Author: Jerry Reynolds

Nobody wants to find himself or herself stuck on the side of the road for any reason, but if you drive in major metro areas, odds are good you see it on a daily basis.  I am a sucker for people who look like they need help and have stopped many times to see if I could assist.  The last time I did this, the driver had been in a hurry and ran out of gas in a fairly new car.  He asked if I could give him a lift to a gas station and I asked him if he’d … Continue reading →

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When I started my radio show almost 15 years ago, on show #1, I told the audience I would only recommend vehicles that had great long-term reliability, good value for the dollar, and good resale value.  I have stuck to those tenets all these years.  Before going on the air the first time, I listened to a number of other automotive shows and was amazed that not one of them ever mentioned resale value.  I have had people tell me they were not worried about resale value because they leased their cars.  They, too, should pay attention to what they … Continue reading →

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Calling all technology geeks. Fiat Chrysler wants you. The automaker is inviting computer hackers around the world to try to hack into its auto technology systems. You could even walk away some cash for your trouble. You can’t just do this on your own, though. You have to participate in FCA’s new Bug Bounty program. It’s managed by the Bugcrowd platform. It connects a pool of researchers all around the world focused on finding software vulnerabilities. FCA hopes to leverage all those tech minds to make its products less vulnerable to cyber attacks. The automaker says it’s the first “full-line” automaker to launch this type of crowdsourced contest. Researchers who find … Continue reading →

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I have had a lot of people ask me in the past couple of years if buying a loaner car is a good idea.  We have seen many dealers recently ramp up their loaner fleets, and there are a number of reasons why. First, automakers have recalled millions of cars over the past couple of years, and they know to get people in to make those repairs, they must provide them with a loaner, especially if the recall is of the serious nature that can cause bodily harm.  The automakers cannot force a dealership to offer loan cars, so they … Continue reading →

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I am often asked about buying a used car from a private seller versus a dealership.  Unbiased, I am always a fan of buying a factory certified car when available, but usually those are only a few years old and many people cannot afford them.  There are also benefits to purchasing a non-certified car from a reputable new car dealership.  The good ones are careful what they sell and won’t sell a used car until it has been checked over. There are a lot of people who need to buy the nearly impossible to find $5000 used car, but there … Continue reading →

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I talk on my radio show about misleading car dealer ads and have written several articles explaining what to look out for and to avoid.  However, others have decided to get into the game, and it may just be a company you trust. Case in point, a listener sent me an email solicitation from his insurance company, which is Allstate.  Their claim is that with the “Allstate Car Buying Service” you can “save an average of $3279 off MSRP”.  That looks pretty good when you see that in bold, colorful, letters splashed across an email.  They then direct you to … Continue reading →

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People stand in lines for days to get the latest, greatest version of a new iPhone…they camp out even.  Some people get to department stores in the middle of the night on Thanksgiving to grab a bargain on Black Friday and there are always news crews there to cover it. We saw this phenomenon again recently when people stood in long lines to plop down $1000 for a chance to purchase a Tesla Model 3.  Did I say a chance to buy one?  Yes, essentially that is what all these folks did.  They got caught up in the frenzy, largely … Continue reading →

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We covered the Internet bait & switch recently, and all the things you have to be aware of these days when shopping prices online.  Often, however, people respond to ads they see in the newspaper, on radio, on TV, or in a piece of mail.  When you make an inquiry on one of these prices, dealership personnel who are trained in the art of bait & switch will likely tell you to just “come on down and see us”.  Some years ago, a local Ford dealer had a TV campaign that ran for years dubbing itself as the home of … Continue reading →

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I wrote on the subject of Internet “bait & switch” almost 3 years ago, but the problem is actually getting worse as dealers try their best to undercut each other’s prices.  Perhaps most concerning is people believing the prices they see online are credible and the gospel.  Since a car dealer ever ran the first newspaper ad, there have been bait and switch tactics going on. Not all car dealers do this, but a good percentage of them do. By definition, a bait and switch are when a dealer publicly prices a car with no intention of selling it for … Continue reading →

The post Don’t Get Scammed by Car Dealers appeared first on LewRockwell.

I wrote on the subject of Internet “bait & switch” almost 3 years ago, but the problem is actually getting worse as dealers try their best to undercut each other’s prices.  Perhaps most concerning is people believing the prices they see online are credible and the gospel.  Since a car dealer ever ran the first newspaper ad, there have been bait and switch tactics going on. Not all car dealers do this, but a good percentage of them do. By definition, a bait and switch are when a dealer publicly prices a car with no intention of selling it for … Continue reading →

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A growing trend I see from consumers calling my radio show is people who are interested in buying their next used car at a public auction. The perception is that you can get yourself a bargain, but that is often not the case. Reality TV shows and televised auctions have glamorized the process of buying cars at an auction. While I am sure there are success stories, my experience is that most people end up getting burned. There are also individuals and companies that will go to auction for you, and for a fee, will buy a car for you at a dealer-only … Continue reading →

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I wrote on this a few months ago — the paradigm switch from mid-sized sedans to crossover SUVs. Now that the smoke has cleared on the sales numbers from 2015, we know that for the first time in history, crossovers actually outsold the mid-sized sedan segment. While many people want to purchase an SUV, they often find the price to be hard to swallow. The gap between crossovers and sedans is widening, too.  Automakers are putting hefty rebates on the sedans to lower the price while crossovers need very little in incentives, so just looking at window sticker prices can be very confusing and … Continue reading →

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We had a Car Pro Show caller last Saturday who had a serious problem with a Kia. He purchased it pre-owned, but it was factory certified so had warranty up to 100,000 miles.  At about 42,000 miles, the engine seized and stopped running. The dealership tore into the engine and found it completely sludged up. When the dealer called the factory for authorization to repair the engine, it was denied.  The caller said he had the documentation to prove he changed the oil as he was supposed to, but Kia said the wrong oil was used. This one is going to end up in court, … Continue reading →

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The iconic DeLorean is going back to the future. And yes, it is as every bit as exciting as it sounds. Yes, brand new — not refurbished  — DeLoreans could hit the road as early as next year. The big news comes after the automaker announced it will soon start building the sleek, silver sports cars again for the first time in three decades. This good news comes after a change in federal law that allows for low-volume manufacturing. “It’s fantastic! It is a game changer for us. We’ve been wanting this to happen. That was a green light to go back into … Continue reading →

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I hear from people all the time who are confused about the correct time to change their oil and filter.  I wrote an article some years ago titled “nix the 3000-mile oil change”.  The truth is, oil is just so much better these days, there is never any reason to change it at fewer than 5000 miles, and that is for those people who really want to get a lot of mileage out of an engine. Businesses that change oil for consumers often want to tell you that the sooner you change your oil the better. Some even put a sticker … Continue reading →

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