The 5 Most Common Car Dealer Tricks To Be Wary Of

Loading Vehicle Picker...
Initialising Vehicle Picker...

The 5 Most Common Car Dealer Tricks To Be Wary Of

Posted on by carbroker

We can all picture the stereotypical, ‘bad guy’ car dealer. He’s either a charismatic, seemingly friendly, smiling-but-barely-concealing-his-fangs type operator – or he’s blunt and nasty, like Danny Devito as Matilda’s dad in the movie Matilda. So, when it comes to the nasty tricks of these nasty characters, what are we supposed to look out for? Thankfully, you probably won’t have to worry about the car dealer rewinding the odometer like Matilda’s dad did; that kind of stuff is highly illegal and could just about get a whole dealership shut down.

In reality, the common tricks of car dealers are a lot more sneaky, a lot more subtle. Here are the five most common car dealer tricks to be wary of, brought to you by the good guys at Carbroker.com.au.

1. Being your friend

Sometimes, they’re being just polite, and other times, they’re trying to gain your trust so that they can influence you to spend more – either on the car itself or with extras after the purchase. A common trick of car dealers is to offer you more coffee, get to know you better and generally keep you in the car yard for no less than an hour, so that you’ve established some sort of personal connection with them. This is aimed to make you feel guilty if you take your business elsewhere. Avoid this by looking out for yourself, and recognising this trick from the start.

2. Phantom cars

Now you see it, now you don’t. Phantom cars are something we can thank the internet for. Let’s say you’re looking for a specific make and model, in automatic transmission. You find one listed on the net, head to the dealership to check it out and, turns out, it’s actually a manual. Now, this could be an honest mistake, but it’s likely just a trick to get you into the dealership, earn your trust and sell you face-to-face.

3. High balling

When trading in your car, the dealer might offer you a suspiciously high price for your car, making you feel like you’ve got a great deal. In actual fact, we can guarantee you they’re bumping up the price of the car you’re trading it for.

4. Puppy dogging

“Why don’t you take her home for the night?” – a classic dealer line that’s designed to make you fall in love with the car. This not only gives you a great feeling about the car, but makes the dealer seem like a nice, trustworthy person too.

5. Stalling

This one happens less often these days but it’s still one to watch out for. Stalling is done in the form of misplacing the customer’s keys, ‘accidentally’ blocking their car or taking a long time to assess your vehicle for a trade-in. The idea is to keep you in the dealership as long as possible.

The list of dealer tricks is endless – but luckily, there’s someone to help you avoid them. Carbroker.com.au are Australia’s best team of car brokers, steering you away from the nasty dealers and putting you in touch with the good ones. Many of the brokers at Carbroker.com.au were car dealers themselves once upon a time, and can recognise all the tricks in the book. Get in touch with the experts at Carbroker.com.au to get the best deal on your car upgrade.

Testimonials

Don't know how you achieve your prices but it certainly makes a difference, avoids the hassle of dealing with salesmen and has been excellent value for money. Will definitely recommend your services to family and friends.

A.J., Melbourne

All went well with the sale - your dealer was helpful, friendly and arranged the tray with no fuss or fanfare. The whole process has been totally painless and I will (and have been) recommend your service to everyone.

R.H., Mitcham

I am very pleased with the outcome, and I will certainly recommend it to my friends in the future.

D.F., Sydney

This is by far the best money I have EVER spent. An outlay of just a few dollars saved me thousands - even on a limited edition vehicle! In fact, I saved so much I added a few optional accessories and still bought the vehicle at less than the retail price for the car alone (not to mention dealer delivery fees and charges). The savings didn't end there. I saved another bundle with the insurance you recommended (approx 33% less than another quote I already had). The savings here will continue for years to come! Not only will I be recommending your services to everyone I know, I will be using your services again myself. This is the ultimate car purchasing experience! Thank you again for your excellent service and attention to detail.

M.K., Brisbane

I picked up my new Nissan Patrol on Friday afternoon. I would like to thank you for all the work you did on my behalf and the fantastic price you secured my new car for. It was so good not to have to do the rounds of the car yards and try to beat car sales people at what they do best. Your website was also great with tips on how to sell my other car as well as all the other information available on it. The dealership was very professional as well and the car was ready as promised and in a very nice condition.

B.W., Queensland

I took delivery of the new car today. Until it actually happened I had a concern at the back of my mind that it was too good to be true to get the car at the price you obtained for me, with no catches. The dealer rep has been great and I have had no sense of getting cut price service to go with the low price. So, thank you. I am sold and based on my experience I am sure your business will continue to grow simply by word of mouth....mine will be among the loudest.

P.B., Sydney

Thanks for your help. Must admit I was very sceptical in dealing 'on line' with an unknown person/company. As a single woman I don't want the hassle of going backwards and forwards, playing one dealer off the other. I used the internet to get a measure of what's reasonable and then it's 'give me your best price' no second chance. Some people can't get their head around that but life's too short. I only want to deal with ethical people. I'm happy that a salesperson makes a profit but it has to be fair for both parties. Thanks and I'll be recommending your site to friends.

M.F., Brisbane

I’d just like to comment on how smooth it was to purchase my car using your service. The finance broker you put me on to helped the hip pocket as much as the price you were able to secure for me. Thank you so much for making a major purchase easy, smooth and without buyer’s remorse. I will be looking you up when it comes time to replace our other car and I will continue to recommend you to all my family and friends

M.P., Melbourne

A short note to say thanks for the professional and profitable service that you've just delivered to me. Getting the best price from the city and then translating to a country dealer in a small town made it a lot easier. You'd be surprised how many times we bump into each other, and taking the local personality out of the negotiation was much appreciated by both the dealer and myself.

K.P., Armidale

Just a note to say a HUGE THANK-YOU for your services. You were very prompt in replying, and saved us $3000 on the purchase of our new car (almost 10% on the total cost of the car). With a young family, that's a huge saving for us. Thank-you again.

K.S., Brisbane

Carbroker.com.au