Checking the car title history is important since it is the only surefire method to confirm that a car has a clean past. Even if it “passes” the test drive and has no evident damages, the buyer should check the car’s tile history. Here are the key steps: Know what to pay attention to on the certificate A car title is an official document of ownership that is issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. It has a VIN (vehicle identification number) that is unique for each car. You should check to see that this number on the certificate matches with the number on the car (as a rule …

Is buying a car at a car show a wise investment? Should you listen to the inner child who is probably screaming to buy the car or should you calm down and walk away. Buying a car at a car show is risky and may involve car scam practices. You should avoid buying a car at a car show unless you have had enough time to carefully shop around and see how much the vehicle that you are interested in would be worth. Additionally, during a car show the owner is not going to have much time to discuss the car details with you. This is simply because the …

Responding to Toyota Motor Corp.’s acceleration crisis, a subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce opened hearings on proposed legislation sponsored by the group’s chairman, Henry J. Waxman, a Democrat of California. The aim of the hearing is to reshape auto safety regulations and increase potential fines against automakers for violating safety laws. The new legislation would create at least half a dozen new safety rules and standards. All new motor vehicles will be required to have the so-called black boxes or event data recorders, and brake override systems. As H.J. Waxman stated in one of the interviews this will give the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration …

Spot delivery scam is one of the most popular dealer frauds. Sometimes it is also referred as Yo-Yo financing. Dealers use this scam for people with a bad credit, who are not able to get a good APR anyway. The whole point of the scam is giving the buyer a car “on the spot” with an aim to “yo-yo” him back later on to ripoff more money. You can tell you are a spot delivery fraud victim if your dealer says you don’t have any problem with your credit report and you can get a good APR on the loan. You get the keys handed on and drive away …

Car leasing is sometimes a better option than buying. It gives you the chance to drive a new car for less. But in the reality, there might be more  car leasing scams than car buying scams. The leasing regulations are not as strict and defined as the ones for buying. This also leads to more leasing scams. Here are some of the most common car leasing scams. Artificially low interest rates The dealer may tell you a lower rate when you ask them about leasing. They do so either by quoting the money factor as an interest rate or not adding some fees like amortization of the closing fees …

Worthless add-ons Do not let the dealers use their “scam art” on you and sell you worthless add-ons such as fabric protectant, rust-proofing, VIN etching and lifetime wax protection since they have very little value, though the salesmen will probably claim the opposite. Besides the price, new cars already come with rust-proofing and lifetime wax doesn’t last longer than any other wax job. A prepaid maintenance plan might also be worthless since it usually covers only the regular maintenance expenses such as tire rotations and oil changes. In other words, the maintenance plan might cost more than the individual visits would. So if the dealer refuses to negotiate the …

Buying a car with bad credit may be a great opportunity for car dealers to make a big profit on the buyer. Mostly car dealer loans have unfavorable terms. But the real problem is that some car dealers will try to run their auto scams on you. Here are the top car scams that you should remember and avoid. Most often they employ the bouncing check scam. This is a scam applied to those car buyers who managed to get financing, but are tricked by car dealers and are told that the check bounced and thus they failed to get financing. Then the dealer will offer the buyer financing …

Online car fraud has become very popular on car auction listings. Much of this online car fraud is from overseas. Don’t rely on the seller’s country of origin or feedback as profiles are bought and sold over the internet. Someone from oversees can easily use a bought or even stolen Ebay profile with great feedback to attract unsuspecting buyers. They copy some photos from the internet and put an unbelievably “great” price on the listing to make a quick dollar on naïve car buyers. Here are some sign of possible online car fraud. 1) Poor English throughout the listing description. 2) Fraudulent escrow services. (See if there is any …

To be a knowledgeable car buyer one needs to invest the necessary time and money on what is called homework or prep stage i.e. studying car sale information, researching and consulting with trusted friends or experts regarding the authenticity and details of the car. After the homework is done properly, the rest is a simple buying transaction. The more prepared a buyer, the smoother the transaction! There are three main points for preventing car scams: 1.    Know What You Want to Purchase 2.   Research Your Vehicle 3. Ask questions This blog will cover the third point from start to finish. Before you physically look at the car, contact the …

“Is this a car sales scam?” is one of the most common questions among car buyers who have found an unbelievably “great car deal” online. Buyers become suspicious since the price is “too good” and the payment and pickup arrangements seem a little tricky. Here’s how car selling scams work. The seller usually has a picture of the car he/she claims to be selling for a low price. He/she will describe the car and its condition, and explain why the car is being sold so cheap. His/her story almost always involves some unusual personal situation e.g. a death of a relative or an unexpected financial difficulty which urges him/her …