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March 18th, 2010
15 Ways to Lower Your Car Insurance Quote 33 Essential Year End Financial Tasks Auto Refinance Avoiding A Bad Investment Is Easier Than You Might Think Bankers in Denial Change or Die To Change Your Organization Hire a Business Coach Common Sources of Financing for Small Business Credit Card Shocker Does Your Business Need An Attitude Adjustment Easing Your Way Into Homeownership A Guide To Low Down Payment Mortgage Programs Five Things Never To Tell Your Mortgage Lender When Facing Foreclosure Foreclosure Home Deals How To Finance Your Dream Car How to Get Fast Cash without Breaking the Bank How to Refinance Your Home How To Set Goals Like Bill Gates How to Shop Around for the Cheapest Mortgage Rates and deals Online How to Tackle the Three Major Stresses Associated with Every Home Based Business I Just Lost My Job How Am I Going To Tell My Kids If One Does Not Do Any Planning One Is Planning To Fail Interview With Michael Murray Autoresponder Basics Keeping Your Business s Finances on Track Maximise your compound interest FREE mortgage quote Moving From A Weekend Hobby To Career In The Arts Negotiating and Sales Skills Are Critical Payday Loan Profitable Real Estate Investing Blueprint Refinance Benefits Refinancing Could Save You Money Refinancing Best way to measure costs and gains Should you choose to refinance Small Business Grants Tips from the Pros Small Business Tax Tips Product Review of Tax Reduction Toolkit Student Credit Cards SWOT Analysis The Advantages of Refinance The Ecology of Environmentalism The Self Appointed Altruists The Top 10 Questions for Socially Responsible Leaders The True Cost of a Speeding Ticket The Wages of Science Tips on How to Refinance Tired Of Being Broke Learn How To Force Banks To Give You Money Useful Tips On Buying A New Or Used Car Warning This Lease Might Explode Any Minute What Home Refinance does for you What You Need To Know About Credit Cards Working With A Financial Adviser Your Home A Hidden Source Of Financing
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Shopping For A Car? Don’t Get Taken For A Ride!
Imagine this ... You're ready to buy a new car. You've done your research on the web at a site like Edmunds.com so you know what the dealer has paid for the model you want. Based on your information you've established your comfort zone for price haggling. You walk into the dealership, meet with a salesperson, and begin negotiations. At the end of your test drive and haggling, you're confident that you've made the best deal possible. No way you're getting ripped off because this time you are an "informed consumer" unlike when you bought your last vehicle. One final step stands between you and your brand new "ride" - financing. Your credit is outstanding so you get what you believe is the lowest possible interest rate from the dealership. You drive away in your shiny new vehicle triumphant! Ready for a dose of reality? According to a new study, there's a 1 in 4 chance that you've been "taken for a ride" by the dealer's finance department, especially if you are female or a minority, by as much as an extra $1,000. The Consumer Federation of America, a Washington, D.C.,-based consumer interest group, said consumers often pay additional fees in that process - totaling as much as $1 billion nationwide - without realizing they qualified for cheaper financing. Here's what can happen behind the scenes: a bank approves an interest rate, the dealer tacks on additional percentage points as a kind of service fee and then the dealer and lender split the difference. To be fair, not every dealer is guilty of this markup. However, enough are involved that many states are now considering new "truth in advertising" lending laws. New laws would require auto dealers to inform customers of the original rate offered by the bank and what the dealer is offering to the customer, after tacking on their additional finance fee. Shopping around with your bank, credit union or the internet can help you to find the interest rate that you qualify for in a loan. Remember, the auto dealer is in business to sell cars, not to offer loans. The next time you're in the market for a car, don't just research the model, make, and add-ons. Research fair interest rates as well so that you'll know if you're getting the best rate possible from the auto dealer or if you're being "taken for a ride."
© 2004, www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com James H. Dimmitt is editor of "TO YOUR CREDIT", a weekly free newsletter. Subscribe to the newsletter by visiting http://www.yourfreecreditreportnow.com. He is also author of “Identity Theft - How to Avoid Becoming the Next Victim!” available at http://tinyurl.com/bc45
Written by: James H. Dimmitt
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