You know the old jokes about car salesmen…
You may have encountered one of these fast talking sales guys that just lied the entire time and over charged you for what turned out to be junk…
It is likely that most of us at one time or another have ended up buying something that we really did not want and probably could not afford in the first place. The real problem is that there are many of these “fly by night” used car dealerships, (stealerships?) That prey on those that have almost no choice when it comes to getting a used car financed.
They call these vultures of the junk yards buy here pay here or one of my favorite’s “On the Lot Financing” Meaning that if the car gets off the lot that is about all you can hope for…
High Mileage..
Huge mileages like 245,000 miles on a vehicle that is ten or more years old…
Folks IF you by chance are reading this and you do not realize it…
When a car or truck gets over 100,000 miles on it it is about wore out.
Why else do people trade in cars and trucks at three years old?
They trade in vehicles because they do not want the headache of fixing the vehicle, meaning that normal things that would be replaced have not been fixed or replaced.
Brakes, shocks, steering problems, front end issues, belts hoses alternators batteries and a lot more.
Front Axles that are just completely worn out. This is just a small list of things that you might encounter when buying a vehicle with over 100,000 thousand miles on it..
But wait, were talking 200,000 thousand miles and more right…
Oh yes and guess what the problems you encounter are going to be severe and expensive to fix or repair.
But the fast talking salesman will not tell you this and they will sit there and lie to your face about problems that they know exist but will never tell you about. I am sure there are a few decent used car STEALerships out there but I have not seen one in at least 20 years.
This problem has gotten so bad that the federal government and many states are getting involved in protecting Americans that have to deal with these sorry excuse for a business AKA used car dealer.
I know what you may be thinking not all dealers are this bad but the problem is that a lot of just regular hard working folks out there just are not well educated when it comes to these buy here pay here lots.
First stay away…
Stay away from these buy here pay here or on the lot financing because you will end up paying more for the Junk (alleged junk) than you would pay for a newer car with a warranty.
Pay more in the long run and end up with a vehicle that no longer runs or drives… Is that possible…
Yes and in fact it is quite probable.
Most people see just the surface they need a vehicle and they do not want to drive a beat up junker, so they see mostly on the surface of things.
They might see new paint and think “its a great car or truck” But what about the accident that will cause your tires to wear out ten times as fast as a car or truck that was not in an accident?
These sorry car lots will lie to your face about the condition of a vehicle.
They will tell you (Yes) this was owned by a little old lady that only drove to church on sunday.
But the truth is very different.
High Financing..
How much will financing cost?
The average cost is between 19 percent and 37 percent.
Yes, 37 percent…
So you pay down $2000.00 No warranty expressed or implied.
You then owe two monthly payments (they sometimes call these bi weekly payments which is kind of ignorant but hey it’s a rip off folks) allegedly.
The average payment is 350.00 every two weeks.
That is 700.00 a month.
For a vehicle that already has 240,000 miles on it and is by definition already wore out.
How long do you have to make payments?
Once again the average is 36 months.
Add that up…
Go ahead, seriously add that up the down payment, the higher than normal interest and the length of payments along with the higher than normal payments.
You will find that you paid three times more for that junk vehicle than you would have if you had gone to a reputable dealer. (IF you can find one)
Watch out for the big bait and switch..
Right now there are dealers on facebook that are advertising the entire price of a vehicle as 1200.00 and the MSRP as 341.85
But that is not even real in fact it is against the law but facebook cares not when bucks are coming into the coffers of the great and mighty facebook.
What they mean is that you pay 1200 down and you then pay 341.85 every two weeks for 36 months.
But that is not all folks oh no there is more.
You see the reason why they want you to pay two times a month is that it doubles the price without you really understanding why.
Normal used finance rates are between 3.4 percent and 12 percent.
The monthly payment is usually around 350.00 to 450.00 depending on how new and yes how nice the automobile actually is.
So, if you are paying 350 times two that is the same as paying for two months on a better value at a better reputable business.
Your paying twice as much for a vehicle that cannot even qualify for financing. Wait did we say twice as much? No, think again, if you are paying 19 to 37 percent interest that is another two times.
So… Four times as much….
Please do yourself a favor do not ever go to a buy here pay here lot …
You will end up regretting it perhaps not right away but eventually it will sink in that you got taken advantage of and received nothing but a lot of grief in return.