Recently a friend asked me what I thought the worst scam was in the car business.<\/p>\n
That was like asking what car was the best car – too many choices and no focus.\u00a0 I had to think for a long time.\u00a0 I decided to eliminate outright fraud and choose from the many common practices in the market place.\u00a0 I chose \u201cSpot Deliveries<\/span>\u201d.<\/p>\n Spot Deliveries, in themselves, are not scams but how they\u2019re used often turn into scams.\u00a0 On weekends, bank lending departments (including the manufacturers\u2019 lending arms) are not open and therefore cannot approve loans or leases.\u00a0 In the interest of selling a vehicle on weekends, many dealers will do a tentative loan approval<\/span>.\u00a0 The new buyer is happily off driving his new vehicle.\u00a0 Although, this usually happens on weekends, it can also occur on extra busy weekdays as well, if the dealership is backed up and doesn\u2019t feel they have the time to get approvals on the spot.<\/p>\n If, on the next business day, the loan or lease is either disapproved or approved at a higher interest rate by the lending institution, the dealer will contact the buyers to have them return the car with rental charges or sign a corrected loan or lease at a higher payment, causing significant headache and upset to the driver.\u00a0 At the time of the original delivery, if the possibility of\u00a0this loan change or increase in payment (based on the credit score) is not discussed, as often happens, this results in even more weeping and gnashing of teeth.<\/p>\n MORAL OF THE STORY \u2013 If you\u2019re not paying cash and your credit is less than perfect (scores over 700 to 740 depending on the lender), don\u2019t take delivery of a vehicle on\u00a0a weekend\u00a0or at a very busy dealership, unless the loan or lease has been previously finalized and approved<\/span>.\u00a0 Better yet, get a referral to a good broker you can trust and stay out of dealerships altogether, unless accompanied by your broker.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Spot Deliveries at dealerships on weekends are often abused resulting in later consumer higher interest and payments, or worse yet, loan or lease declines by the lending institutions. Continue reading