10 crazy items that car dealers have found to sell you in. Find out how much they really cost and better yet don’t buy them.
Car dealerships are notorious for overcharging for simple items that you could easily DIY.
In this article, I’m going to show you how to avoid these common car dealer scams and save big money!
1. Window Tint
A good window tint like this is very easy to get at any place across the country. a good window tint or a ceramic tint is gonna probably be $250 to 300 depending on your market!
Dealerships will purchase the cheapest window tint for your car, which will cost $100 to $150 but they’ll sell it for 500 or more after that, so never let a dealer tint your windows!
2. Nitrogen
The next big thing that dealers are currently marketing is nitrogen, which is the industry’s largest snake oil fraud! Nitrogen is already in the air; you don’t need to pay extra for it!
Consumer Report’s tests show that using nitrogen is not worth the money or inconvenience
That’s right, they want you to believe that adding this harmless gas will somehow make your car run better. Don’t fall for their tricks!
What they’re really doing, is you’re paying them 20 bucks a tire to put nitrogen in and they’re gonna mark up that nitrogen and make another 100 and something dollars on top of that you can get nitrogen at any tire store across town for 5 bucks a tire!
So, don’t fall for the scam of nitrogen in your tires.
I do a lot of customers consulting for people looking to make sure they get a good car deal if you want to do that service you can go to chevydude.com and schedule a time to find out if you’re getting a good deal or not
3. Lifetime Car Washes
Dealers are actually building car washes to sell you car washes for life! No, but seriously.
This is different if the dealership is giving away Free Car Washes for Life with the purchase of a new car, but most of the time they are not. They’re charging you for it.
I worked for a dealership that offered free car washes for life, which is one of the first dealerships I worked for. It was a free service, and I believe it’s the nicest free benefit anyone can get when purchasing a vehicle.
Because people said to me, “I’ll get free car washes for life if you go to this dealership.”
The catch is that these “Car Washes for Life” are usually just coupons which you still have to pay the actual cost of each time… But on top of that, dealers tack on an additional fee to receive the coupon book! Ouch.
If you do buy a car with one of these deals, make sure to break the contract immediately if they don’t improve their equipment. You can also sue for breach of contract or fraud in some states.
4. Lifetime Warranty
This terminology can be found all over the country, from car dealerships’ lifetime warranties to tires with lifetimes. Wherever I may benefit from you, I’m going to sucker you into buying something that should normally have a lifetime warranty.
Check out my video on The BIGGEST warranty scam in the industry!
Oh, the other issue with the lifetime warranty is that it’s not actually “lifetime.” The manufacturer knows these things wear out within 30 years.
So they make incredibly advantageous deals knowing how much money you’ll be losing after 10 years of use…
Don’t want to purchase a car based on a lifetime warranty since the typical individual replaces their car every 39 months!
Be cautious with anything that ensures to last a lifetime!
5. Appearance Packages
Dealers like to dress up automobiles with appearance packages! The car may be standard, but the appearance package will include an upgraded radio and maybe a sunroof.
It’s almost as if they’re telling you that you can’t afford the nicer version of the vehicle until they dress it up to make it look better.
Well, this is even worse when you consider how many dealerships state that the upgraded vehicle is only “a few hundred dollars more” than the base or standard model.
If they’re going to add features on for a high price, why not just have the car there from the start?
In either case, you shouldn’t have to pay extra for features that should already be included in a new automobile at a dealership.
Dealerships will buy a new vehicle from the manufacturer without any accessories and begin adding their own stripes, vent shades, bullet antennas, and other features.
We’re not saying that it’s all terrible, but if a dealership does these little things on every car they sell, it’s for one reason: to make a lot of money with minimal work!
An ethical dealership, like mine, would have maybe one or two vehicles in stock that are highly equipped, such as trucks, and will show you what you can do with steps and all sorts of wonderful exciting things.
6. Entertainment System
The truth is, however, that most of these systems are pretty horrible.
In fact, the technology is so bad that you often have to stop your car and restart it in order to get the DVD player working properly!
A lot of them will freeze halfway through playback because they don’t seem to realize that most people will play DVDs back-to-back or on continuous repeat.
Most of these systems aren’t worth a lot, but they’re a big eye-catcher to make it seem as if that car is more advanced than it actually is.
You know, don’t recall the figure, but I believe it was somewhere around 70% to 80% of two-year-olds who can use their parent’s iPhone without difficulty, probably better than you.
So there’s not much you can do about it. Simply allow them to utilize an iPad or iPhone, and you’ll be fine!
7. Dealership Preparation Fee
Dealerships will charge you to prep the cars before you take delivery of them
I’ve never been a huge fan of dealership prep because I’ve always known that Harley dealers were huge on the whole dealer prep thing, but every automobile maker out there pays the dealer to do what’s known as PDI or pre-delivery inspection before they sell it.
It may be as easy as removing steps from trucks or, in extreme cases, splitting splitters off of sports cars.
It’s also possible that filling the tank with gas and removing all of the plastic from it falls into this dealer prep fee, that the dealership should and will inform you about!
It’s a scam about 100 percent of the time, if you’re being charged dealer preparation fees, DONT PAY IT!
8. Independent Telematics Systems
Next, I’m hesitant to speak about it because the previous time I mentioned it on my channel, a lot of them connected with me on Linkedin, which appeared susThe most insane items that automobile dealers have found to sell you in. Find out how much they really cost and better yet don’t buy them.
and would be third-party independent telematics systems.
I’m not a fan of them like LoJack & independent GPS systems, dealerships use these for one reason and it’s to create profit
The salesperson is there only to get a commission for selling you something and after you leave the dealership, they don’t care about your vehicle or if it’s stolen.
They’re solely focused on getting you back in the shop so that you can spend more money with them!
If you go out and try to buy LoJack on your own, you’re going to find out that they only sell to dealers and nowhere else.
Those third-party GPS units they’re pretty crappy and who knows how they work
If you want that system on your car pretty much most new car manufacturers have a telematics system on them and you can elect to pay them if you choose to do so!
9. Third Blinking Brake Lights
When you’re driving on the road, do you want to know if anyone else got swindled? Take a look at their brake light!
Third blinking brake lights are popular with dealerships across the country since they provide made-up statistics.
Claiming that you’re 69% more likely to avoid an accident because you’re more visible, distracted drivers will see it faster as a result of the pulsing!
All of this stuff is completely made up, and it’s why you’ll see third brake lights everywhere.
Do your own research, and if you want that third brake light, then get it! Just somewhere else!
Never let a dealership put one of these on your bill of sale because it’s a big scam!
Even the dealerships employees don’t believe that the service department is giving them a fair shake!
10. Color Changing Valve Stem Caps
The 10th craziest item that I see dealers actually sell is new to me and that would be color-changing valve stem covers
I’m not talking about those led lights you put on here to make you look really cool at night!
Dealerships will take off the valve stem covers and put new ones on.
These new ones will make sure that your tire is inflated while showing an indicator light if they are not.
If you do not know about the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) since September 2007, every vehicle now has one.
You don’t need this third-party junk being put on there! All these colors are already available through your TPMS!
If you do want to buy one of these I would recommend following this link to Amazon and purchasing through them!
Which one of these is the craziest item you’ve ever seen?
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You can now find me at my own dealership in southern Indiana. My wife and I started Mike’s Car Store Located in Georgetown, In. Where Buying a Car Doesn’t Have to Suck™
If you are in the area, stop by and see us!
