The day that you are finally able to head out the door to buy your first new car, financing in hand, ideal car in mind is one that you have worked hard for, and saved up for, and eagerly anticipated. It is a day that you should be able to remember with pride, and fondness. However, if you are not careful, it could turn out to be a day that you remember with chagrin, sadness, and anger. This could be the day that you get ripped off so thoroughly, you will be forced to spend years trying to dig out of the debt that incurs.
In no way does this article intend to imply that all car dealers are out to scam the average new car buyer. And certainly, this information is only intended to inform you of the possible fraudulent “deals” out there, not to frighten you into forever owning used cars.
With that said, let’s get to the issue at hand. A few things that you should keep in mind while you shop for, negotiate for, and put the money down on your new car.
New car deal scams and rip offs.
Car dealership sales representatives without scruples will tell you lies with straight faces, and you might just believe them if you are not armed with the truth ahead of time. Below are listed some of the more common line that dishonest sales people have used to scam new car buyers. And the ways that you can avoid being taken in by these tactics.
“Because your credit history is not so good, you just won’t qualify for the lower interest rates”.
If you know your credit history, and credit score, you won’t fall for this trick. Even if you do have poor credit, you can still qualify for reasonable interest rates. You are entitled to a free copy of your credit report once every year, your bank will be more than happy to tell you how to obtain one.
“I’m practically giving you this car, this price is miles under the manufacturer’s suggested retail price!”
It is illegal for any dealer not to have the MSRP sticker in the window of any car, so if the car you are considering does not have that sticker, and the price the dealer is offering seems too good to be true, it might be a rip off. What some dealers will not tell you, is that the car manufacturers will offer incentives and discounts on certain makes and models, in order to sell them quicker. So it is the manufacturer that is reducing the price, and probably a lot more substantially than the sales person is letting on.
“ I can put you in this car, right now, for only $150 dollars a month!”( Or any price that seems ridiculously low)
This isn’t exactly a scam, but it is something to figure out and think about carefully before you agree to it. The way that not-so-honest sales people accomplish this feat, is to give you really low monthly payments, extremely high interest rates, and a whopping end of payment term final amount.
All of the above maneuvers are tricky to pull on an eager new car buyer. Especially if that car buyer has just a little bit of fore knowledge. Like you.