Although purchasing a car is one of the nicest experiences anybody can have, it can also be rather frightening. There are cars for sale all over, and when buying from dealers, it can be difficult to determine whether they are trustworthy or dishonest auto dealers. Even worse, if you make a mistake, it isn’t always simple to fix.
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These can all be equally intimidating, but with the appropriate guidance and some reliable knowledge, there are several things you can watch out for to help you identify and stay away from a shady vehicle dealer.
Automobile Dealers
Depending on how you approach the problem and how comfortable you are around vehicles, dealing with shady car dealers directly or through dealerships may be both simpler and more difficult. Like they always are when buying a used car, the majority of the hints are in the homework. Before choosing one of them, think about the others as well.
- Reviews
The simplest way to identify a shady vehicle dealer is always to read reviews. A victim of a dishonest vendor will almost always feel compelled to warn others to avoid suffering the same fate. The most apparent places to look are places like Google business listings as even unregistered firms can have reviews and unclaimed accounts created for them. A thorough internet search for your dealership or even the dealer’s name can help you find reviews from other customers. Social media is another excellent place to look. Finding trustworthy sellers online shouldn’t be difficult, especially if they can brag about positive customer reviews.
- Commercial Information
On a similar point, it’s a good idea to look for further information about the company while you are browsing the web for people complaining about a shady vehicle dealer. They might, for instance, be listed as a company. If so, you can find out how long they have been in business, the identity of the owner (which you can check up on and compare to other businesses and reviews), and even their financial records, which may reveal shady conduct. Though some merchants might not be on their companies’ websites, it’s still worth a shot.
- Inaccuracies
A shady auto salesperson seeking to scam you can be easily identified and avoided by looking for inaccuracies. You can learn a lot about the car, the exact model, and the mileage that should be associated with it by history. Also, you can utilize the vehicle’s information to determine its market value, comprehend unusually high or low prices, and determine whether a trap may be lurking around the corner. For instance, if the dealer fabricates information regarding the vehicle, this is a clue they are more focused on selling the vehicle quickly and missing a payment.
- Attitude
Even though this tip is a little more debatable than the others on the list, it is still important to keep in mind if you ever have to deal with a seasoned vehicle salesperson (or conman, if you’re unlucky). A dealer’s attitude might reveal a lot about them. They might try to move the car before you detect a problem or before you realise what you’re getting into if they’re in a rush to get you out of the automobile or to finish the deal (more so than the typical salesperson). It may sound brazen, but a salesperson could be acting badly if they’re trying to coerce you into paying more money or avoiding seeing something.
- Car Conditions
Lastly, a great one that is specific to physical dealerships, in particular, is if the dealership is of bad quality. What we mean here are cars that are broken or filthy, have damaged parts, or are generally bad news. The condition of a car can tell you a lot about the seller, especially if they are a professional, so it’s always worth making sure they take care of their cars and not just the one you’re there to look at.
Online Sellers
In recent years, online car buying isn’t safe from dodgy car dealers either, since it’s just as easy to be stung online as it is in person. Although you might actually have a few more consumer rights to cover your back when buying online, it’s also harder to be able to get a solid understanding of what it is you’re buying. It’s a lot easier for dealers to hide things that you might see in person, and therefore the risk can be much higher too.
- Reviews
We won’t get into too much depth since we’ve covered this above, but it’s always a valid point to check reviews for online car sellers. They might have reviews on marketplaces, seller feedback, or simply reviews on review-based platforms. Do your homework!
- Generic Pictures
Take note of the pictures that are being used for the advertisements of the car, and try to compare them with the info you’re provided with, too. Check that the picture is of the actual car, for example. Many sellers use generic pictures found online to represent the car that you’re buying, and may not use the actual car you’re looking at. They may even photoshop it, too. Others may go a step further and use other sellers’ pictures altogether. (Remember, you can search using an image in search engines like google. If it appears in other places, it’ll show up!) Never be afraid to ask for new pictures from a seller, pictures often look better than real life, especially with cars.
- Suspicious behaviour
Suspicious behaviour isn’t only strictly applicable to dealerships, either. Online car buying is just as susceptible to dodgy car dealers and their tactics, too. Things like avoiding questions are a common example, as well as breezing past subjects, being too busy for conversations, and generally giving you a hard time when you’re trying to give them money, after all. If it is hard to buy the car, imagine how difficult it could be to try and get them to fix an issue that might be present with the vehicle when you receive it.
- No Information
It’s much too easy to feel spoiled for choice when shopping online for cars. Always make sure that you have all of the information that you need when buying a car. Don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you need to before you commit to a purchase. If the listing is avoiding information, it could be a bad sign that they don’t want you to know that info, or worse still, that they don’t even have that information available themselves to be able to give you. In any case, it’s not good news. Don’t fall victim to a bargain
Conclusion
All things considered, buying a car is never completely safe, and no matter where you are buying, things can and do go wrong. Even buying new can result in problems, but with the right checks, warranties, and guarantees in place, you can do everything in your power to protect yourself and make sure that if something is to go wrong, it isn’t your responsibility, and in a worst-case scenario, you can get your money back too if you choose to buy it in the first place knowing everything there is to know about the vehicle in question.
