Every once in a while I get emails from visitors to us here at CarBuyingTips.com asking me “did I just get ripped off?” Well you know if they have to ask me that question, the answer is probably going to be yes they got ripped off. Sometimes people do very foolish things when shopping for new cars. One of the worst case scenario examples of this is buying your new car and leaving the dealership with no paperwork or anything in writing that confirms the deal you just signed. Sounds like a no brainer, right? But it’s amazing how many suckers fall into this common car dealer scam. The reason dealers pull this scam is so they can change the numbers on you, meanwhile you already drove off with the car and put miles on it, so no matter what they do to the paperwork, the car is yours and you’re stuck. Continue reading
How to Avoid End of Auto Lease Penalties and Scams
Auto leasing is stacked against most consumers, who rush in uneducated, and don’t consider all the fees and penalties they face, especially at lease end. I hear from our CarBuyingTips.com visitors all the time at the end of their lease, in a panic because theyhave $3,000 to $5,000 in mileage penalties, $2,000 excessive wear and tear, and $1,000 in new tire fees. But how did this happen? Let’s rewind back in time a bit to step inside what happens at the end of a car lease and how you can avoid penalties and scams associated with auto leasing. Continue reading
Never Cosign a car Loan for Anyone
I get emails from time to time from people (victim) who cosigned a car loan for another person, who then defaulted on the loan, which then obligated the victim who cosigned to now be responsible for that loan. I field enough questions on this topic that I thought I would reiterate my strong warnings to anyone who is considering pursuing this toxic waste of financing gimmickry. Keep in mind through all of this, that the car dealer is the only person who prospers when cosigning is involved. Let me give you the real ins and outs of cosigning. First, let’s define what it is. Continue reading
Top 5 Extended Car Warranty Buying Mistakes
By far the most controversial topic here on CarBuyingTips.com and other online complaint sites is the subject of extended car warranties. There are people out there who are against all extended warranties (also known as vehicle service agreements or VSA). Some warranty claims are rejected, so consumers think that all warranties stink, when in fact they were rejected for legitimate contract reasons. There have also been some high profile warranty crash and burn scams over the years, like Warranty Gold and US Fidelis. Sure there are bad apples out there, just like any business, but we show you how to research and avoid them. We have the best guide on the internet called How To Buy An Auto Extended Warranty & Avoid Scams that teaches you all about vehicle extended warranties. We’ll show you how to buy them, scams to look out for, how to avoid getting claims rejected and how to research a company’s background. We also cover where to get quotes, reviews of the better quality companies to use, and we explain everything you need to know about extended car warranties. There’s nothing on the internet that comes close to our guide and reveals more scams. Continue reading
Top 10 Reasons to run Used car Vehicle history Reports
People often ask me if they really need to run a vehicle history report on a used car they are about to buy. Many people overlook this important 11th hour tool of protection for the car buyer. We stress over and over here on CarBuyingTips.com that you must run a Vehicle History Report and also have a mechanic put the car up on a lift for inspection, otherwise do not buy that car. Many people try to do it on the cheap, figuring the car is only a few thousand dollars. What can go wrong? Even more than the cost of the car, what about the emotional stress? Image finding out you’ve been driving your baby around in a car that was previously totaled in another state and laundered back to good used car status in your state. I often get emails from people like a broken record, something like this:
“Jeff I bought a used car not too long ago. I just brought it in for an oil change, and the mechanic had my car on a lift and said “did you know the car was wrecked?” So I ran a used car history report and it shows the accident in the report. I feel ripped off by the car dealer. What can I do? Can I demand my money back?” Continue reading
Common Car Dealer Leasing Fees to Avoid When You Lease a New Car
Many of you car buyers out there are attracted to car leasing because of the lower monthly payments associated with leasing a car over 3 years and paying off only 50% of the car’s value, rather than buying the car and paying off 100% over 6 or 7 years.
The problem with auto leasing is that the contracts are very restrictive, and have numerous sanctions against you and we only recommend it for a very small percentage of people. For example you typically can only drive 10,000 miles per year, and stupid restrictions like all 4 tires must match or they will charge you $200 per tire times 4 for all new tires. Numerous people get nailed by this one.
I was helping a friend of mine on New Year’s Eve who wanted to lease a Toyota Highlander SUV and he followed our advice and got the FightingChance.com market intelligence package that we recommend, and he also requested and started to receive email quotes from a few Toyota dealers. The problem with auto leasing is the fees, they just pile them on like a cell phone bill. You will also see in the quotes from dealers that the “selling price”, which becomes the gross cap cost used to calculate your lease payments, is usually full sticker price (MSRP). Maybe you got it just a bit less if you twisted their arm and their sales manager “allowed them” to drop the price while they cry on your shoulder. Because of all the confusing numbers with leasing, many sucker car buyers have no idea they paid full price for the car. So my friend’s Highlander had an MSRP sticker price of $40,288, but the dealer offered to sell it to my friend for $38,326. Not bad, could be better, not exactly going to Disney World on the savings are we? In the past few months, our visitors here at CarBuyingTips.com reported saving an average of $4,000 off sticker price, so right off the bat my friend would be paying nearly $2,000 more for his Toyota than other savvy visitors to our site had already paid. Continue reading