Don't Get Scammed at the Car Dealership
Learn the rules of engagement for dealing with auto dealers.
March 6, 2008— -- The only thing drivers despise more than rising fuel costs? Shrewd car dealers.
They are among the country's least-trusted business providers. The 2007 Better Business Bureau/Gallup Trust in Business Index reported that only 16% of survey respondents had a "great deal of trust" or "quite a lot of trust" in auto dealers; 17% indicated as much for real estate brokers and 21% for cellphone and wireless providers.
What's behind this suspicion? Consumers have complained to the Better Business Bureau that some dealers inflate charges, pressure buyers into purchasing features and options they don't need and slip in additional costs.
Click here to learn more about avoiding car dealer rip-offs at our partner site, Forbes.com.
But you don't have to walk into a dealership expecting to be taken for a ride. Arm yourself with a few rules of engagement and you may walk out with a lot of car for less than others pay.
"The slow-thinking and slow-buying market is always the most informed," says David Stivers, an independent auto industry consultant. "Salesmen prefer the spontaneous buyer; that's the more lucrative person. They saw an ad and decided they had to have it. They left out the door without any information."
Negotiating with and waiting for dealers to approve a price or paperwork often results in wasted time. Such deliberations are often stall tactics designed to wear you down.
Before beginning discussions, ask how long it generally takes to process a sale and if the price is negotiable. You also want to know if the salesperson is empowered to negotiate or if the manager must be involved.
"The average amount of engaged time should be one-and-a-half to two hours," says Mark Rikess, CEO of the Rikess Group, an automotive dealership consultancy. "But the average amount of time people are engaged is three to four hours."
Some dealers will attempt to request a credit report without your written consent simply for the purpose of negotiating. Auto experts advise against allowing salespeople access to consumer credit information; armed with this data, dealers may use that against you in negotiations by charging you a higher interest rate based credit scores that are less than perfect.
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