Why Even “Honest” Car Dealers Lie to You

If you owned a business that employed a lot of people, including family and friends, that all depended on their earnings from that business to support themselves and their families, how important would the SURVIVAL of that business be to you? Of course, you and your family also depend entirely on the earnings from that business to provide housing, food, medical care, and education for you and your family. Arguably the strongest instinct in all living creatures, including humans, is SURVIVAL. Would you break the law, act unethically, or deceive someone if it was necessary to provide food, shelter, or medical care for you and your loved ones?

All retail businesses must advertise their products to sell them. Arguably, the most important factor in the consumer’s decision to buy is the LOWEST PRICE. Granted, quality and reliability of the product are important too, but once a buyer has decided on the best product, she begins looking for the lowest price. Most car dealerships each sell one brand of cars and a few sell several. Once the consumer chooses the brand, they begin shopping for the lowest price. A Ford, Honda, Jeep, or Toyota at one dealership is the same as those at all other dealerships. Furthermore, the car dealers all pay the manufacturers the same price for their cars. Despite what car dealers may tell you, large volume dealers don’t pay less for their cars than small volume dealers.

Consumers learn the lowest prices from car dealers advertising…online-digital, TV, radio, newspapers, email and snail mail. This is where the problem arises. If you’re in the market to buy a New 2019 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara 4X4 with an MSRP of $53,940, you’re going to check prices at all the Jeep dealerships in your market first. Usually there are at least 3 dealers for each brand in a market, but when you add shopping online a buyer can shop prices at DOZENS of dealerships. You’ll buy your Jeep from the dealer that gives you the biggest discount from MSRP, the lowest price.

All car dealers, of course, know that you will visit the dealer with the lowest price, so they must be sure their advertised price will be either lowest or close to it. They can only ensure that you won’t find a lower price by pricing their Jeep lower than they can afford to sell it, often below their true cost. This is how HIDDEN FEES, aka DEALER FEES came to exist. These hidden charges aren’t fees at all…at least not legitimate government fees; Hidden dealer fees are PROFIT TO THE DEALER which are not revealed to you in the advertising or the prices quoted to you online, by phone, or in person. A car dealer with $1,000 in hidden fees (average in South Florida) can advertise a car for $1,000 lower than he can afford to sell it for and still make a profit after he adds his hidden fees.

HAVE YOU EVER BOUGHT A CAR FOR THE ACTUAL ADVERTISED PRICE? Most people will say “no” and those that say “yes” probably were tricked into believing the hidden fees that were added were legitimate government fees like sales tax and license plate. Dealers can “name” a hidden fee anything they like. They typically choose names that sound “official” like tag agency fee, electronic filing fee, doc fee, notary fee, doc stamps, administrative fee, dealer handling fee, and dealer prep fee. Often, buyers never see the fees because they aren’t added until you’ve signed the dealer “worksheet” which you thought was a purchase agreement. It’s not a legal document and this disclaimer is in the fine print. Dealer do this, so they don’t have to disclose all of their hidden fees. These are printed out on the real buyer’s order in the Finance Office, along with reams of other paper and fine print that nobody has the time to read.

Who’s to blame for this sad state of affairs? The answer is our legislators and regulators, both federal and state. The political contributions by auto manufacturers, car dealers, and their associations dwarf that of the gun manufactures and NRA and rival those of Big Insurance. If the auto manufacturers and dealers don’t want a politician elected, he just must find another line of work.

About the only thing you can do to get the best price on a car is to outsmart the car dealer, and I have tool that you can download that will help you. It was invented by Nancy Stewart, my wife and co-host of my consumer advocacy radio show, “Earl on Cars”. Download this form at www.OutTheDoorPriceAffidavit.com. It is a legal affidavit that you insist your car dealer sign before you sign to buy any new or used vehicle. The car dealer is swearing that the price he advertised or quoted is the true out-the-door price plus government fees only. If the car dealer won’t sign it, buy your car from the dealer that will.