How NOT to get SCAMMED while buying a new car

Buying a new car can be a tedious experience, especially for the first time buyers. It is a big decision to take with a lot of money involved. After finalizing the vehicle, you need to deal with the showroom officials and if things do not go well, you can get scammed by the usual tricks and can end up paying much more than the actual cost of the vehicle.

While there are many ways in which the car dealers can scam you, there are a few regular ways that most of the dealerships commonly use. Here are the details of such scams which most car dealerships will try to use to make extra money.

Getting demo cars

Every dealership has to buy demo cars that are placed in the showrooms to show the customer how the vehicle feels like in real life. Most of these vehicles spend their lives on the showroom floor and when the facelifted version or a newer model arrives in the market, the old showcase vehicles are discarded by the dealerships. While there are many dealers who sell off these vehicles at a huge discount, there are many who try to pass these vehicles as brand-new vehicles.

Some of these cars are also used as test drive vehicles by the dealers for getting new customers. Dealerships cover the scratches and paint the body to make the vehicle feel like a new one and in case of the test drive cars, many dealerships even tweak the odometer to give a feeling of a new vehicle.

You can avoid this by doing minute checks on the body to find proof of repainting. You can also check for scratches around the dashboard and instrument cluster. Other parts like the edges of the seat and pedals will also have some signs wear and tear, which will be enough to indicate that it is not a brand-new vehicle.

Paying extra charges

The manufacturers always quote the ex-showroom price, which means it the price of the vehicle inside the showroom and without any taxes. To legally register it and drive it, there are a few charges like registration charges, insurance and other similar things. This can be quite complicated for the new customers, which is why many dealerships slide in charges under various names when customers are buying new cars. One of the most common illegal charges used by the dealerships is handling charges. You can strictly say no to the handling charges and even several courts have deemed the charges as illegal. So avoid any such charges when you get the price quotation from the dealership and strictly say no to any inflated charges in the price of the vehicle.

Mandatory accessories

Many dealerships impose mandatory accessories on the customers and mention that the vehicle cannot be delivered without these “mandatory accessories”. Well, there is no such rule where the customer has to buy accessories from the dealers. Accessories are high margin products and dealerships try to sell as much as they can through various ways. Always remember to avoid such accessories, especially when buying a brand new vehicle. Always understand the accessories and buy them if you feel that they are useful.

Read your insurance

There are many terms and conditions that differ greatly for the number of insurance. Always read the insurance policy and get to know which all parts are covered under the insurance. Dealerships get a commission fee for selling their low-selling policies so it the job of the customer to be aware and know what he is buying. Spending time with the terms and conditions of the insurance policy is a good way to understand what it is all about.

Know what you’re getting

When buying a new vehicle always get to know about the manufacturing year of the vehicle. While it does not matter if you keep the vehicle for more than 5 years but manufacturing year can depreciate the value of the vehicle if you plan to sell it within a couple of years of ownership. Always read the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) of the vehicle and get to know details like manufacturing year. Many dealerships provide discounts on the models manufactured in the previous year too.

Coating

Soon after you get the delivery of the vehicle. Happy looking faces will gather around you from the dealership and will try to sell off car paint protection coatings including Teflon. Most of the coatings provided at the dealerships are sub-standard and do not last for more than a few days or work the way they should protect the car’s paint. Always avoid such coating and save money. You can always visit a car detailing place and get such coating done if you feel that it is necessary.