The Consumer Protection advocates

Monthly Archives: July 2010

Jul
29

Step1 Avoid car trade-in scams wherever the dealer states he will pay off your current lease or loan, no matter how much you owe. Remember that a lease or a loan is a financial contract, and there is no trick to eliminating one when buying a new car. While this supposed “deal” will only end with you making even higher payments on your new car, it is better to wait until your car is paid for, or your lease has expired. Step 2 Look out for car dealers who expediently forget to pay off your trade-in after the deal is complete. Many new car buyers are shaken as soon …



Jul
27

Auto dealer fraud can crop up at almost any stage of the vehicle purchase process, from advertising to signing on the dotted line. Here are some common states that can give rise to auto dealer fraud: •   Incorrectly inflating a vehicle’s invoice price – The “invoice” is the amount that the auto dealer is charged for the vehicle, by the vehicle manufacturer. Examples of incorrect inflation of the invoice price include making additions to the invoice figure, when those charges were initially included in the invoice price (i.e. “destination” charges). •    “Bait and Switch” – A form of false or unreliable advertising, in which a car dealer attracts customers …



Jul
23

Odometer fraud is the illegal process of rolling back the vehicle’s odometers in order to make it appear that vehicles have lower mileage than they actually do. Odometer fraud occurs when the vehicle seller fallaciously represents the actual mileage of a vehicle to the buyer. Odometer tampering is not only illegal, but expensive. As the buyer thinks the car has fewer miles, he/she pays more for the car, more in insurance and repairs. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration guesstimates – odometer fraud costs buyers about $10 billion every year. Here are steps to avoid odometer fraud. 1.    Compare the present mileage with the odometer statement the seller received …



Jul
20

Find out how old the car is The car may look great, but if it is not a new one, it may not be worth purchasing. Ask for the service records Having on your hands the service records, you will to see how often the oil has been changed, tires balanced and rotated, as well as any leaks or other repairs that might have befallen to your beloved vehicle. Take the car to your mechanic In case it is obvious that you are serious about buying that car, auto dealers never mind if you take the vehicle to your mechanic for a quick engine check. Open the hood yourself …



Jul
13

Car financing is a common incident; yet it does not mean that you can take it carelessly. You need to be aware of the different financing choices that exist. A little investigation may help you to obtain a superior financing deal. Be wary of someone who tries to convince you that financing a car is a better deal than paying cash for it. It is not excluded that the premiums could possibly be reasonable, collectively by taking out a loan and paying interest, you will be paying much more for the vehicle than you would if you were to pay cash for it. The only method that financing could …



Jul
09

Scam 4: The pay off loan or lease scam The car dealer’s newspaper advertisement is constantly saying that they will pay off your entire remaining loan or lease. This is true literally, but there is no hint about the consequences of breaking the loan or lease contract. Actually the penalty for breaking the contract for your current car costs thousands of dollars. Of course, the car dealer pays you off the remaining loan or lease, but the penalty of thousands of dollars is subject to you. The ads are just trying to mislead you into buying their car so that they can profit more. Never believe in these misleading …



Jul
07

Scam 1: The straw purchase scam Here a straw purchase means someone purchases an automobile for other people who, due to poor credit, cannot purchase it themselves. In order to make you buy the car without any hesitation, the car dealer may assure you that you can get a car loan even if your credit record is not very good. Moreover, they will tell you that you can build your credit by using this car loan, and the only way to do this is to find a co-signer for your contract. And next you will find out that the co-signer is not the primary borrower of this loan but …



Jul
02

For those who are in need of cash to finance the purchase of a car, taking up an auto finance loan is the only way out. When a person is granted approval for an auto finance loan, the lender normally hands him/her the exact amount that he/she has applied for. An auto finance loan is a kind of loan that gives the individual an opportunity to own a car he/she was eager to have. Today most people or organizations cannot be trusted because their word is no longer their bonds and their promises are no longer kept. The only way you can be recommended to avoid being scammed when …