Everything You’ll Ever Need to Know About How Not to Be Ripped Off by a Car Dealer

If you’re a regular reader of this column and/or a listener to my radio show, thank you very much. Did you know that everything I’ve ever said  for the past 20 years on my radio show and this column is available at www.EarlOnCars.com?  

If you go to www.EarlOnCars.com, you can click on links or search for virtually everything we’ve ever explained or discussed on the radio show,  written in newspaper columns, and posted on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.  

These are just a few of the resources you’ll find at www.EarlOnCars.com: 

• You can listen to podcasts of all our past radio shows. Just click on the Apple Podcast app, TuneIn Radio, Google Podcasts or whatever your favorite podcast app is.  

• We’ve archived our past mystery shopping Reports. Every week for years we’ve dispatched an undercover, mystery shopper to pretend to buy or lease a car at different car dealerships. We read the report on the air. We name names…car dealerships, salesmen, and sales managers. We vote to “grade” each car dealership on a scale of A to F. Passing dealerships are listed on our “Recommended Dealer List” with their grades and those who get an F are on the “Do Not Buy” list. The proof of our honesty and accuracy is in the fact that WE’VE NEVER BEEN SUED BY ANY CAR DEALER WE’VE MYSTERY SHOPPED since we began mystery shopping weekly 20 years ago. Why? Any lawyer will tell you that the perfect defense against libel and slander is the TRUTH.  

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• You can file a formal complaint with government agencies when you click on our link that lists the car dealer complaint contact information for the Attorney General, Department of Motor Vehicles, and Department of Consumer Affairs.  

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• You can Search www.EarlOnCars.com for any subject pertaining to buying, leasing, maintaining or repairing your car. There are lots of article on leasing, financing, negotiating, deceptive advertising, and third-party sources to get the lowest, honest prices on cars.  

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• Contact information (phone numbers, emails, and text numbers for every member of the Earl On Cars team…Nancy Stewart (my co-host), Stu Stewart (my son and mystery shopping spymaster), and Rick Kearney, Certified Diagnostic Master Auto Technician.  

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• Join “Earl’s Vigilantes” or locate a vigilante in your area. We’ve formed a team of volunteers around the country and are recruiting more weekly. If you’re a knowledgeable person on buying, leasing, repairing and maintaining cars and comfortable with online, digital shopping, please sign up. The information application is available at www.EarlOnCars.com. This is particularly important for seniors who are not digitally skilled to shop online.  

Common Hazards of Servicing the Vehicle You Purchased from your Car Dealership

• You DON’T have to have your car serviced by the selling dealer. But you must have new car warranty work performed by a franchised dealer of the make car you own…it doesn’t have to be the dealer that sold you your car. Your warranty requires that you maintain your car according to your car manufacturer’sowner’s manual. Most car dealers will have an “enhanced” list of recommended maintenance which is designed to enhance their service department’s profits. A good rule of thumb is to ignore any service recommended by your dealer that’s not listed in the manufacturer’s owner manual. You should always keep receipts of all service you have done by whomever maintains your car. It might be necessary to prove to your car’s manufacturer that their recommended maintenance was performed in the event of a warranty claim.

• Car dealers make a lot more money servicing cars than selling them. AutoNation, the largest new car dealership group in the USA, made over seven times as much money from their service and parts operations than their new car sales last year. The person that greets you in the dealership service drive is a commissioned salesperson even though their nametag might say “Service Advisor” or “Assistant Sales Manager”. The more service this salesman sells you, the more money he makes. The mechanic that works on your car and the service manager are also paid on commission.

• Most car dealerships charge hidden fees in addition to the service you thought you were paying. These fees are disguised with names that make them look legitimate. Some examples are “Sundry or miscellaneous supplies”, “Hazardous Waste Disposal Fee”, and “Nuts, bolts, screws and other fasteners”. These may, or may not be costs to the service department, but they’re costs of doing business and should have been included in the price quoted to you. Typically, they’re calculated by a percent of the total invoice, usually 10%. These fees are always added at the bottom of your service invoice. There’s a good chance that the service cashier or service manager will remove this bogus charge if you complain. Most people never notice.

• Car dealers advertise low prices on common maintenance items like oil changes, tire rotations, wheel balances, and tires. They know they must do this to “get you in the door”. Where they make their big money is on major repairs like transmissions, air-conditioners and water pumps. These expensive items are negotiable, and you should always get competitive bids from other service departments.

• Always get a written estimate for your total charges before signing the repair order. Many states, including Florida, require the repairer to provide a written estimate if asked. In Florida, the repairer cannot exceed that written estimate by more than 10%.

• In most states, the repairer can hold your car until you pay for your service. The legal term is a “mechanic’s lien”. If you don’t pay your bill, the repairer can sell your car and keep the portion of the proceeds to cover what you owe. A mechanics lien takes precedent over bank’s lien if your car is financed.