Dealer Fraud

There is something emotional about cars: they represent our taste and style, our economic status and our character. Some women claim that a car is a man’s extension of his reproductive organ. One the other hand (the good hand) there are women out there that might express their exhibitionism and extravagance by choosing to drive a red flashy car for the whole world to notice them. Both sexes would agree they sometimes feel they “fall in love” with a certain car model.

There are people who get very existed from a small scratch on the cars lower side, as if it were their own skin. The beauty of the car, its aerodynamics shape, the gadgets inside, the seats the feel of it all play a major part in our decision making.

In our modern life it’s almost impossible to function without one and it’s expensive to acquire, to finance and to maintain.

Buying a new car is a lot of fun, the new car has its unique smell no doubt about it, the very fact you can afford to own a brand new car is a great feeling.

When is the best time to buy a new car?

There are two “best times” to buy a car. The end of December is a good time for car buyers to buy a new car. Another good time to buy a car is July to October as new car dealers sell off cars at low prices to clear space for new car models. Secret factory to dealer incentives can be 1000-6000 in addition to new car consumer rebates!

Often ads of car dealers advertise “Program Cars“. Usually “Program Cars” are called as “Smart Cars,” or “Factory Official Cars” or “Factory Demo’s” in the advertisements of the car dealers. These vehicles are usually one or two year old with 30,000 miles or even less on them.However, the truth is about 25% of “Program Cars” are lease returns, about 70% are rental cars (cars from Hertz, Avis, etc.) and a small percentage of “Program Cars” are cars actually driven by factory officials, and a few of them are “Buy Backs” or “Lemons!” In fact, it is a common practice for car dealers to resell the “Lemons” back to the car dealers!

You can get a good value on a “Program Car,” because car dealers can usually buy them “on the money!” But if you think to buy one of these vehicles you should first get a Free CARFAX Record Check. You will need the make, model and ID number of the car for this. Make sure the car doesn’t have a problem history.

Sometimes when consumers purchase new vehicles they discover that they are “upside down” on loans for vehicles which they wish to trade in. In situations like this, dealerships are required to disclose how the negative equity is calculated on the face of the Retail Installment Sale Contract or Motor Vehicle Lease Agreement. Most of the time you can accomplish this disclosure if you properly complete the section of the contract, which is entitled “Itemization of the Amount Financed.” In this section you can find line items which refer to the agreed trade in value, “prior credit or lease balance” and “net trade-in.” In case you think that these items were completed incorrectly, you may have rights provided by the Automobile Sales Finance Act or the Vehicle Leasing Act.

You can determine the possible odometer fraud at the Department of Motor Vehicles in California. They usually maintain records that contain a report of the mileage each time a vehicle is sold. If you research and review these records you will be able to spot any possible discrepancy in the mileage.

Another good way to detect odometer fraud is to check on-line companies such as carfax.com, consumerguide.com and autocheck.com. These sites will provide you with a vehicle history report.

Also try to contact and interview former owners of the vehicle, as well as have the vehicle inspected by a qualified mechanic. The mechanical condition of the vehicle can also provide evidence of odometer tampering.

If you have been sold a vehicle with an incorrect odometer reading, you may be entitled to several remedies including a full refund of your money, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees and costs.

One of the most annoying things about the purchase of a vehicle is to find out that it has sustained prior material accident damage. According to the law the sale of a new vehicle with any unrepaired damage, any structural damage or even if repairs were made costing more than 3% of the vehicle’s value is illegal. Also the vehicles sold as Certified Pre-Owned vehicles are required to be sold according to the dealership’s advertised certification standards. It is prohibited for car dealers are to sell an unsafe vehicle.
If the customer asks questions about a new or used vehicle, the dealer is obligated to provide any information to the best of his knowledge. Thus if the customer asks a dealer whether a vehicle has been in a prior accident and the dealer gives incorrect information than the action of the dealer is termed as misrepresentation can be auto fraud. Another type of car fraud may be dealership’s failure to disclose material damage, even if previously “repaired.”

Auto dealers sometimes pretend to be private sellers when selling their cars and this practice is called curbstoning. Most dealers engaged in this practice are used car dealers. This is a good way to sell cars of substandard quality to unsuspecting buyers. If there is a street or parking lot near your residence where there are several cars up for sale then there is a possibility that these cars are placed in public view by “curbstoners.” Car dealers could not sell many of these cars on their lots as curbstoned vehicles may be lemons or junk cars.

Often this technique is used by car dealers as a way to go around state laws regarding the sale of cars. States have enacted legislation that puts a cap on how many cars a private individual may buy and sell a limited number of cars in a given period of time without if he is not a licensed auto dealer. Curbstoners do not have requirements like licensed car dealers, who have to meet with state legislation in order to stay in business.

Though there are no laws that require a dealer to check a car over before selling it, the buyer’s guide states that the car is supposed to have a post on the window stating if the car has a warranty or is sold “As Is.”

The car dealer is supposed to offer a consumer to sign a copy of the Buyer’s Guide and give the car buyer a copy of it. If the car buyer have signed the Buyer’s Guide and have a copy of it the buyer will probably have no recourse, because the dealer can say it was posted on the car and no fraud occurred.

The customer may have a dealer fraud case if he/she hasn’t signed the Buyer’s Guide. Consult with an attorney if you believe you are a victim of dealer fraud.

Before a curbstoner can screw over a car buyer, they must have a junk car to sell. These cars are most often bought by dealers at the low rent auto auctions held at wrecking yard and towing company impound lots. Curbstoners then prepare the car for sale despite the numerous mechanical problems.

From there, many of these cars are placed on eBay, AutoTrader, AutoMart, and many other sites. These scammers use many other scamming methods while conducting their online sales with affinity fraud being one of the more popular techniques. Another popular technique is using low-resolution photos. Poor quality photos can easily hide cracked windshields, dents, rust, faded paint, and scratches.

GAP Insurance is also known to the public as GAP Waiver or GAP Addendum. It is an abbreviation for Guaranteed Asset Protection. In case your insurance company declares your vehicle a total loss from accident or theft GAP Insurance will pay the difference between the ACV (Actual Cash Value) your insurance company determines they will pay and what is owed to the bank on your vehicle. An easier way to explain this is that GAP Insurance will pay your negative equity (difference between your vehicles ACV and what is owed to the bank) so that you are not responsible to pay the bank, potentially thousands of dollars, on a vehicle you are no longer able to drive. Most GAP Insurance companies will also cover your insurance deductible and may give you additional money to use as a down payment on a new vehicle.

The bait and switch is the type of scam that’s been used in just about every industry. This scam involves providing a vehicle for advertisement or promotion which is probably a very base model. This item is probably not very desirable for some reason, but attaching it to a very low price to get you in the door. Once you are in the car dealership, the salesman will point out the frailties or the letdown of that vehicle while shifting to another vehicle that has a higher profit margin and is probably more desirable. The bait and switch scam is one of the oldest games in the book. It could be okay if you find out that the vehicle’s not going to meet your needs, but don’t go in expecting that every vehicle’s going to be priced as aggressively.