In part one of Favorite Scams That Car Dealers Use On Customers we unearthed several tactics that car salespeople use on their customers in order to squeeze more money and profits out of them. We found out that some dishonest dealers try offering you a ridiculously low price for your trade in order to maximize their resale value at the car dealership.

The second one is trying to get its customers to strike a deal based upon the MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) instead of the factory invoice or dealer’s invoice, which is the true value of the car being sold. If you know how much the dealer paid for the car, you can haggle over the price more effectively.

A tip is to just walk away if you find that the car dealer is trying one of these tactics on you. It demonstrates that the dealer doesn’t have your best interests in mind and is only concerned with making a large profit. These dealers may seem to care about you when you are in the car lot, but if you purchase from them, it may amaze you at how quickly they forget about you once you drive the car away. Here are some other things to watch out for. More...

Being a car salesperson is a tough job not only because it’s hard to sell cars, but because the overall impression for people in these jobs is very low. How low, you ask? According to a recent Gallop poll conducted in 2014, among the least trusted individuals in various professions were car salespeople and members of congress. The politicians were at the bottom of the barrel, while car salespeople were next to last.

Why such a low rating for car salespeople? The truth of the matter is that this reputation is earned, to a great degree, by dishonest or pushy sales people. This image of the crooked car salesperson is further strengthened through personal experiences from everyday car shoppers; they don’t like the way they are manipulated and pressured by car dealership sales staff.

This bad reputation doesn’t mean all car dealers are dishonest, but enough of them are to give car salesmen the status as one of the least trusted professionals in the job market. One of the reasons for this are the scams they use to trick customers into buying a car or to squeeze more profits out of the deal. If you can spot some of these, you may save yourself a lot of money and trouble. Here are two of them. More...

In Part I of How To Avoid Common Car Buying Mistakes, we covered things such as not going for a test drive and not having the courage to get up and walk away from a bad deal. In part II we’ll cover some more ground in keeping you out of trouble when you go to the car dealership.

If you’re looking for a good price, one of the things you want to avoid doing is to negotiate a deal from the MSRP. There is a reason why it’s called the manufacturer’s SUGGESTED retail price. The price you see on the sticker is only a guideline for the sale price and in no way is it written in stone.

Some people make the mistake of thinking that this is the retail price. The car salesman would love to make a deal from this starting point because the actual dealer cost for the car is much lower. They can afford to “give” you $1000 off the MSRP when in reality they’re not really giving anything away at all. If you’re shopping for a deal, start with the dealer’s invoice price or factory invoice as a place to begin pricing talks. More...

Visiting your local car dealership can be exciting and distressing all at the same time. You feel excited because you are in the hunt for a new or used car and can hardly wait to buy one. But you can also feel distressed because you dread having to hammer out a good deal, which could take up your whole day.

But there are some things that you can do to minimize the stress and anxiety of car buying if you just follow a few easy tips. The first one is to know what model car you want. Although this may sound too basic, the truth of the matter is that many car shoppers go to a dealer without any clue as to what they want.

Being unprepared puts you at the mercy of the car salespeople and they will take advantage of the situation by upselling you to a more expensive car or features that you don’t really need. It’s great for them because they get a commission on what they can sell to you, but bad because you’ll be paying more for a car that isn’t suitable. So be prepared and do your car homework. More...

 If you were expecting to see tips on getting discounts or coupons for car repairs and maintenance, sorry, you won't find it here in this article. But what you will find out are strategies to keep your car in top shape and what not to do to your car.

 Some of these tips may surprise you and some may seem so basic that you’ll wonder if it is really worth the effort, but the short answer to this question is a definite “yes.” One thing you can do immediately is to just read through your car manual. We know, it’s not exactly quick reading, but at least go over the manual to familiarize yourself with the car and its maintenance schedule. More...

One of the most interesting feature in some cars are keyless ignitions. You don’t need a key to unlock or start your car; all you need is a special electronic key fob transmitter that sends a unique code to the electronic ignition receiver. Once the code is confirmed, the door unlocks and you can start the car with a push of a button.

All of this happens without any keys. The only requirement is that you have the key fob transmitter on your person. When you get within a certain distance of the car, it will unlock. Some more advanced cars actually start as you approach. More...

Nobody wants or likes to get a moving violation, but sometimes things happen and you are pulled over by an officer of the law or the Highway Patrol. You may not be able to prevent the ticket, but there are some things you can do to put you and the officer at ease.

If you see the red and blue flashing lights in your rear-view mirror, pull over safely to the side of the road, or take the next available freeway exit. You are most vulnerable at this time because you are nervous or upset, so pay attention to the traffic around you to avoid getting into an accident.

As you pull over to the side of the road, the officer will stop the patrol car behind you and check your license plate number with the on-board computer to see if there are any problems associated with the vehicle. After the patrol-person comes to your window, roll it down and keep both hands visible to show the officer you have nothing to hide. More...