Basically a dealer will charge you $300-$900 forwindow etching and they will tell you that youhave to pay the money to get the loan because thebanks insists on it.
Some dealers might tell you that the etching isfree but will add on the etch money to yourmonthly payments to make up for it.
The best way to avoid this scam is to force thedealer to put it in writing if they say that theetching is free or simply etch the car yourself.
Remember a lender doesn't require that youpurchase any extras on a car. All the lendercares about is that you can make your payments ontime regularly. Don't buy into it.
2. The Financing Scam
I have mentioned this before already, but here itis in more detail.
Basically you trade in your old car and thefinance manager tells you that your interest rateis good and then gives you the car.
After a week or two passes you get the call fromhim that you didn't qualify for the interestrates that they gave you upon making the deal.
Every new purchase has a clause in the contractthat usually states that the deal is "subject toloan approval."
This gives the finance manager a loop hole ingetting more money out of you.
All that this means in the contract is that thedeal is not finished yet even you already havepossession of the car and have signed thecontract.
The dealer can then charge you $1000 more infinance fees and up your monthly payments by $50.
This scam is generally pulled on people with badcredit because it is more plausible.
If you are wondering why they would sell you thecar at 6% APR if they knew you had bad credit(remember they ran the credit search already) theanswer is simple; to sell the car.
You can avoid this scam by not financing the carwith the dealer if you know that you have badcredit.
You are better off going to a credit union andfinancing the car yourself. When you buy a newcar the deal should be made on the price of thecar, not on the monthly payments.
3. The Credit Score Scam
This scam is ridiculous at best. This is when thefinance manager tells you that your credit scoreis lower than it really is so that they can getyou for higher interest rates.
This scam is pulled on everyone; good or badcredit.
This scam is easy to avoid. Just get your owncopy of your credit report from Equifax.com, andbring it with you.
It is really difficult to lie to you about yourcredit score if you have your own copy of it. Ifyour paper and theirs doesn't say the same thing,go somewhere else because that dealership islying to you.
Don't forget to let them know it too becauseit'll be nice to watch them squirm.
4. The Forced Warranty Scam
This is when the finance manager tells you thatyou are not eligible for the loan by the bankunless you pay an extra $2000 for a 2-3 yearextended warranty.
This scam just doesn't make sense. Basically thefinance manager is telling you that the bankwon't trust you to pay the $20,000 loan for thecar, but they will trust you if you pay even moremoney. That's just stupid.
You can avoid this scam if you can force them toput it in writing that you "have" to pay theextended warranty in order to get the loan.
That way you can bring a copy of the contract toyour local State's Attorney's office to verifythat the deal is valid. I can bet that thefinance manager will change his tune prettyquickly.
5. The Dealer Prep Scam
Let me first let you know that cost is not onlylegal but very much common practice. I stillrefer to it as a scam because it is just anotherway for you to end up paying more money for thecar.
Basically the dealer will tell you have to anextra $500 to cover the labor costs of thedealership's 5-point inspection.
You are paying for the time it took for thedealership to make sure that the car wouldn'texplode on you in the first week of owning it.
This check up that you are paying so much moneyfor is for the dealership to remove plastic fromthe seats etc, vacuum the car out, and makingsure that all of the fuses and fluids are readyto go.
When factories deliver the new cars to thedealerships the cost of delivery and prep isalready covered, so basically you are paying thedealership for work that they haven't reallydone.
I swear they could get the car in perfectly readyto drive condition and put everything right backin it just so that they can make you pay the feeagain.
You can avoid this scam by simply asking thedealership to add an extra $500 credit to thedeal to make sure you do not have to pay themoney.
If they refuse, you can then decide if the car isworth the money. If it is fine; buy the car, ifnot; go to another dealer that will remove thedealer prep costs.
You're free to publish this article as long as you included the Author Bio with an active link to the author's site.
About the Author
Andy McDowell is a Muscle Cars and Ford Mustang Enthusiast who runs the website Muscle Cars Online
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