Jun 10 2008
Auto Dealer Fraud: Sales Tactics
Dealer profits on sales of new cars are small; dealers make their profits from financing, insurance, service contracts, added charges and options, repairs, and the sale of used cars. In other words, there is enormous financial incentive to make profits on these items to offset the dealer’s inability to make profits off the sale of the car itself.
A used car sale offer all the same potential for abuse as a new car sale, plus the added fact that the buyer does not really know what he or she is buying. The used car’s history is easily misrepresented or kept hidden, and consumers often do not know a used car’s real value.
The actual negotiation for the sale of an automobile is one of many ways dealerships and Web sites have of fleecing you, says an author of the book “Don’t Get Taken Every Time”. He says to think of your friendly salesperson as playing a game with your pocketbook. “Lurking around every dealership corner, waiting for you behind pop-ups on your computer screen, is some item or service that will grab a little more money. Most of these extra profit sources are not even presented to you at dealerships until the contract is presented to you for signing…sometimes you aren’t even aware that you purchased them. Understanding the anatomy of a car deal may help to prevent parting with more of your hard-earned money than necessary.
__________________________________________________
[ To Learn more our services and areas of practice, please visit our website at
