manageable, but it's not so good in the long run.

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