“When it comes to using electronic devices, it may seem like it’s a quick call or a quick text or a tweet, but accidents happen in the blink of an eye,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman, explaining ban on cell phones while driving. “No emails, no texts, no calls. It’s worth a human life.”

Well, as a legal representative I truly agree with this statement but as an active user of cell phones, let’s say, I hesitate.

Though we only feel the pain of our own body, it won’t be a waste of time to consider these facts.

• More than 3000 people lost their lives in 2010 caused by distracted driving! Consider that this statistics is made during a single year and only in US.
• NTSB also mentions that accidents caused by texting while driving increased by 50 percent over last year. And this is when 34 states have banned texting for all drivers and seven other states have banned it for novice drivers.

The statistics says more than necessary, really texting while driving is worse than drunk driving, but as Hersman says: “It will take more than laws to stop drivers from distracting themselves. It’s up to all of us to do the right thing, even when no one is watching.”

As for now 35 states and the District of Columbia ban text-driving, while 9 other states and Washington, D.C. ban on cell phones while driving. Though NTSB suggests banning even the use of hands-free devices, but none of the states admitted this law for all drivers.

Earlier this week we had another announcement considering ban on cell phones while driving made by US transportation secretary stating: “…there’s a lot of technology out there now that can disable phones and we’re looking at that.” He suggests using a technology which will automatically disable cell phones as soon as you enter a car. Well, this may work, but let’s consider that we can sit in a car as a passenger, so why not use a cell phone? Another issue arises when you consider an incident when somebody needs an emergency call, not being able to get out of the car. So, maybe we need to make a technology which will disable phone’s functionality when the car is in movement.

Anyway, 3000 people’s deaths are not just statistics; it’s a danger that threatens every driver who texts, tweets and talks on the phone while driving.

So to find out how to sell a car you still owe money on there are a few things that you should consider and keep in mind.

• Actually you are going to sell something that you don’t own. The lender is the actual owner of the car until the end of your loan and this fact should be disclosed to any interested buyer to avoid conflicts and to be more trustful. In any case the buyer will know that you are selling a car that is not paid off and it is better if he learns that from you, otherwise he/she may think that you’re going to cheat him/her.
• Contact your lender company and let them know that you’re going to sell the car. They will kindly inform you what options are available; you can also claim your final fee to know whether you have any penalties or stipulations for selling a car that is not paid off. If yes, then make sure to calculate all these into your final payoff. You have no reason to hide your attempts from the loan company, what they want is their money and they will hardly care who’ll pay it off.
• Make sure that you owe less on the car loan than the selling price of the car is. For example if you owe the lender $12,000 and you can sell your car on $12,000 or more then you are in a good position, otherwise you should consider paying the deficiency balance in order to transfer the car to the new owner.
• If everything is ready take the buyer to the loan company, have him complete the payments and after getting the notification that your loan is closed you’ll be able to transfer the car title to the new buyer.
• Never give the car keys to the buyer until you transfer the car title to him. Whatever happens with the car, you are responsible for it.

Considering selling a car that is not paid off you should have all this in mind because buyers usually hesitate to enter into this type of a purchase. You should be open with your buyer with every document that you can provide him to convince that you are trustful. Make sure to discuss everything concerning the details around paying off process and getting the title transferred.

If you don’t want to get into all this and want to avoid selling a car that is not paid off you still have an alternative. You can ask the lender to handle the car selling process, but they’ll really be more careless and can sell it at a lower price, and your negatives (the money that you may still owe to the lender) may be higher.

Now you know how to sell a car you still owe money on and acknowledge how problematic it is selling a car that is not paid off, but however this way you won’t harm your credit score or lose a lot of money.

Surely you are losing existing investment in the vehicle, but you are no longer saddled with the payment and that is already good news!

Well, let me disagree, overall it depends on…

Many car dealers will surely try to convince you that extended warranty is a great deal, but never rush to believe unless you do your own research.

You should consider several things while deciding on whether to buy an extended warranty for your new car or not.

1.Car’s Reliability:

While deciding whether to buy an extended warranty or not you should consider your car’s longevity. If your car has a proved build quality than you’ll hardly need to buy extended warranty. But if you have chosen a car with a poor quality reputation or which requires expensive repairs then an extended warranty is quite a great idea.

2. Car’s original warranty:

Before considering the extended warranty have a close look at the original warranty maybe you’ll find it to be enough. Many car manufacturers now offer original warranties above the standard 3-year/36,000 miles protection. For example, Infiniti has 4-year/60,000-mile and more warranties. Kia and Hyundai offer 5 year/60,000-mile warranties on new vehicles, plus 10-year/100,000 miles powertrain warranties, covering engine and transmission repairs. If you anyway decide to buy an extended warranty then to hit the best deal make sure that it starts on the very first day that the original manufacturer’s warranty expires.

3. Do you really need it?

To answer this question you should first of all think how long you are going to keep that car and what kind of driving you are supposed to do. If you buy the car just to drop to your working place in a city then you’ll hardly need extended warranty. But if you are supposed to drive huge miles or in rocky areas then you can consider extended warranty as a good deal. Never spend extra money on the things you don’t really need.

4. Warranty’s Cost and Coverage

Though I write this under the 4^th point but this doesn’t mean it is less important. If you buy an extended warranty make sure that it is worth it. Extended warranties are usually expensive investments and the price depends on what it covers. Make sure that your car’s extended warranty covers things that are major repairs – and therefore majorly expensive –otherwise, it may not be worth it.

5.The Reliable Dealership

Before buying an extended warranty you should shop around. If you turn to 3 different dealerships you’ll definitely have 3 different price offers for the same warranty. But price is not the most important thing here: make sure that the dealership which is going to provide you an extended warranty has a good reputation and stands firmly in the market. Sometimes during warranty period the small dealerships announce bankruptcy and get closed. So find reliable dealers!

These are the main things to consider while deciding whether to buy an extended warranty or not, so keep in mind what is important! But to avoid the common dishonest warranty hustle and bustle you can consider an alternative, because usually warranty companies can find any reason needed to delay or avoid paying claims. So as an alternative to an extended warranty you can open a bank account and make it your own car repair fund and pay $50 per month as a deposit. This way you’ll have a good deal of money when car repair is needed and you won’t have to spend several days and even weeks asking dealerships to repair your car.  Another plus is that if you have no problems with your car you won’t lose your money, it will be there as a healthy down payment for your next new car.

So go ahead buy your new car, but while considering extended warranties don’t forget our tips.

If you fail to make your monthly payments in a timely manner, the banks and loan companies will start threatening you with car repossession. But in reality what they really want is your money–not the car. So, don’t panic and simply recollect all your negotiating potential.

Vehicle repossession rules differ from state to state, bank to bank and contract to contract. But, however, there are some steps that can help you get your car back or at least don’t suffer too much.

The best but at the same time the most useless advice that one can give you in this situation is perhaps this one: “Avoid becoming so far behind in your payments.” But I think it is too late for this kind of advices.

If you feel like your car can be repossessed first thing passing through your mind is to hide the car. But remember that the bank or the lender is the actual owner of the car until the end of your loan, so hiding the vehicle you’ll face another problem. You can be legally charged with vehicle theft if you try to conceal it.

So, keep this in mind and let’s take more legal steps to stop your car repossession.

• Contact your creditor and discuss your financial situation. Explain what brought you to this point, whether it was the loss of a job, medical issues, or other factors that caused you to miss your payments. Offer to sign another contract with higher interest rate or with longer term. In many cases this can interest your creditor.
• Find out whether your state reserves you rights to reinstate the original contract and avoid vehicle repossession. To do this you need to pay all missed fees, penalties and repossession costs.
• The next option is to sell the car. It is surely not the best decision made, but if you have no way out then this can at least save you more money. If you intend to sell it, it’s a good idea to inform your creditor, this may prevent you from car repossession for a while. Selling the car in the open market will cost more money than at an auction. Once the car is sold, you’ll pay the creditor the money you got from the sale. If you still owe them money, then they’ll be willing to make arrangements to pay off the rest.
• Another option to consider is filing for bankruptcy. As soon as a bankruptcy petition is filed, all your creditors are immediately stopped from any efforts to collect the debts. But think over this only if you have considerable debts beyond that of your car. Remember, bankruptcy will result in bad credit history, but you don’t have much to lose, as car repossession itself is not a blessing.

All these steps are defiantly stressful but it’s better to prevent vehicle repossession than hope to obtain another vehicle loan with that credit history.

I hope that you know what vehicle repossession is and even I expect you to know that your car will be repossessed beforehand, because car repossession can’t occur without a reason. However if you don’t own this information read the previous post and find out what is vehicle repossession and what are your and the creditor’s rights.

Here is the list of possible questions that may interest you during car repossession.

Should the creditor win a judgment before vehicle repossession?

In the most states they needn’t. It is required only in Louisiana and Wisconsin.

What notices should I receive if my vehicle is repossessed?

Before vehicle repossession, the creditors don’t have to inform you in advance that they are going to take your car, unless it is clearly mentioned in your contract. But after repossessing your car the creditors should send you the following notifications:

1. Notification that will give you a list mentioning what personal items you’ve left in the car and when you can take them
2. Notice of intent to sell: this notification they should send at least 15 days before your car is sold. This notice should contain the following information:

• They will sell your car after 15 days from the date they notified you
• How much you should pay if you intend to buy it back
• Where to make the payment
• You have right to postpone the sale of your car for 10 days due to written request
• You are responsible for deficiency balance
• After the car is sold you have right to ask the creditors at what price they sold the car

Can I take my personal belongings from the car?

Surely you can! As I stated above you will get a list of your items within 48 hours, informing you how you can take them. But you may be asked to pay storage fees to the car repossession agent. However, you can take only the items which are not physically attached to the car. For example you can’t uninstall your stereo system. If you don’t take your belongings within 60 days of vehicle repossession, they can get rid of them.

What is wrongful vehicle repossession?

Car repossession is considered to be illegal while “breaching the peace”. This term defines the actions like:

• Break into garage with a duplicate key
• Use a threatening language
• Take the vehicle when a family member objects

Should I sell the car myself or let it be repossessed?

You’d better sell it! Repossessed cars are usually sold in lower prices and you can still owe money to the creditor, but you can sell it in a free market with a higher price and escape the deficiency balance.

What is deficiency balance?

The deficiency balance is the difference between the amount you owe the creditor and the amount the car was sold for. For example if you owe the company $10.000 but the car was sold for $7.000, the deficiency balance will be $3.000. This means you still owe the company $3.000.

What is the difference between voluntary and involuntary vehicle repossession?

Voluntary repossession is when you take the car back, yourself; involuntary repossession is when an agent comes to seize your car.

What will voluntary repossession give me?

Voluntary repossession is interpreted in different ways in different banks. But you are likely to get the following advantages:

• The creditor may not track car repossession fees
• You can reinstate the contract

Can the company refuse my voluntary repossession?

Yes, it can in case if the vehicle has depreciated significantly.

Do vehicle repossessions affect my credit rating?

Of course yes, repossession is a black mark on your credit report. Their existence can bring huge problems if you decide to loan another vehicle.

But never give up, there is nothing impossible, read on our blog and you’ll get more informed. Remember that knowledge is the best way to protect your rights.

Do you still have questions? Don’t forget to ask us!

Vehicle repossession

This is a small guide covering some nuances of car repossession which you should consider while carrying on the process.

Who is the owner of the car until you pay it off?

The bank or the lender is the actual owner of the car until the end of your loan. It is legal and is mentioned in your vehicle title. In the section of “lien holder” is the name and address of the bank. As soon as you end up your loan, bank will send you a “release of lien”, which means that the car already belongs to you.

When you creditor has rights for car repossession?

Vehicle repossession laws differ from state to state. But generally creditors have right for a vehicle seizure if:

• you miss the payment even for a month
• you sell the vehicle
• you stop paying the insurance for the vehicle
• the vehicle is damaged, stolen or something else that can depreciate its value
• your financial status gets worse and you aren’t considered to be able to make the payments

What are your rights of personal property during car repossession?

The repo man can take your car from wherever he wants without breaking so called the “breach of the peace”. In some states they can even break into your garage to remove it. But you surely have all the rights concerning your personal property left in the car. They shouldn’t be damaged or stolen during car repossession. The creditor is fully responsible for your property and should send you the list of your items and inform you how you can claim them.

What is “right to cure?”

If you are under the threat of vehicle repossession due to missed payments you still have a “right to cure”. This means you can get a few extra weeks to pay back and regain the car. Unfortunately not all the states of U.S. have this privilege.

Now you are armed up with basic knowledge of car repossession, but I’m going to continue the discussion of this issue and open more secrets.

If you have any questions or need any legal help never hesitate to contact us either by emailing or dropping in the comments.

How did it start?

On or about March 31, 2007, our client visited Century West BMW to purchase a vehicle for personal and family use. Getting interested in the subject vehicle, he inquired the salespeople into its condition and history. The latter assured our client that the vehicle was in excellent mechanical condition and had no damages or defects, was fully equipped with Dinan accessories and was covered under the original manufacturer’s warranty, which was valid for four (4) years/50,000 miles. Considering all these our client purchased the car for a cash price of $49,795.00. Additionally, Century West BMW offered our client an extended warranty, which would extend the manufacturer’s warranty by an additional two years or 100,000 miles.

Evidence of dealer fraud

Our client discovered that he is defrauded, when he tried several times to repair his car taking it to the authorized dealers of BMW of North America, LLC. . Each time, our client was informed that the repairs would not be covered under the warranty due to the installation of the after-market Dinan parts. Then, he discovered that the extended warranty did not cover certain original BMW parts. Our client has spent a lot of time and a total of $6,384.86 on performing repairs and maintenance on the subject vehicle, which should have been covered under the manufacturer’s warranty as promised. Additionally, authorized dealers of BMW have refused to perform the emission recall campaign (08E-A03) because removing and replacing the Dinan parts and software would not be covered under the warranty.

In early 2010, our client received the notice of registration renewal from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (“DMV”) which required a Smog Certification to be performed. For a long time he couldn’t get one due to the installation of the after-market super charger.

In fact, on or about August 11, 2010, Century West BMW confirmed that Smog could not be performed due to the installed super charger and so repairs, installations, and adjustments would be required. Overall, our client has spent in excess of $150.00 in attempting to obtain a Smog certification for the subject vehicle, but to no avail. As a result, our client was forced to file Planned Nonoperational (PNO) status with the DMV and the subject vehicle has not been operable since then.

Affirmation of dealer fraud

It has become apparent that the subject vehicle was sold to our client by Century West BMW with a supercharger kit that is illegal in California. The supercharger was for off road use (racing) only, and was not legal for installation on vehicles intended for street use in the State of California. Century West BMW has further conceded to the foregoing facts in its offer to rescind the contract. However, Century West BMW’s offer has fallen short of making our client whole in that it includes a deduction for the usage and fails to compensate for the damages our client has incurred in repairing the subject vehicle.

Conclusion

At no time during the sales process did the salesperson or anyone else disclose to our client the fact that the subject vehicle was equipped with a supercharger kit that is illegal in California, thereby precluding it from passing Smog or the amount of money it would cost to alter the vehicle to make it legal for street use in California. Furthermore, our client was never informed that such after-market accessories have a detrimental effect on the warranty of the subject vehicle and that our client would be responsible for the repairs. Rather, our client was assured that the subject vehicle was legal for street use, covered by the warranty and was induced into purchasing it. Our client reasonably relied on these fraudulent misrepresentations and omissions to his detriment and completed the purchase transaction.  Had our client been informed about the foregoing material facts, he would not have agreed to purchase it.

Recovery

Due to the diligent work of our professional lawyer Hovannes Margarinan he got cash recovery in an amount equivalent to a refund of the original purchase price and the legal fees and expenses incurred.

If you feel to be defrauded of any kind of deal fraud trick never hesitate to take the phone and call 818.990.0418, here defending your rights are in the first plan of our professional lawyers.

How did it start?

On or about June 2, 2010, our client visited IMAX Auto Group with the intent to purchase a vehicle for personal and family use.  The car dealership’s personnel showed her the subject vehicle assuring her that it was in excellent mechanical condition, had never been involved in any accidents and had no damages or defects. She bought it.

Evidence

Not long ago our client discovered that the subject vehicle had previously been involved in an accident on or about June 4, 2009 and had sustained frame damage. Upon further investigation, my client also discovered that at the Pacific Southwest Region Auto Auction held on or about May 1, 2010, the subject vehicle had been announced as having frame damage.

Dealership’s arguments

IMAX Auto Group denied that they had known about it before selling the car.

Our client’s arguments

Since our client purchased the subject vehicle on June 2, 2010, only one month after the auto auction, we have reason to believe that IMAX Auto Group purchased the subject vehicle at the auto auction on or about May 1, 2010 and as such was well aware of the frame damage of the subject vehicle. Moreover, since IMAX Auto Group is in the business of vehicle acquisition and sales, we presume on good grounds and in good faith that it has an established practice and custom of inspecting vehicles and checking their vehicle history reports prior to acquiring them.  As such, it is indisputable that the subject vehicle was purchased by IMAX Auto Group with full knowledge of the frame damage.

Conclusion

The salesman at IMAX Auto Group proceeded to retail the subject vehicle with full knowledge of the damages and lied to our client at the time of sale.  In fact, the fraud was compounded not only by the willful omission of this material information, but also by the deliberate failure to give our client a printed copy of the vehicle history report.

Recovery

As our client has been defrauded and has suffered greatly financially and emotionally due to the reckless and wanton conduct of personnel at IMAX Auto Group, we have charged cash recovery in an amount equivalent to a refund of client’s down payment, all monthly payments and legal fees and expenses incurred.

If you happen to be involved in a case like this never doubt to contact our aggressive and diligent lawyers, who will give the best solution to your full satisfaction.

Unfortunately, when an individual has been harmed financially and is hurt emotionally, he or she often does not see these pitfalls and when addressed by a consumer attorney starts to feel apprehensive, fearing that the dealer fraud attorney himself might mislead them.  It is a human nature to react in such a fashion and to start thinking that one was tricked once and is not going to allow the mistake to be continued: therefore, justified in every reasonable way to take matters into his or her own hands.

If you are a victim of dealer fraud and you have this urgent feeling of handling the matter on your own I advise you to stop, to read this article and to take some time to think things over before taking steps, which might in fact harm your case rather than help you.

There is a reason why I have been practicing in this area of law for half a decade and why I have an extremely high success record.  So take a step back and see why retaining an experienced dealer fraud attorney is always hands down the best first step when you learn that you have been defrauded by an automobile dealership.

First off, in any given situation when confronted with a problem it is always a good idea to let yourself cool off before you take any steps.  Often times I have clients who find out about the dealer fraud and immediately go to the automobile dealership and create a lot of tension and drama.  In fact I have had clients who were nearly arrested for disturbing the peace.  In other cases, I have had dealers counter claim damages and threaten filing assault charges when my clients walked in and started an argument which resulted in an altercation.  And guess what – the automobile dealership caught it all on tape.  The worst thing you can do for yourself is to give the dealership such ammunition against you.  I would hate to see a client go to jail or give up his or her civil claims for damages arising from the dealer fraud case in exchange to avoid being turned to the police.

So rule #1 – Keep matters calm and collected.

Secondly, dealing with the automobile dealership on your own is generally same as asking to be defrauded again.  Let us say you just found out that you have been a victim of dealer fraud.  You are clearly upset and eager to confront the perpetrators of this malicious fraud which has cost you thousands of dollars and so you take your paperwork and your vehicle and go straight to the automobile dealership.  You are calm and collected and have no intent to stir up any trouble.  You just want a fair resolution.  Well, you’re just walking back into the hands of the very same people who had the audacity to defraud you.  They have make an extra couple grand due to their successful scheme to cheat you and you are now attempting to reason with them and to take back what is already in their pocket.

First off, you are unaware of your full range of legal remedies – perhaps you should get $2,000, perhaps you should get $10,000, or perhaps you should get $50,000.  Only an experienced consumer attorney can tell you the true value of your case.  So you walk in and, if you are lucky, you get to meet with the general manager to discuss your grievance.  The general manager is the best salesman on the premises.  He is also usually the sole owner of the business if you are dealing with a small lot or at least a shareholder franchise automobile dealership.  So you are talking to a person who has a direct personal interest to pay you less, if anything.

Their first response to your concern will be that

• they had no idea about the issued with the vehicle

• they would never knowingly mislead you

• they will do anything they can to help you

Of course this is assuming they are willing to talk to you.  Half of my clients tell me that when they tried to complaint the automobile dealership personnel game, they run around, never met with them and on occasion threatened to call the police if they did not leave the premises.

Assuming you are dealing with a more cordial automobile dealership, they will meet with you and start negotiating over a resolution.  The most frequent resolution is where the consumer is convinced to switch into another vehicle.  For example, if you purchased your vehicle for $40,000 and it was now supposed to be worth $20,000 but due to frame damage and other issues it is now worth $15,000, the automobile dealership offers you to honor the $20,000 price.  Or out of the goodness of their heart they in fact offer to credit you $25,000 for that car.

So, in your mind you are thinking you are getting $5,000 extra!

Wrong – you are getting $15,000 less than you should be getting.

Plus you are being sold another vehicle for an incredibly bad price since you are a captive audience – their offer is to credit you $25,000 and let you pick any car on the lot.  This means you have no leverage to negotiate on the new car and thus they will most likely overcharge you on the new car and allow themselves to essentially walk away from this scenario without giving you anything.  All you will have accomplished is having purchased another vehicle from the people who defrauded you.

I have seen way too many potential clients enter bad dealer on a subsequent vehicle after attempting to confront an automobile dealership in regards to their original purchase.  Why walk into a room with professional salesman who has already defrauded you once without havinga dealer fraud attorney by your side?  Would you walk into a boxing ring to take on a professional boxer?  Just because you have learned that you have been defrauded does not mean that you can take them on without legal help.  This is why the laws were created and fortunately for you the State of California has the most pro-consumer laws you could ever ask for.  You are entitled to get a FREE attorney fight for you.  So there is no reason for you not to pick the best consumer attorney you can find and have him do your battle and hand you your recovery.

Now let me go on to discuss some other pitfalls of taking self help measures against automobile dealership.  Unfortunately, over the years I have seen all of the following done by potential clients prior to retaining me and I assure you that none of these actions will do anything but harm one’s case.  Often clients refuse to take back possession of a vehicle once they find out that they have been defrauded.  If the vehicle is at the selling dealership for some repairs they simply call and refuse to take it back.  If the automobile dealership is at another shop, they notify the selling dealership of the vehicle’s location.  If the automobile dealership is in their possession they drop it off at the selling dealership and walk away leaving the keys.  I cannot stress enough as to how bad of an idea this is.  The fact is that vehicle is still in your name.  Whatever happens to the vehicle it is your responsibility and you are financially liable for it.

Here is a myriad of reasons why you should not surrender possession in such a manner:

• If you leave the vehicle with another shop or even the selling automobile dealership they could rightfully charge you a daily storage fee.  So if you leave it for 3 months they can and likely will send you a bill for $50 per day totaling $4,500 for storage!  If you end up suing them later on they will demand that the Court deducts their storage fee from whatever they owe you due to the fraud.  Just because they owe you for example $10,000 does not mean you get to park your vehicle at their lot for free until the matter is resolved.  If you happen to leave the vehicle at a third party lot (say you bought your vehicle from Longo Toyota but you leave it at Keyes Toyota) than they have an absolute right to charge you storage fees since they have nothing to do with your claims for dealer fraud.

• Another reason not to leave the vehicle is that if you leave it while it is being repaired the repairing facility can assert a mechanic’s lien.  If you refuse to pay their repair bill and take possession of the vehicle they will eventually auction the vehicle and retain the cost of their repairs, storage and auction expenses.  All of this will be offset against your dealer fraud case.  In theory, if you have a case worth $10,000 you could end up being responsible for more than $10,000 in repairs, storage and auction costs.

• Most individuals who surrender possession of their vehicle also stop making payments on them.  This is another extremely harmful step to take when you discover that you have been defrauded.  First off, the financing institution’s liability for the dealer fraud committed by the selling dealership can vary.  Sometimes the bank is equally responsible and yet other times they are not.  Thus if you fail to pay the bank you may be breaching your agreement with the bank.  If your case happens to be the type where the bank is not responsible than the bank will ultimately repossess the vehicle, auction it off, likely recover much less than the loan balance, and hold you responsible for the difference between the auction sale price and the loan balance.  Even if you have a perfect case against the selling automobile dealership you might end up recovering for example $15,000 against the dealership but only to hand it all to the bank for the loan deficiency.  In the same scenario, if you had kept possession of the vehicle and continued to make payments you would have been able to pocket that same $15,000.

• Another common pitfall is when a consumer who has just purchased a vehicle discovered that he or she was defrauded and starts engaging with the automobile dealership in arguments, all the while he or she does not make the first monthly payment and the dealership never sends a bill or mentions the monthly payment.  The consumer might think that there is no need to make the first payment due to the fact that there is an ongoing dialogue with the automobile dealership.  In reality, the dealership might be purposefully causing a delay so that the consumer defaults on the first payment.  This gives the bank or the dealer (if the loan has not been funded by any bank by that time) to repossess the vehicle.  Once they repossess the vehicle they will assess repossession charges, towing charges, storage charges and ultimately sell the vehicle for a cheaper price.  All of these charges and the difference between the contract value and the final sale price will be asserted against the consumer.  Once again, the consumer who had a legitimate claim against the dealership may end up with no claim at all or may even end up owing money to the automobile dealership.

• Over the years I have also seen potential clients abandon their vehicles, register them as non-operational with the DMV, park the vehicle somewhere without insurance coverage, etc.  These are all extremely bad ways to approach a dealer fraud case.  Ultimately, the consumer as the effective owner of the subject vehicle is responsible for it and must act diligently regardless of the fact that he or she has been defrauded by the selling dealership.  If the vehicle gets totaled and there is no insurance coverage than the consumer will be held responsible for it.  If someone borrows the vehicle or if the vehicle is abandoned and a teenage takes it for a joyride and runs over someone – the consumer who is the registered owner will be responsible for it.

I cannot stress enough when I say that self help is absolutely the last thing a consumer should do when encountering a dealer fraud situation.  In the State of California consumers are extremely fortunate to have extremely strong protections under the law.  As such, there is no reason why a consumer facing a dealer fraud issue should ever attempt to deal with it before consulting and retaining a consumer attorney.  Each month my office represents dozens of consumers in dealer fraud cases.  We evaluate all cases at no cost and if we determine that you have a legitimate case than we will agree to represent you at no cost to you.  Our goal in all these cases and the most frequent outcome is a recovery of all your actual damages plus a recovery of our attorney’s fees and costs.  Thus you as the consumer have an opportunity to have us enter the fight ring for you, win your case and hand you your prize at no risk to you.

I hope that you the reader found this article useful and that even if you do not decide to retain me to represent you in your dealer fraud case you at least to not commit any of the aforementioned pitfalls.  Thank you.

Very truly yours,

Hovanes Margarian

Attorney At Law

The Law Offices of Hovanes Margarian

The Consumer Protection Advocates

www.DealerFraud.org

So, I found out that there are lucky times in a year, in a month, in a week, and even in a day for buying a car.

When is the best time to buy a car in a day?

The best time to buy a car in a day is a half hour before closing. The sales stuff has probably been at work for some 10 hours and they really need to go home. They have other duties too, so they won’t do the usual two-hour back-and-forth with the boss and you are more likely to benefit from the price. However, this is right for car stores, while dealers may keep you until midnight for getting the deal they want.

When is the best time to buy a car in a week?

For the days of the week consider Mondays and Fridays. Weekends are probably the worst time for buying a car, because in these days there are too many buyers and you are not that much valuable buyer for salesmen than in non-busy days.

When is the best time to buy a car in a month?

Best time in a month to buy a car is at the end of the month.

Why?

Salespeople have monthly sales targets and bonuses from manufacturers. So the last two-three days of the month are best periods to reach your deal. They make discounts but work good bonuses, so it is the best time when discounts are beneficial for both you and the seller.

When is the best time to buy a car in a year?

The end of the year is probably the best time for buying cars. Why? Because this time corresponds to big holiday times and sometimes to car’s model year, so you can benefit from three at once.

Other times you can consider for buying a car.

Bad weather conditions: to buy a car at bad weather conditions has its pluses. At that weather many will think it uncomfortable to go for buying a car. If you have already made a proper test drive of the same model then you can easily buy a car by making just a short formal test-drive. Believe me that after several days’ bad weather dealers are crying for someone to buy a car.

End of the model year: the end of model year means the release of new models, so the price of previous model surprisingly falls.

End of the car’s design cycle: The end of car’s design cycle is when the manufacturer continues to make a certain car model but suggests a complete redesign. This means serious discounts in price, but this also means to buy an outdated car. Which is more important for you the price or fashion?

Now you know the best time to buy a car, but don’t make your mind to be busy only on price: you have other things to consider as well.