Tokolosh
Member
And it is tough to find a definitive list of good guys versus bad guys. So many shenanigans to deal with when buying a car.
I bought a used Trail Boss last weekend. The advertised price was really attractive but I knew they'd have some tricks behind what they put on their website. When I sat down to negotiate the price they hit me with the $2,000 reconditioning fee they put on every used vehicle they sell and a $4,000 "Customer Care Plan" that they wouldn't pull off the deal. Those numbers flipped it from a good deal to over the KBB/NADA value before tax, title and license are considered. Then they had a bunch of additional warranties to "offer" at signing. Of course they were already included in the paperwork.
But customers might have some ammo in this. You should check the laws in your state. Here in Texas (maybe this is a federal law, I don't know for sure) there is a required 30 day period where a customer can request full reimbursement for aftermarket warranties and service contracts. Most dealers I know of use Ethos Group found at EGAssurance.com. The FAQ page has a link to download the contract cancellation form. Just email that in and you can get reimbursed for any of those contracts you didn't actually want.
So after some legwork I got the deal back to what I feel is a good deal for the truck I bought. The amounts paid will go to you, if you paid cash, or to the lienholder, if you financed it. If you are buying and you live where these can be cancelled you might even be able to ask the dealer to knock the price of the vehicle down a little bit to cover a portion of the warranty they are trying to add. Then you get the benefit of a reduced price plus the reimbursement of the warranty when you request the cancellation.
I bought a used Trail Boss last weekend. The advertised price was really attractive but I knew they'd have some tricks behind what they put on their website. When I sat down to negotiate the price they hit me with the $2,000 reconditioning fee they put on every used vehicle they sell and a $4,000 "Customer Care Plan" that they wouldn't pull off the deal. Those numbers flipped it from a good deal to over the KBB/NADA value before tax, title and license are considered. Then they had a bunch of additional warranties to "offer" at signing. Of course they were already included in the paperwork.
But customers might have some ammo in this. You should check the laws in your state. Here in Texas (maybe this is a federal law, I don't know for sure) there is a required 30 day period where a customer can request full reimbursement for aftermarket warranties and service contracts. Most dealers I know of use Ethos Group found at EGAssurance.com. The FAQ page has a link to download the contract cancellation form. Just email that in and you can get reimbursed for any of those contracts you didn't actually want.
So after some legwork I got the deal back to what I feel is a good deal for the truck I bought. The amounts paid will go to you, if you paid cash, or to the lienholder, if you financed it. If you are buying and you live where these can be cancelled you might even be able to ask the dealer to knock the price of the vehicle down a little bit to cover a portion of the warranty they are trying to add. Then you get the benefit of a reduced price plus the reimbursement of the warranty when you request the cancellation.
