The internet has leveled the playing field for car buyers more than ever, but despite a wealth of useful information out there, we still encounter a ton of misconceptions about buying from a dealership. As a professional car buyer, I’m going to clear up some of the most common ones and hopefully save you some…
To us humans, the Ford Focus RS doesn’t really need a flowery description to sell it. Most already know it’s one of the most powerful and enjoyable hot hatchbacks on the market. Apparently our future electronic overlords disagree, and now a bot for Autotrader has penned an overview of the RS for an Idaho dealership…
Buying a used car is a great way to get more value for your dollar, and getting a car with a certified pre-owned warranty adds some extra protection. But some dealers aren’t always honest when making claims about their “certified” cars. Here are a couple of instances that should raise some flags.
There is an old-school bit of car buying advice that says you should wait until a new model hits the showrooms to score a deal on the previous model. In other words, when the all-new 2019 Eagle Premier comes out, you may be better off waiting to get a great price on the still-good 2018 Eagle Premier. But while you can…
When it comes to buying pre-owned cars, I always stress the importance of a pre-purchase inspection. Getting a second opinion is more crucial for some cars than others. It’s especially important if it’s a performance-oriented car without a warranty. That is why you should always be suspicious of a dealer, like the one…
The Lexus LC 500 and 500h flagship coupes, Jalopnik favorites, are apparently getting a dealer cash incentive until the end of the month. This is big if you’re currently in the market for one.
Some dealers don’t like to play ball with this whole internet shopping thing. Even so, most know that if they refuse online price quotes they will lose sales, but some will send you numbers only to try to pull some tricks later—like altering the price due to your credit score.
When it comes to new cars, the sedan segment is dying. Honda has been struggling to sell it’s tried-and-true Accord and Ford will soon abandon the sedan market almost entirely. Since no one is buying them you would think buyers could score a deal on a cheap pre-owned model, but currently, that isn’t the case.
Everyone knows you aren’t likely to get top dollar for your trade if you give it to a dealer instead of selling yourself. But what if you think the dealer straight up lied about the value of your car only, to profit from it later? Unfortunately, your options for recourse are limited.
If you have the patience to wait for it, it’s great to order a car from the factory exactly the way you want it. Often you can still score just as good of a deal on an ordered car instead of buying off the lot. But if your order gets changed, here is how the dealer is likely to handle it.
Due to relentless marketing, a lot of people seem to think that Memorial Day is this massive clearance event for new cars where you can score the deal of a lifetime. But depending on the brand you choose, you may actually be getting a worse deal than you would have at another time.
You would hope that after you sign the sales contract that you wouldn’t have to be hassled by the dealer anymore. Unfortunately, some dealers will attempt to pull more money from you by claiming they “overpaid” for your trade-in. This is bunk.
Subaru has been winning a lot lately. It’s one of the few brands that consistently delivers positive sales figures while some of the other automakers struggle. So you would think with an in-demand lineup deals would be hard to come by, but even Subaru dealers are blowing out inventory with discounts that you may want…
After initially restricting the Genesis luxury brand to only a select number of dealers, Hyundai came to the revelation that more distribution leads to better sales and has decided that now Genesis models can be sold to through any Hyundai dealer.
It’s easy to get on your high horse and look down on people who have found themselves in a tough financial spot because they didn’t do the math before they bought their car, or because they need a car so badly they had to take on a rough deal. But this loan term on a six-figure Porsche Cayman GT4 reveals that money…
Working with Kia dealers, even in this modern age of car shopping, can be an exercise in futility. Attempting a deal on a Kia Stinger in Florida, a state that is notorious in my experience, for bad dealers, could have been a nightmare. But sometimes things don’t always go as expected. Here’s how I pulled off a deal in…
There are all kinds of websites, platforms and startups that are supposed be “disrupting” the whole car buying process, yet every day people end up with bad deals. But the most powerful tool is something buyers have had for a while, and they don’t even have to download it.
I know a few good salespeople who would rather lose a sale than put someone in a car that is going to strain the buyer financially. But that level of ethical sales is rare in the industry. There are far too many stores that will do whatever it takes to get you to sign that contract, even it means crushing debt.
The internet has changed the way cars are bought and sold. It’s now a lot easier to figure out who has the best deal on a new car, but used cars are more complex. A lot of buyers get frustrated when they run into walls asking for large discounts on used cars. Here’s why that happens.
Buying a car shouldn’t be that complicated. You shop around, you get a quote, and make your purchase. Still, we all know it’s not simple because some dealers will use various deceptive and tiresome tactics to make it seem like their quote is the best when it may not be—including pairing a crazy low price with a…
