5 Sneaky Tactics Used by Used Car Salesmen

Like it or not, car salesmen can be sneaky.  In fact, cars salespeople have a range of sneaky tactics that they use during negotiation with car buyers, in order to make more money.  So here are 5 sneaky car sales tactics to watch out for.

Selling with Monthly Payment

During negotiation, usually towards the end of the process, the car salesman will ask the car buyer to confirm a monthly payment.  Once this price is concrete in the buyer’s mind, the salesperson will honor the monthly payment, but change additional payment factors such as: length of loan, interest rate and down payment.  This way the buyer will unwittingly pay the seller’s desired amount.

Payment Packing

When a buyer is negotiating with a car salesperson, it is assumed that they are negotiating the price of the car itself and the payments that will be used to purchase the car.  In most cases this initial payment has already been packed to include various other products, such as: the dealership’s standard high interest rate, an extended warranty, and other high-profit products.  It is important to clarify with the salesperson what exactly is included in the initial payment.

The Used Car Salesman by TexasEagle, on Flickr.  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

Low Trade-in Value

Often buyers will trade in their old car to reduce the price of the car they are buying off a dealer.  The car salesman will, however, often intentionally lower the amount they are willing to pay for a buyer’s trade-in.  Many car buyers don’t realise that the price the dealer pays for a trade-in is negotiable and tend to accept this amount without question.  It is important that you get your car valued before taking it into a dealer to avoid this from happening.

Sale of Extras

Car dealerships make most money, not from the sale of the car itself, but from the additional extras they sell during financing arrangements with the buyer.  Salesmen often add these extras into the total car cost, which increases the margin price of the car.  Additionally, car salesmen may convince buyer that they need these extras for various reasons (make the car easier to sell in future or protects the car internally or externally).  All of these extras add up gradually, so be mindful!

pashminu / Pixabay

Spot Delivery

Car dealerships will often let car buyers sign all authorizing paperwork for the vehicle of purchase, before the buyer has been officially approved for a car loan, on the assumption they will be approved in the near future.  The buyer will then be allowed to take delivery of the vehicle.  If the buyer fails to get an approved loan, the dealership will call the customer and demand them to return the vehicle, unless they pay a large down payment or are financed at a higher interest rate.  This method is called spot delivering and allows the dealership to swindle you out of cash.