Archive for the ‘Car’ Category

More Savings

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Some car owners buy grill guards to upgrade the look of their cars, I buy them to protect my car from outside elements when I hit the road. I could not afford to buy a new car in case something happens to my car so aside from the comprehensive insurance I got for my car, I also protect it with grill guards. Good thing finding the right grill guard for my car is very easy and accessible, I do not need to go to a car accessories store, I can actually place an order online and in just a matter of minutes I can order my grill guard and have it shipped to my home. There is actually a great car accessories store online where I can buy the grill guards for my truck and for the car of my wife, aside from the convenience of purchasing online, I can also have more savings rather than buying it from an outside store. The grill guards they offer are made from quality materials so I can assured that the grill guards I will buy will stand the test of time, that means more savings on my part in the long run.

Secret Bonuses to Salespeople for Leases

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

An article in Automotive News told how Ford had been offering cash bonuses to its salespeople for writing Red Carpet Leases. Typical bonus amounts were $75 to $100 per lease, but the bonus was increased if the new lease was a renewal. Some bonuses were as high as $500 per vehicle, and this was in addition to their normal salary and/or commission. The bonus program was started in 1989 and was supposedly discontinued in 1995.
So Ford’s salespeople were presenting themselves to customers as “trusted advisers” and telling them that leasing was the smart thing to do, while they were being paid generous bonuses for convincing people to lease. (And they still got bonuses, and bigger commission checks, if they overcharged customers on leases.) Of course, their customers weren’t told about the bonuses, or the fact that so many of them had been overcharged.

Deceptive Interest Rate Quotes

Saturday, October 17th, 2009

Ford’s method of calculating and quoting interest rates on leases allowed its dealers to deceive their customers into thinking that they were getting lower rates. And since the company did not provide written disclosure of the actual rates, dealers were free to quote any rate that sounded good, without fear of getting caught.
In many cases, the actual interest rates on Ford leases were about 1.5 to 2.0 points higher than those charged by other lenders. Quoting lower rates obviously helped dealers to convince people that their leases were “good deals,” even though the rates may have been deceptive. (Recent quotes obtained from a number of Ford dealers understated the actual interest rates by about $30 a month on one particular vehicle.)
Ford’s “rate discrepancy” is due to a hidden administrative fee that the company adds to its monthly finance charges, but only the “base rate” is used when quoting rates to customers. The undisclosed part of the finance charges causes the real APR to be a lot higher, so if a dealer tells you the “rate” on a lease is 9.0%, it’s probably closer to 10.75%.
The company’s RCL dealer handbook explained this hidden fee in a question-and-answer section: “Q: Is a lease factor like 10.50 the same as a 10.50% APR? A:
No. The lease monthly payment may include local fees, where applicable, and an administrative fee of 1/9 of 1% of the acquisition cost. The implicit rate to the customer is approximately 1.75% point higher than the stated factor.” [emphasis mine]

used car arcains at new car dealerships

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

Some new-car dealers only re-sell the used-car stock near their retail prices. These non-aggressive dealers owner’s don’t require huge profits-margins from their sales managers. In other words, the dealer’s owner is very patient with their sales department and manager. Unfortunately, these new-car dealerships usually don’t discount their used cars enough to interest savvy-buyers. Sales managers who work for non- aggressive dealer would prefer to “safeguard” their in-stack inventory and salesmen’s selling-time, then to sell used-car “cream puffs” at huge discounts to a bunch of bargain hunters! -

Buying cars

Monday, August 17th, 2009

By the mid-90’s new-car buying had slowed down, mainly because few families could pre-qualify for their new-car no cash-down and/or extended-loan automobile purchases. Meanwhile, new cars were getting very expensive to buy, outright! Even, new-car trade-ins yielded little or no cash to their previous owners when returned to the dealers.
Since, fewer new-car buyers were capable of buying “entire cars” with their current credit ratings, leasing become their only alternative to “drive” new cars, again. To make leasing attractive, though, auto manufacturers and new-car dealers had to spend millions of advertising-dollars to convince the public leasing was really okay. But for many, leasing wasn’t okay, nor was it any “cure” to their new-car-buying woes. By the time the 90’s arrived, the average financing terms on new-car loans, extended to six and seven years.
With such extended-loan terms, many new-car buyers discovered, too late, that many “make and model” cars don’t last that long on the road. In fact, many consumers are still making their monthly-payments on cars no-longer running. Since, auto manufacturers must sell their new-car products, somehow, leasing became their only alternative to “push” expensive new automobiles back into the marketplace.

Never buy from Used-Car lots!

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Never buy from Used-Car lots! Avoid used-car lots, entirely. The main reason is used-car dealers pay too much for their cars. This is especially true, if they buy from new car dealers, and/or at local auto-auctions. To buy a quality car — near its Loan-value, would be impossible from used- car dealers. Also, it’s too dangerous to buy cars at used-car lots, because you may be buying a “lemon” in disguise or even a “clipped” car — two cars [their better halves] welded together. Don’t waste your valuable searching or buying- time, and don’t even “practice” on their salesmen! Just stay away.

Car for sale

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Leasing automobiles to the public is big business for new- car dealerships. Consumers who couldn’t get financed on their new-car purchases, can easily lease even more new-car product for about the same monthly payments, as in the past. Leasing became too “easy” for many consumers. They continue leasing their cars, over the years, not realizing their economical loss — of not owning any car’s equity. Soon after, leasing became more complicated as “aggressive” sales managers realized their profit potential — getting more up- front cash form customer yielded them additional dealership profits. Thousands of excited leasing-customers paid their up-front “new-car-delivery” fees with their credit cards. With even fewer consumers having available credit-card cash on them, car dealers continue to “recycle” their “old” new-car leases with expensive brand new cars. Evidently, this is the “latest” means by manufacturers to “push” more product on previous new-car customers