Buying a car is one of the biggest purchases most of us make, and it is easy to walk out of a dealership feeling like you missed something. A car buying coach who goes by Billy the Car Kid, @billythecarkid, says he spends his days calling dealerships on behalf of clients across the country. He introduces himself as Bill, a car buying expert who loves saving people money, and he lays out four tricks he says dealers use to take advantage of shoppers. Here is what he warns about, along with some practical ways to protect yourself.
@billythecarkid
Trick one: add-ons hiding in the final price
Bill’s first warning is about dealership accessories and add-ons that show up when you ask for the final out-the-door price. He says that whether you walk in or follow his advice and call ahead for numbers, you should never see add-ons on that breakdown unless you asked for them. As an example, he shows a price breakdown for a Nissan Armada. At the top are all the extras the dealer has stacked on, and lower down are the fees that normally belong on final paperwork, which he calls the normal ones.
His point is that if you accept the add-ons without saying anything, the dealer makes a lot more profit. If you push back and argue to get them removed, you may end up spending your energy on those extras instead of negotiating the real price of the vehicle, which is what most shoppers meant to focus on in the first place. Typical add-ons you may see include paint protection, nitrogen in the tires, window etching, and pinstripes. Some can be worth it to certain buyers, but you should be the one to choose them, not find them already on the sheet.
Trick two: pushing you into dealer financing
The second trick is a dealership that insists you finance with them. Bill explains that some dealers offer a discount on the vehicle if you take their financing, but if you want to pay cash or bring your own loan, you pay full price, which he describes as usually an inflated price. In his view, any dealer that leans on you to use their financing does so because they make a lot of money on the finance side of the deal.
He suggests a workaround. If you love the vehicle and want the discount but do not want their loan, you can agree to the discounted price and finance through them at first. Then, when you are in the finance office, you can ask about any prepayment penalty. If there is none, you could walk out the door, call your own bank or credit union, and make your first payment on the loan you had lined up. As Bill describes it, that lets you capture both the discount and a better interest rate. Since every deal is different, read the paperwork carefully and confirm there is no penalty before relying on this approach.
Trick three: running your credit to give you a price
The third trick, he says, is one he has been hearing about a lot. A shopper asks a dealer for a price with taxes and fees, and the dealer replies that they must run the buyer’s credit first to give the final number. Bill calls that a lie. His position is that your credit should only be run after you have agreed on the final price, and only then to find out your interest rate. If you get the best price and the best interest rate, he says, you end up with the best possible monthly payment.
A credit check also shows up as an inquiry on your report, and several of them in a short stretch can lower your score slightly, though rate shopping for the same type of loan within a brief window is typically treated as one inquiry by scoring models. The simple rule is to settle the price first.
Trick four: refusing to give pricing over the phone
The fourth warning is one Bill calls a no brainer. He says that roughly half of the dealerships he calls will not give pricing over the phone and insist that he come in. In his view, that is the dealership saying it plans to take advantage of the customer and does not want them to see better pricing elsewhere. He says the dealers who are willing to give numbers by phone or email are usually the ones who are less likely to play games, with plenty of disclaimers and a smoke and mirrors approach. The more business those transparent dealers get, he says, the more business is taken away from the bad ones.
His advice is to do yourself a favor and call every dealership first, do everything from home, and not accept anything but the best deal.
How to use this advice
- Ask for the out-the-door price in writing. Request an itemized breakdown by email, including taxes, title, registration, and the dealer documentation fee.
- Get your own financing quote first. A pre-approval from a bank or credit union gives you a rate to compare against the dealer’s offer.
- Compare at least three dealers. Even a few minutes on the phone can reveal big price differences.
- Remember that you can walk away. Nothing is final until you sign. Being patient is one of your strongest tools.
Keep in mind that this is one buying coach’s opinion based on his own experience, and not every dealership operates this way. Many are straightforward and treat customers well. But the questions Bill suggests are reasonable for any shopper to ask, and knowing the order of the process, price first, then financing, keeps you in control of the deal.