A recent lawsuit filed by employees of a New Jersey auto dealer shows the toxic atmosphere that exists in some car dealerships. While there are many car dealers that respect their employees and customers, we have heard many stories from employees and consumers about...
The Connecticut Appellate Court has dismissed an appeal filed by an auto dealer, A Better Way Wholesale Autos. In its appeal, the dealership was attempting to throw out an arbitrator's decision that the 2004 Mercedes E 500 that it had sold to a Connecticut consumer...
A Wisconsin couple has sued an auto dealership for promising them that a used Mazda 5 station wagon could tow a trailer. The couple wanted to tow a trailer in order to transport an electric wheelchair. The lawsuit alleges that the dealership repeatedly assured them...
Many of our clients tell us about conduct by auto dealers that is quite clearly criminal. Many dealerships regularly engage in forgery, fraud, and outright theft of money.State laws provide for serious criminal sanctions for this type of conduct, including jail time....
We are approaching the busiest time of the year for car sales. If you are considering buying a car in the next couple of months, here is a checklist of things to do BEFORE your first visit a car dealership. 1. Check your credit report for errors: About half of...
Industry insiders know that some auto dealerships regularly engage in criminal activity. For example, one employee of a large Connecticut dealership recently confirmed to me that dealership employees routinely forge signatures; he said that forging a signature was...
Games Dealers Play: The Waiting Game Buying a new or used car can be an exhausting process. Unfortunately, some dealers may drag the process out far longer than necessary. When consumers are tired or hungry, or when they have small children who getting cranky, they...
Incidents of fraud by auto dealers are higher for lower priced cars, according to a recent study. The study, which was conducted by iSeeCars.com, evaluated millions of advertised vehicles and determined that the lower the price, the greater the likelihood that there...
Car rental companies owned nearly 2 million in 2013, and most of those rentals will be resold on the consumer market. Some rental companies have retail divisions that sell former rentals directly to consumers. Many of those cars can be a good deal, and many rental...
One of the biggest tricks in the car business is the "dealer conveyance fee," which is supposed to compensate the dealership for its costs in processing the paperwork, taking care of the registration, and closing the deal. About 20 years ago, dealer conveyance fees...
Used car dealers and salesman are some of the most hated individuals in the U.S. This is mostly due to a pervasive idea that they are fraudsters, and this is why every state has laws against auto dealer fraud. Though, what some may not realize is that federal law also...
Readers of our blog are no stranger to car buying scams. Indeed, many of our blogs are devoted to auto dealer fraud, like last week’s blog. In that blog post, we described how some online “internet prices” were actually after an undisclosed down payment. And, after...
When a Connecticut resident needs a new car chances are they will search the internet first before heading into the dealership. This can be a good way of checking prices, models, features, etc., but a recent article in PC Magazine highlights the deceptive nature of...
Studies show that around 1 in 10 property/casualty insurance claims are fraudulent. In fact, insurance fraud is close behind tax evasion amongst some of the most pervasive white-collar crimes. This means that the likelihood of experiencing the outcome of such fraud is...
When a person purchases a used vehicle, it can sometimes be difficult to know the vehicle’s full history. The vehicle may have been in accident, may have flood damage or may have been owned by several different people. Buyers may not be aware that there are several...
Buying a used car always is a little bit of a gamble. You may choose to buy a car from an auto dealer because you feel better about that than buying one from a private party. However, auto dealers sometimes are sneaky and may try to sell you a car without disclosing...
If you believe that you have become a victim of auto fraud, it's likely that you have had some unpleasant interactions with your dealer. You'll likely be left with a bitter taste in your mouth and feeling that you have been short-changed in some way, but you may be a...
Most people in Connecticut realize that those who provide automobile loans have the right to repossess the vehicle if the borrower does not make timely payments. However, what they might not realize is that borrowers have rights during the repossession process, and...
Buying a vehicle is exciting and a big step for many people. For that reason, car buyers and consumers should be familiar with vehicle history disclosure requirements and auto dealer fraud and how they can protect themselves. Vehicle disclosure requirements Vehicle...
Every vehicle is a unique machine that comes with a unique identifier – a vehicle identification number. Known as a “VIN” number, this identifier is an alphanumeric code that provides important information about the vehicle's history. There are ways for...
