By Tony Iorio

It never ceases to amaze me how so many people fall for the phony baloney nonsense that car dealers put in their ads!  Yet week after week you see the most outrageous ads run by the car dealers.  And let me tell you, those big color newspaper ads don't come cheap!

Whatever you think the ads are saying, Don't Believe Them!  There's a catch, an angle or something misleading in MOST car ads.  I emphasize MOST, because there are some honest dealers out there who have too much integrity to pull some of the shenanigans listed below!

Here are just a few examples I've gleaned lately from local newspapers here in N.E. Ohio and N.W. PA:

1.  A full size flyer inserted into a newspaper has a $2,500 voucher that looks just like a check with "Made payable to: Holder of this voucher!" printed at the top of the flyer!

In microscopic fine print it says, "Valid only when used toward the purchase of any used vehicle in dealer stock!"  Of course what they don't tell you is that the night before the ad hits they raise the prices on all used cars by ...Guess What?!

You got it! $2500!!!

Why do you think they say on used cars only?  It's simple.  Because they can't go raising the prices on new cars $2,500, now can they?!

If it was a legitimate offer they wouldn't have to do it on used cars only!

2.  OK!  Here's a beaut!  "$69.00 Vehicle Underwriter Clearance Event!"  What??  Does anybody understand that statement?  I sure don't!

But it goes on to say that with a "$69.00 Procurement Fee" you just make payments on any one of hundreds of vehicles in stock!  They want you to think that after paying your "Procurement Fee" that you can take over payments.

IT'S ALL BULL!

You can't take over payments!  You have to get a new loan, and if you have decent credit you don't need anything down!  Do you think a bank cares if you put $69.00 down or $0.00 down?  There's no difference to them!

It's all a bunch of malarkey designed to get the "poor unsuspecting car shopper" in the door, so they can beat them over their heads with rubber mallets until they sign!  (Not really rubber mallets, but to some car buyers i'm sure that's what the buying process feels like!)

Not the kind of thing that will ever happen to a member of this elite audience, however!  Right?

3.  "$75 Unclaimed Vehicle Sale!"   These are just ordinary vehicles in stock that haven't been sold yet!  So I guess you could say they are "Unclaimed!"

Then it goes on to say, "Pay the $75 Unclaimed Vehicle Fee, then take on the payments!"

Sound familiar?!

You see?  The "InsiderCarSecrets Brigade" (that's you!) catches on fast!

4.   "$2,000 Minimum Trade-In!"

Again, only on specified used cars!  It's never on new cars!  Why?  Because all the prices on these "specified used cars" were jacked up $2,000 the night before!  How stupid do the car dealers think people are, anyway?

The thing that fascinates me is the fact that the same dealers run these "Minimum Trade-In" ads over and over again!  Since a full page color ad costs many thousands of dollars in most newspapers, the only conclusion I can draw from them running these ads repeatedly is that they must be working and paying for themselves!  Scary thought, isn't it!

5.  "All Credit Applications Accepted!"

So What!

You still have to be approved by a lending institution before you can have a car loan!   Accepting a credit application and being approved for a loan are two completely different things!

They want you to think that regardless of your credit rating, you can buy anything you want!   WRONG!!!

6.  "Don't Worry About Your Payoff, If We make A Deal.  (Yeah, right!)  We Will Write The Check For Your Payoff!"

Of course they will!   That's because the payoff amount is added to the new loan!  They may write the check for your payoff, but the money goes right back in their bank account when they cash the deal at the lending institution where your new loan is.

It doesn't mean that's what you're getting for a trade-in allowance either!

If your payoff is $10,000, and they only give you $8,000 for your trade the numbers work out like this: $10,000 payoff minus $8,000 trade-in allowance leaves $2,000 that you have to pay in addition to the cost of your new vehicle!

And what they put on paper for your trade-in allowance is usually no where near what they are actually giving you for your trade, but that's for another article!

7.  How about this one?  In fine print under a beautiful color ad picturing new cars and trucks, each with a price and payment: "Picture May Be Different Than Actual Vehicle!"

Say What!!??   How do they get away with this stuff?!

***Sidenote***

By the way.... the sole purpose of all these gimmicks is to get you in the door at the dealership, and not let you leave until you buy a vehicle.

Their professional team - which includes the Salesperson, the Sales Manager, the Finance Manager, the Used Car Manager and often a Floor Manager who is the "Closer" - goes to work on you, using a professionally designed Selling System in which they are all well trained and rehearsed.

You're not up against just a car salesperson!   When you walk into a well run, professionally organized dealership, you're up against a whole team of pros who go through their act numerous times a day!

These are just a few of the Scams dealers perpetrate in their ads.  There are many more.   If you ever see something in an ad that seems suspicious to you, send it to me so we can analyze the hidden lies!  Click Here to e-mail me anytime!