The New Car Sales Scam

Kia of Keene, in New Hampshire, is running a “sale” this week.

Prices were taken off the internet for their “sale”. Instead, only per month payments, with a down payment were listed. Bob Roundtree owns this dealership, allegedly many others, and a Ford dealership in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Professionals who tour dealerships nationwide were brought in for this “sale”. Prices can be “bumped up” as much as $12,000 and “special financing” applies. In my opinion it is a complete scam and fraud upon the public. Banks get a boon in financing. Customers get vehicles that they can’t trade in being “upside down” owing way too much to trade vehicles at later dates having grossly overpaid. This probably hurts the economy in the long run. Interest rates during a special “financing sale” can be higher than when there is no “sale”.

Maybe 50,000 fliers were set out to the Keene, NH area. A big screen television and an SUV can be given away. A special insurance policy bought for a minimum of $400 to an estimated $1200 was allegedly paid by the dealership for the possible eventuality they might have to give out the actual prices. Most customers coming in were given binoculars, the least expensive “prize” for coming in. Most people throw direct mail flyers in the trash. It is most likely the one or two real prize winning flyers will be thrown away.

It is time to contact legislators about eliminating this fraud upon the public, where the list price of vehicles is purposely hidden and hardcore, high pressure sales tactics are the rule, not the exception.

Why not list the prices? Why increase prices during a “sale”?

Balloons were everywhere and signs posting “Huge Car Sale” were everywhere, even on the balloons at the Kia of Keene used and new car store in New Hampshire. Sales people bragged on how much they were able to scam individual customers. A couples’ entire retirement savings can be scammed in a matter of minutes by these professional con men and women.

Kia might be a decent, quality car line, after some rough bumps in the past. I was rather impressed with some of the recent models and would like to know more about the Kia Soul and even would like to take one with a five speed manual transmission out for a test drive.

http://www.kia.com/

I think that a “cleaner” way of selling cars would improve the economy and impression of American big business. If cars were offered online “wholesale” with delivery, these vehicles would be more affordable, and crooks who travel “the circuit” would not be having “giveaways” and other gimmicks to get folks into dealerships to scam them into buying cars, SUVs, and trucks they would not have been in the market for, and can ill afford overpaying for.

Kia and other car companies can get more business and more repeat business, by not using sales tactics best exposed in the movie, “Tin Men”.  Without some ethics instilled in American business, banking, and government, we’re doomed to fail, and fall, big time.

Silence signifies acceptance. Call your local and federal legislators and consider giving them a link to this post.