Top 5 Items to Avoid Buying from Car Dealerships

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If you're in the market for a new or used vehicle, it's important to know what to expect from the finance manager. They'll likely try to sell you additional items, but you should always say no! In this video, we'll go over the top items finance managers try to sell and why you should avoid them. Follow these car buying tips to save money and make a smart purchase. Don't fall for unnecessary add-ons - watch now to learn more!
Experience hassle-free car shopping with Chevy Dude, the owner, and operator of Mike's Car Store.
As a popular car-buying advocate and KZbinr, @ChevyDude knows how to make the car-buying process enjoyable.
Visit our website, Mikescarstore.com, to browse our current inventory, or give us a call or text at 812-940-6453. Remember, buying a car doesn't have to suck™!"

[@jgallone]

We were looking at buying a new Camaro and the dealership had a $2000 charge on the invoice for a ceramic coating. They would not remove that fee as apparently the coating was already applied to the vehicle. We walked away and I likely won't be buying any future vehicles from that dealership.

[@MikesCarStore]

smart move. $2,000 is a legit cost for ceramic. BUT NOT FROM A DEALER!

[@Deuce_Dufresne]

@@MikesCarStore or pay $100 and do it yourself with some know-how

[@suehammer6236]

My ceramic coating 600.00 dollar I didn't want it but they said it protects the car from scratches and the extended warranty. In my apion I would never have it done again. It attacks dust like a magnet. Note all the car washes that have been but up just in the last two years. All that dust needs washed weekly and the water conservation laws as well. On a new car it was 1000.00 for the coating on a used car 50 thousand miles and again they said it was a much, you didn't have a choice for the warranty. Cock of crap,shameful, all about money.

[@richardandre9811]

How do you expect to get double charged if you keep doing that??😀😀😀

[@MyRebel44]

You can’t even trust them to put the right oil in the car when they service it!

[@nala3038]

I treat car salespeople with great respect until I catch them in a lie, then I treat them on the far other end of the spectrum. Our relationships always get off to a great start then last about 8.2 minutes until that first lie is spewed.

[@tomjohnson5700]

When I bought my MX5, the dealer had applied paint protection and nitrogen inflated tires. I told them to buff off the paint protection and room air is 78% nitrogen

[@rhaythe]

If you need GAP insurance, you can't afford the car. Put 20% down on your purchase if you finance and your need for GAP evaporates. If you INSIST on buying cars you can't afford, call an insurance company to buy GAP. Nationwide sells it for $7 a month where I live.

[@bradleyr.6385]

I would pay you to go with me to the dealership for my car. Great stuff, but I can’t remember everything when needed.

[@JR-ef9ej]

I just bought a car and the dealership said it was REQUIRED BY LAW to get a VIN etching on my glass, so I paid not knowing any better. I looked it up after and this is not the case, such a scam and a waste of 200$!!!

[@hectorrivera66]

When I asked if an addon HAD to be purchased, the finance manager said "It's already on the car, we can't take it off". I walked out of the dealership. One of my best decisions.

[@richardandre9811]

Yes!! Lots of call backs these days !!!

[@DChamp56]

I love when the paint protection is already on the invoice when you buy the car. I always tell them to remove it, as I never asked for it. Same goes for anything else but the car itself!

[@hectorrivera66]

I went to a dealer that refused to sell the car w/out the addons. I walked.

[@alant5757]

I looked at a Honda Pilot and it came with Ceramic wax protection and they wanted $899. And the car was still in transit

[@TheNucMed]

@@alant5757 Now, that is freaking hilarious. In transit. Shows you that the dealer is going to slap that on every single car they bring on, and that is it actually gets the coating. Before it even gets there....lol. Crooks man.

[@Hemond1]

dealer quoted me $1000 for a rim insurance package. I can get all 4 rims restored and refinished for $350 in 4 days. (dropping off the car at shop). I've also bought used rims in A+ condition for 2 different cars now. Under $200 shipped from ebay.

[@ChefDuane]

I just bought a new car (at MSRP!) but the dealer wanted $199 for the Nitrogen Fill Package. I told them to let the nitrogen out of the tires then fill them back up with air and take the $199 off. They said they couldn't do that. I said that if they wanted to sell this car to me today they could. The SM chuckled and took it off the menu.

[@jvolstad]

I just bought new tires at Costco for my 2016 Honda Accord. Free nitrogen.

[@ChefDuane]

@@jvolstadWhat a deal!!

[@PapaiUrsolino]

Also, don't make the same mistake I made when I first leased a car: The finance manager told me that I HAD to buy a protection package (painting, wheel? don't remember) in order to get my lease approved. Fast forward 3 years, got a new lease from a different dealership where I answered NO to any stuff the finance manager tried to sell me.

[@Thaa_Farmer]

for the tire and wheel damage thing if you live somewhere with fairly bad streets or drive with low profile tires just get insurance on your rims and tires it costs very little and u can always get it replaced ez

[@gwillis01]

Thank you for an informative video

[@peterkwok9608]

Good info Mike 😎😎👍👍

[@kabloosh699]

You should have seen the quote I got to build out a new Colorado ZR2. They put "paradigm theft deterrent" for $899, "nano forcefield" for $999, and "nitro fill" for $89.50. They had an initial $2,000 dollar discount. Guess where it all went? Those options. The worst offender was when they put their offer for my trade at 21.5k when the KBB cash offer was 29.4k on the thing. I just don't think they wanted to do business with me because the salesman dropped off the face of the Earth when I challenged them on it. They were going to remove the star trek protections at least though because I think they were hoping to rob me on my trade.

[@2001chevycamaross]

why didnt you just sell the cash to kbb cash offer? im sure the dealer is in the business to sell the truck...not waste your time...lol

[@kabloosh699]

@@2001chevycamaross well if I sell the truck to KBB I have no transportation at this time.

[@2001chevycamaross]

@@kabloosh699 8k im sure can pay for an uber

[@JORGELOPEZ-ik4fg]

Great advice

[@kaz153m]

What about extended warranties especially since new cars are basically a computer on wheels and labor rates are soaring?

[@SQTierHog]

Coming over from Chevy Dude, subbed! Let's go!

[@poonpoonsmith399]

Thank you for the video. Hope you know there are many of us rooting for your success.

[@agrippa1234]

With all the cars I have bought I have two absolutes; A. I make sure the salesperson who greets me gets the sales credit BUT I ask to speak and negotiate with the manager (on the floor) directly and then can talk price, holdbacks, interest rate I come in with, etc. directly. B. I let them know UPFRONT I will not buy any of these "products" that are foisted upon you when you deal with the paperwork after agreeing on the price before signing. Both of these have saved me, and the dealership a lot of time and frustration.

[@jonamandabarry4489]

Mike, my dad got screwed over with gap. Since he explained what happened, I no longer get it. Had something to do with what he owed was way more than the value of the car. To the point that gap didn’t cover $500 difference. My dad kept making payments until it was done.

[@mikequear2752]

Our dealership sells a vehicle monitoring system that connects to your phone but not those "theft" systems. We frequently tell people those theft systems are rip offs.

[@glenshepard6960]

Great video. When buying a vehicle you need to have the vehicle price or the difference between your trade in, government taxes which excludes any DOC fee which is all profit for the dealer. State lic plate charge. Anything else is profit for the dealership. The FTC has a guideline of what charges a customer has to pay.

[@dav264]

I think it all boils down to just buy a car from a car dealer.

[@Drum4Chops88]

Nice video by the way anyway is it safe to take a picture with your cel of the car key and it will be in their records what is the other option does home depot make a copy?

[@youtubecarspottersguide1]

door edge guards , clear mask on the hood, nitrogen in the tires some dealers install the "BLINKY 3RD BRAKE LIGHT on all new and used

[@dawn2788]

It funny how so many KZbinrs say " I was the top Corvette salesman". Or, "My Dealership was the top selling Corvette dealership in the country". "Flying Wheels" KZbinr Craig had to stand in line with 50 people in line , to make their deposit on a new Corvette. (This was a New Hampshire Chevy dealership, claiming to be the top Corvette dealership in the nation). I like Mike's videos though, very useful.

[@ofk2339]

Last time I bought a car many dealerships had over $1,500 in “add-ons” for things like nitrogen and window tint (all dealerships in AZ tint the Windows before they put it on the lot so you have to pay). Then when I sat down at signing they tried to add on all kinds of subscriptions, tire warranties, etc which increased my monthly payment over $150 LOL. I declined everything.

[@donniev8181]

Autel AP200 is a $60 scanner that can program new keys, not smart keys but everything else.

[@Drjpharmacy]

I need you to make a video about people who special order cars from factory and not buy from the dealer lot. I’ve watched all of your videos and they all are tailored for the process of the car already being on the dealer lot. I just wanna know do I lose money by special ordering my car and not buy from the actual dealer lot

[@MadsWorld34]

i have walked out the door many times. now i cant afford a new truck. i do good to buy gas now. and its just going to get worse. and gap is useless also to me. you going to be upside down no matter what as soon as you drive off the parking lot. but if you pay just $50 a month over yout note you will get rid of that gap in 6 months anyways.

[@jeffbrown773]

I’m in a coastal state. Last time we bought a car they wanted us to by salt water protection coating.

[@jerseyjohnny4343]

Hey mike what do you think of extended warranty

[@MrTCFIRE]

Late to this one but I had a GMC dealer in Longmont, CO (King GMC) refuse to take the add-ons off from a new Canyon unless I financed through them…they totally turned me off from buying and I’m still driving my current vehicle, which is alright with me…really gave me pause about the current market…

[@TheNucMed]

If everyone would follow suit, we just might be able to change how they do business. Well done. Wants and needs can be very different.

[@richardandre9811]

Summing it up in one word it would have to be “Kaching”!!

[@kristined.5333]

Ughh I wish I would have watched this before! I see now how I was scammed into buying all of these plus a few more! I just purchased a few days ago. I am wondering if I can change my mind? In the end my financing total is double what the car price was.😢

[@barryfox2798]

I have a question about Chevy Link. I have a 2016 Chevy Colorado and the radio goes haywire and starts changing channels, it will put my phone calls on hold or hang up on them or randomly call people in my contacts. I have had this problem repaired and it started doing it again. So now I am afraid to buy another Chevy. I am interested in buying a Camaro SS or Dodge Challenger Scatpack or R/T. Was this just a Colorado problem or a Chevy problem?

[@Fewsta2005]

Extended warranties from or not the dealership are fairly useless. The several year factory warranty will weed out most things. By the 3rd year you will hopefully have a solid car if you take care of it. Gap insurance is only good if you pay less than 20% down. Otherwise you have taken care of most of not all of the expected depreciation.

[@diamondrmp]

That's not true. I had a C5 Corvette and purchased and extended warranty to 100k miles. At 88k, which is beyond the normal factory warranty, my A/C compressor went out. A month later my ECU took a dump then a few months later the piston slap was terminal. All of those things fixed and I didn't pay a dime. The extended warranty was $1800.00. All the work done on my car was well over 10k figuring in labor.

[@Fewsta2005]

For $1800 I doubt that was sold by the dealer. Every dealer I have bought from you are looking at $3-5k just for extended warranty, and they will only cover you if you have them do all maintenance. Sure, you might find that one car it was worth it on, but 9 times out of 10 it’s just making them extra $$$ plus that extra interest on your loan.

[@diamondrmp]

@@Fewsta2005 It was a C5-2001 and YES I did buy it from Champion Chevrolet in Manhattan Beach Ca. FYI I paid cash for it a month after purchasing my C5. Then again that was my third Corvette I bought from them. They have since moved to Long Beach. Also I put a lot of mileage on my cars quickly so every car I had with an extended warranty paid for itself.

[@howardhosang464]

What to do when you have a pre-approved check to buy a car at dealership?

[@dfuent26]

Toms keys doesn’t do keyfobs for 2010 Kia optima 😭. Do you know where I can get one?

[@wsaut]

Bought a new Lexus for my wife in 2021. The finance guy tried the key replacement thing and the rim protection. When i said no he said what if you smash into the curb and destroy the rim i said that's why i have car insurance. He tried upselling a few more thing some i never even heard of but in the end I didn't buy any extras. He seemed disappointed, maybe he thought i was an easy mark.

[@ryanmoore7043]

With this approach, given that you’re doing all your research/negotiating at home before going to the dealership, are you physically seeing the car you’re about to purchase for the first time on the day you go to pick it up? If so, then are there any downsides/challenges that this might present? (Ex. Salesperson misunderstood the trim/color/options you wanted during the remote negotiations, and now they have all the paperwork ready for a car that you don’t want to walk away with)

[@jacksampson7711]

Never buy addons at the dealer. Get the out the door price and move on. PS: Simple key is not available for BMW?

[@gregschulte2953]

forgot to mention the doc fee or filing fee. this is the #1 rip off for any car dealer......must say, all these add ons are just a horrible look for dealers. if any of these fees are present or the dealer will not negotiate their removal, you know you're dealing with the lowest form of sales companies. simply, they don't deserve your business.

[@lookinforwater4344]

…don’t forget the $500 window tinting.

[@homgrwn]

I was just offered $895 for an "environmental package" (paint/dent). I paid 500 under msrp and nothkng else. Just t.t.l. and 200 do n fee. I didnt complain about the 200 dock fee since thwy didnt try and upsell me on anything. Free carpet matts too....not the 195 the manufacturer charges.

[@homgrwn]

The paint package was a different dealer than where i made my purchase

[@ethankim7445]

Hello, thanks for the all the tips and information about used cars. This is my first time trying to buy a used car at a dealership, so I was wondering how much is the adequate negotiable discount for $25,000 Odyssey or Sienna?? I know it's all different from case by case, but I just wanna make sure I don't suggest ridiculous discount offer to screw negotiation. Let's say if i suggest $2,000 discount for $25,000 tag price, is it generally normal amount? or too much? Please let me know some reasonable first discount suggestion amout. no idea... 😢😢😢

[@kevizzzle]

I was talking to dealerships in my area, he said 2000-2500 is around the sales commission. HOWEVER, that doesn t include the profit the dealership makes based on what they paid the manufacturer or previous owner. BUT going by what everyone is saying no offer ur comfortabel with is wrong. Just ask them for their best price and negotiate from there.

[@SteveGirard-gb6lr]

I not only dont want this crap I will not buy the car if has been treated with with any of these items even if they offer them for free I am paying for new car dont contaminate it

[@JBM425]

I walked away from buying a used Audi Q7 from a BMW dealership because they advertised the price as $X on CarGurus, but in the small print said the price did not include mandatory StarGard theft protection for $695. I expect that sort of baloney from a high-volume mainstream dealership, not from a luxury brand dealer.

[@gordjohnson70]

Undercoating is also a dealer rip off.

[@jimwright4723]

i have been to many dealerships recently that require the purchase of some of the add ons and loan and i have walked and some of the salesman still claiming they have the best prices on the internet , sorry mister salesman if i have to buy something that has no value to me or you and all you can give me is a piece of paper to prove i bought it than all you are trying to do is get more for the car than your sale price and the math on this deal tells me you are 3k higher than every other identical car on the market instead of being 2k under like cargurus says

[@reginathequeenofcarloans]

🙌

[@tomy5868]

"including my own" then don't sell it. bought my toyota from toyota and NOTHNING on here was offered to me. only GAP insurance.

[@johnhutton4788]

Why pay Gap insurance on a depreciating item? Your paying x amount of additional money on a vehicle that just lost 10 to 20 percent of value in the first year. You have car insurance right? What a scam!… kind of…unless you get into a car accident and your at fault in the next year or two.

[@auxiliary]

You need gal insurance especially now with overpriced vehicles that will fall. Honda lease gives it for free but my insurance $25 a year. Never buy from the dealer is what we should say.

[@kurtheidelbach]

LOL extended warranties are one of the worst things you can invest in

[@jvolstad]

What do you think about renting tires and rims? 🤮

[@cuh720]

Does Mike’s car store sell these?

[@MikesCarStore]

We do not! I do own a professional detail company and we do ceramic coatings. (a lot of them) but we don't even talk about it with are car store customers.

[@patstiff]

Is this guy still on KZbin?!?

[@xzavj3389]

🔑🔑🔑

[@williamwendel286]

Is this EdHelms giving car advice

[@scottrodgers2139]

No nitrogen fill?

[@ronj9124]

Air is 79% nitrogen anyway. I have done a web search, and tire manufacturers say that nitrogen fill is not necessary (except maybe on specialized race cars).

[@timaustin5076]

what are your feelings on Vehicle Protection Plan?

[@richardandre9811]

Protection yes, probably for the Dealer more so than you

[@ILOVEBACONBOY2018]

I mean dealerships are pricey for anything, order online..not even you, online is cheaper.

[@MikesCarStore]

where can you order a car online besides tesla.

[@MarcoFromTropoja]

Do your own homework and figure out how much you should be paying based on your down payment and the price of the car. Don’t let them try to “work out a monthly payment” for you. Do it yourself and show it to them and if they don’t honor it then walk away. That’s how I got into my brand new mustang gt.

[@youdontknowme2915]

Did your salesman get fired?

[@MikesCarStore]

nope

[@mtk52983]

I think Mrs. Chevy Dude has tried to fire Frank multiple times!

[@ravenschamps2058]

It's really bullshit that dealership try a s scam people they should get shut down for that and out of business people are just trying to buy a car and have to worry about getting scam 😒

[@TheUtubus]

is this Steve Richard's son?

[@jvolstad]

Nitrogen, Nitrogen, Nitrogen. 😱😱😱

[@vinhnguyen6720]

Car dealer hates u for disclosing their secrets to the public .

[@josephdavis9785]

Just tell us actually what to purchase

[@bear6001]

All I'm buying is a Vehicle nothing else Ford dealers are the worst at JUNK FEE'S

[@ethenjordan2010]

I have to laugh at some of this, some is true, some IS NOT. At the Benz dealership, the COST alone is welllll over $1000. Some even up to $1600 or more. You talk about risk never using it, so I guess we wont wear seatbelts anymore, I’m 31 and never used it. LOL. Some “Paint perfections” also come with warranties, so holes in the seats, stains, loss of gloss and lots lots more. It all depends what it is. The ripped seats alone and discoloration is worth it esp me with a dog. Theft protection I agree is dumb. But, not all dealers are sketch. I agree as well key protection isn’t worth it. So I can agree with some of this and not with the rest.

[@Jollytech]

Toms Keys doesn't support Kias

[@the_rubbish_bin]

Most older KIAs are not equipped with the engine immobilizer chip. You can just go to a locksmith and get the key copied.

[@sgav8r]

Hmm love how you just added “…and finance reserve” like it’s some kind of expected or acceptable profit generator for a dealership. The truth is most buyers don’t even know they’re being taken for a ride when the dealership SELLS them different financing than they BOUGHT from the bank. It’s sneaky and deceptive and you know it Mike. Which is probably why you SELDOM ever even mention it and if you do it’s like it’s supposed to happen or something. Bullshit.

[@TheNucMed]

The most non-transparent major purchase anyone can make is buying a car.

[@Bonezz024]

He literally covers that in another video and suggests coming in with a pre approved rate. On top of that, he goes on to say that you shouldn’t even reveal the number that your preapproval is for until they’ve shown their cards. Get over yourself.

[@Radgatt]

Hey Mike, can I pay you $500 to come with me to help me buy my next car? I'd really appreciate it.

[@sgav8r]

THE biggest SCAM “item to avoid” at a car dealership IS finance reserve. Plain and simple. If a dealer takes even an extra 1% in reserve on a $20k loan over a 60 month term (VERY conservative example) he’s STOLEN close to $600 in pure backend profit. RIGHT OUT OF THE CUSTOMER’S POCKET. Now… watch this comment get deleted! 😂

[@MikesCarStore]

I don't delete comments. But I will point out that when you get approved from your local bank and credit union the same exact thing can happen.

[@standingbear998]

exactly why vehicles are so overpriced, idiots will buy and pay anything.

[@mitchhedberg4415]

6) A Tesla

[@douglynch7285]

These add ons are worthless!