A couple tips about Car buying from someone who recently learned a few lessons the hard way in my dealings with Shore Toyota. They used deceptive marketing. They then tried a Spot Delivery Scam. Issued a contract for a certain term and interest rate and then called back one week later to to raise the interest rate and monthly payment. Here's some lessons.


First and foremost, trust your gut instinct. If you don’t want the new car, don’t buy it just because the deal sounds good. Don’t let them pressure you. Buyer’s remorse is exactly the way it sounds. You regret the decision. But, also remember, with car buying, there is no 72 hour “cooling off” period, at least not in New Jersey. You wake up the next day, you can’t just return it.

The Dealership and Salesperson are not working in your best interest.

All the advertisements are misleading. If they say they will pay off your trade no matter how much it is worth, it’s a lie. They will just pack the out of equity into your new loan. They will not take the loss.

Regardless of how much the salesperson tells you they are losing on the sale, they are making money. They get “dealer holdbacks” on each sale between $300 and $1000. They also get a incentive from the corporate office selling a car that month and meeting quotes. Additionally, if you finance through the dealership, the dealership gets a kickback from the finanace company.

Do not finance through a Dealership. Always get your financing secured before you go car shopping. Always secure a loan from an outside bank, credit union, finance source or you can apply online with the manufacture in advance to save time. If you don’t have the cash to pay for the tax and tags, secure a loan a couple thousand above the invoice price of the car you are planning to purchase.

Negotiate the price of the car and not your monthly payment.

If you currently are financing a car, you have no equity into the loan until almost the last year. If you attempt to trade it in during the first three years, you will be “out of equity”. That out of equity will just be added to your new car loan.

If you do finance through the dealership:

Always meet with the Finance Manager. If you don’t meet with the Finance Manager, you know right of the bat something isn’t Kosher.

If at all possible do not finance for more than 60 months. Even try to only finance for 48 to 36 months. If you finance for 60 months, you will not have equity in the car until somewhere in year three of the loan. If you finance the car with extended terms beyond 60 months to get lower payments, you will not have equity in the car until you make the last payment.

Gap protection on the loan can be pretty important. Let’s say you have a two year old car that has a fair market value of $6000 and you
owe $8000. You are upside down by $2000. You get into an accident and the car is totalled. You will be responsible to pay the difference of $2000. Gap Insurance Protection covers that difference and is usually offered by the finance company at the time you take the loan. You can also purchase it through your insurance company.

Don’t sign any document that is hidden in the signature documents that says states the dealership can unroll the deal and be held harmless if the financing doesn’t meet the terms that were quoted on the signed contract.

Only people with the highest tier credit score, over 750 or more, qualify for extended terms beyond 60 months or 0% financing. If they offer you either one of these and you know your score is below 750, it’s a scam. They will only call you back and say they need more money. Anyone in the business knows this. They all run a credit report before you leave the dealership. They know your score. They know if you will qualify for extended terms or a 0% interest rate.

Do not leave the dealership with the car until the financing is completely buttoned up, approved and completely done.

The two of the most common scams being run on unsuspecting consumers now are Spot Delivery and Trade-In Payoff.

A spot delivery scam occurs when the Dealer issues a contract and then contacts the consumer weeks or months later and attempts to increase the interest rate or monthly payment. Please see: http://www.bbb.org/us/article/spot-delivery-complaints-are-on-the-rise-564

A Trade-in Value scam occurs when the dealer says they will payoff your trade now matter much you owe. The truth is they will pay off the trade. But, they will just pack your out of equity from the loan into your new loan.

For more information on purchasing a new car, please see the below website.

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/scams.htm

If you feel you were the victim of fraud, you can file a complaint with the Attorney General in your state. If you win, you will get damages plus your attorney fees covered. Kimmel & Silverstein will review the case for free. If they agree to represent you, it will be free. they will get paid on the back end. www.lemonlaw.com

You can always file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau as well.

http://newjersey.bbb.org/consumers