Dealer tricks at the auto shop
By Bankrate.com

Did you know that you're paying for an auto dealer's vacation every time you purchase a car? You won't believe the incentives the folks down at an auto dealership get for taking your money, says Bankrate reporter Lucy Lazarony.

Lavish trips and cash are common behind-the-scenes incentives at car dealerships. What kind of trips are we talking about? How about a high-rolling Las Vegas vacation, an African safari or a golfing holiday in Scotland? Name an enticing vacation destination and you can bet it has been used as a sales incentive at an auto lot somewhere.

These kinds of incentives are as old as the auto business itself. There are incentives on just about everything in the sales and finance departments. Dealers pass the cost of all these goodies on to consumers by bumping car prices.

Art Spinella, vice president of CNW Marketing/Research in Bandon, Ore., estimates that consumers pay at least $571 more per car or truck for dealer trips and sales bonuses. So a car dealer gets a great vacation or cash reward you and end up paying more for your car. Talk about a rotten deal.

Another note of caution -- hang on to your keys. Two of our readers claim to have been held hostage by dealers determined to make a sale. One escaped, one did not.

Held hostage at a car dealership
I went into the car dealer at 7:30 p.m. After my car was examined for trade in, the dealer refused to give my keys back to me. I was kept in a small room with two salesmen. At midnight I called a friend to come help me get out of the deal they were trying to complete. When he arrived they took him into another small room and offered him pizza and kept him from speaking with me until 1:30 a.m. -- when I signed a lease deal so that I could go home.

I really didn't want the car, so I told them my trunk was too full of stuff so I'd return the next day to pick up the new car and trade in my old car. They took all the stuff out of my car and placed it in the new car. Only after I had signed the lease did they reunite me with my friend. At that time they handed me the keys to the new car. To make matters worse, they had me sign over my student rebate to the dealership -- worth $1,500.

The next morning, I called the manufacturer. They instructed the dealership to rebate me the $1,500 immediately, and recommended that they cancel the deal and return my vehicle. The dealer agreed but then quickly "discovered" that my car had already been sold off and was long gone. The manufacturer intervened again, and allowed me to cancel my deposit check of $4,500 which offset the overpriced deal I had agreed to at 1:30 a.m. Additionally, I was given back the rebate of $1,500.

I kept the leased car. I was too traumatized to shop for another after this incident.

Pregnant woman held hostage
I was seven months pregnant and we were shopping for a family car. The dealership was doing valet parking, so they could get your keys.

When they kept trying to talk me into buying vehicles I didn't want, I decided I wanted to leave. I was very pregnant and had a headache, but they refused to get our car keys. They wanted to make that deal.

I was so mad I picked up a phone on the desk and screamed I was going to call 911 if someone didn't get my car keys. I was sure holding a pregnant woman hostage wouldn't look good. We got our keys back real quick.

-- Posted: Oct. 25, 2002