Tag Archives: used car scams

Dealers increase profits at customers’ expense

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When you shop at a car dealership, watch out for expensive add-ons and costly financing. Often items like extended service contracts, “theft etch” and “GAP” are a rip-off, and usually you can get a better rate on the financing yourself, by shopping around.

For example, many service contracts and extended warranties have fine print that excludes “pre-existing conditions.” So if the engine blows, your claim may be denied when the provider blames the problem on a lack of maintenance by a prior owner, or a component that was supposedly faulty when you bought the car.

How much extra do add-ons and dealer-arranged financing cost? They can add $5,000 or more to the price of a car, without adding any real benefit. Of course, car dealers push add-ons aggressively because they are so profitable — for them.

According to Automotive News, in the first quarter of 2018, AutoNation, the country’s largest new car dealership chain, averaged a gross “finance and insurance” profit of $1,779 per unit sold. That’s just their profit.

Bottom line: If you want to save big, it’s smart to get your own financing and decline the high-cost / fat-profit / low value add-ons.

Buying a used car? YIPES!!

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Comedian and commentator John Oliver lambastes crooked car dealers and greedy auto lenders. These are the unscrupulous characters we’re battling with, to protect consumers.

How can you avoid becoming a victim of greedy dealers and Wall Street bankers? It’s easier than you think. Here’s how you can get a good deal on a nice, safe, reliable used car — without having to deal with professional crooks.

How to get a good deal on a nice, safe, reliable used car

 

 

 

 

Dealer ordered to pay off loans on traded-in vehicles

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In response to dozens of complaints from consumers who were stuck struggling to make payments on vehicles they had traded in, plus the cars they bought, Washington State’s Attorney General ordered dealerships owned by Mark Gilbert to pay off the liens on the traded-in vehicles.

Washington state law requires auto dealers to pay off the remaining balance consumers owe on traded-in vehicles within two days after they make a new purchase. Typically, the amount owed on the trade-in — known as “negative equity” — is added onto the price of the newly purchased car.

According to the Attorney General’s office, “The Walla Walla County Superior Court..entered a preliminary injunction, ordering several Northwest auto dealerships owned by Mark Gilbert to comply with Washington dealer and consumer protection laws, requiring prompt payoff of customers’ trade-in vehicles.”

The Attorney General’s legal case involved car dealerships Gilbert owned that sold new Honda, Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, Nissan, and  Ford vehicles.

How can you protect yourself from this scam? The safest thing to do is to wait to buy your next car until you have paid off the loan on the car you are currently driving. Otherwise, you risk having both cars repossessed if the dealer fails to pay off the loan on the car you trade in.  Plus you sink deeper into debt. And — always insist on seeing the title to the car BEFORE you buy. If the dealer doesn’t have the title, the lender for the prior owner can repossess your newly purchased car — even if you are making all the payments in full and on time to your lender.

Read more:

Washington State Attorney General Press Release