Hidden Costs We
are starting to see a new "misleading tactic" by some dealers when they
advertise a low price on a used vehicle. Look out for dealers that pull the
"freight cost" out of their "advertised sale price" only to add it back when you
try to buy it! For example, you see an advertisement for $9995 (plus tax,
license and freight). When you get to the dealer and try to buy that vehicle for
that price, they add another $500-$800 for freight. Your low advertised price
suddenly isn't a good deal at all. It is true that sometimes a dealer has to pay
freight on a used vehicle, but it is rarely more than $300 and a vehicle should
never be advertised without it included in the price. Not a nice
surprise.
"No payments For a Year"
Sale The problem with this promotion is that since you have no
payments for 12 months, you are also not paying down the principle balance of
the loan. Everyone knows that vehicles only go down in value.... they only
depreciate. This poses a real "double whammy" for you when you eventually want
to trade out of that vehicle. Since you have delayed paying down the amount owed
on the unit and at the same time it is rapidly going down in value, the chances
are quite good that you will owe a significantly higher amount than the vehicle
is worth at the time you want to trade. This type of promotion preys on the
human emotion that we can get something for nothing. Remember what your parents
told you about "getting something for nothing". They were right....it will
always cost you more.
Just Take Over the
Payments Sale By advertising this way, you are lead to believe that
someone has already paid down the balance on the loan and you are getting a
great deal. Not the case. You aren't going to take over anyone's payments but
your own! There are very few Banks that allow someone to "take over the payment"
any more. Many years back, it was done on a very small scale. The deal is that
you will be getting a new loan, not take over one.
The "Slasher
Sale" Typically, a tall fence is put around the entire inventory. The
idea is to build "hype" that only certain folks will be allowed in (did you get
an invitation?). Once the gates open, the Price Slasher writes the discounted
sale price across the windshield. The catch is that the new price is probably
higher than the price that was on that same car yesterday! Most of these sales
have the same type of high-pressure closers that were described in the
Acquisition Sale. BACK
