I was a car dealer for 15 years – here are the tricks you need to watch out for

A former car dealer has revealed the tips and tricks to look out for when buying your next car. 

Jase Patrick, who was a car dealer for fifteen years, has shed light on the often deceptive tactics salespeople use that can land customers with a larger bill. 

Between 80 and 85 percent of new vehicles purchased by Americans over the past three years are financed, and as much as 40 percent of used vehicles, according to a recent report from Experian. 

It is therefore important to the former car salesman that he helps to make people aware of the methods used to increase monthly payments before signing the papers. 

‘The price online is only to get people into the dealership, it has zero correlation with what they pay,’ Patrick warned. 

Former car dealer Jase Patrick is helping shed light on the auto financing industry 

Around 85 percent of new vehicles purchased over the past three years are financed

Being rushed when signing documents 

One trick that Patrick warns car buyers to keep a wary eye on is if they feel rushed to sign documents by a salesperson.

Patrick told American Prospect about a first-time buyer, Mario from Corona, California, who was being rushed and was told by a salesperson that he was not able to see his auto loan agreement in full. 

‘This is the ideal customer,’ Jase told the publication, ‘this is what they [salespeople] train for.’ 

By rushing Mario through an unfair finance agreement, the 20-year-old nearly signed a deal that would have cost him more than $20,000 than it needed to over the life of the loan, according to Patrick. 

Interest rate tied to warranty 

Patrick, who is now a finance director, advises potential car buyers to look out for dealers claiming that buying a lower interest rate is tied to buying a warranty product for the vehicle. 

It is in fact illegal to tie a lower interest rate to a warranty, Patrick told American Prospect. 

However, many dealerships will still claim this is the case in order to ‘pad’ the original product being sold he explained. 

Salespeople search for the ‘perfect customer’ that they can squeeze for profit, Patrick warns 

Junk add-ons 

It is important not to be swept up by finance and insurance (F&I) representatives at car dealerships adding further unnecessary products to the monthly payments, according to Patrick. 

In the case of Mario in California, Patrick said these salespeople had added $7,100 in extras, including a warranty, a ‘door guard,’ nitrogen-filled tires, two anti-theft systems, and a guaranteed asset protection (GAP) policy.

The door guard could be bought for $10 on Amazon but Mario was set to be charged $695, Patrick said.

Moreover, ‘nitrogen-filled tires,’ frequently contain no more nitrogen than what is found in ordinary air, according to the FTC. 

Multiple dealerships advertising the same car

One quick and simple way to weed out dealers that might be looking to squeeze their customers is to see if a car they are advertising is also being pushed by other dealers. 

Patrick described these adverts as fishing expeditions for a customer that can be up-sold, increasing a dealerships profit on the sale. 

This is because they are a customer that wants a car but cannot pay in full so can be steered into unfavorable financing terms.