Car dealers, in their enthusiasm to get your business, often resort to "tricks" that can be misleading, deceptive, or even borderline fraudulent. Here are some prime examples:

1. "We'll pay off your old car loan, no matter how much you owe"

This is true, as far as it goes. However, if you owe more on your old loan than your car is actually worth, the dealer will simply roll the loan balance, minus the credit he gives you for your old car, into your new loan or lease. In effect, you will still be paying off the old loan along with your new loan. The dealer will typically not explain this extra detail.

2. "Our finance company requires customers to buy an extended warranty, credit insurance, and rust protection"

Nonsense. There are no such requirements. This is only a ploy to sell you items that add extra profit to the deal. When these items are offered, you should respectfully decline them.

3. "The invoice prices you found on the Internet are not correct and outdated"

There may be a little truth in this statement. The invoice prices found on Internet automotive pricing sites are generally correct. However, dealers sometimes have additional charges for advertising by the manufacturer or distributor. These charges will appear on his invoice, but not on the Internet. This charge will be a few hundred dollars at most, and many dealers will pass it along to customers.

4. "We'll sell you a car, even if you have bad credit, slow credit, or no credit"

That may be true " but at what cost? Lending companies are not willing to take risks with their money unless they can get a high rate of return to compensate. Therefore, if you have less-than-perfect credit, you should expect to pay a hefty down payment and very high interest rates for your purchase loan.

5. "I'm sorry but your low credit score doesn't qualify you for our special advertised deal"

This may be true, or not. It's true that many deals require a good credit score but if you don't know your score beforehand, how do you know that this is not simply a ruse by the dealer to make some extra profit from you by boosting the interest rate on your loan? Get your credit history and score from one of the national reporting agencies, Experian, Equifax, or Transunion. The report is free in some states.

6. "The monthly payment we're offering you is the best we can do"

If you negotiate only on monthly payment, you have no way of knowing if this is true or not. The only way to negotiate is on the basis of selling price. However, you should do your research beforehand to know sticker prices, invoice prices, option prices, rebate availability, and interest rates. The best source for this information, and loan calculators, is Edmunds.com. Only by knowing this data will you be able to evaluate a monthly payment offer.

7. "Your trade-in vehicle is not worth a lot and won't help you much on your new deal"

Again, this may be true but you should already know how much your old car is worth before you set foot in the dealer's showroom. This is only way you can evaluate a dealer's offer. If you don't know, it gives the dealer the opportunity to make unfair profit on your trade. Again, Edmunds.com is good source for trade-in values.

8. "We'll beat any offer by any other dealer"

Watch out. One of the easiest ways for a dealer to beat another offer is to change some of the factors in the deal. The most common way is to stretch out the length of the loan " possibly without telling you. Just realize that a 72 month loan on an average vehicle will mean that you'll be still paying on your loan long after the warranty has expired, and after most of the value of the vehicle has depreciated. In fact, it exposes you to being "upside down" for most of the loan term making it difficult to sell or trade during that period. Being upside down also means you will still owe the finance company if your car is stolen or totaled in an accident. Remember, your insurance only pays what the car is worth, not what you still owe on your loan.