What Car Dealers Don't Want You to Know, 3rd Edition (Paperback)

by Mark Eskeldson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In this new edition of the consumer guide to car buying, the author cites a recent undercover investigation to show how dealers use deceptive sales practices to trick shoppers into paying outrageous overcharges. The book details every scam - from "dealer's cost" surcharges to leasing rip-offs - in use today. This book is unique in its consumer protection information and insights from car dealers, attorneys, and victims.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Technews Publishing; 3 edition (September 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964056070
• ISBN-13: 978-0964056077
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #899,310 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on negotiating on a car, August 14, 2002

By	Gadgester "No Time, No Money" (Mother Earth) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This book provides very helpful tips on bargaining for a car, and does so in an easy-to-understand, easy-to-follow manner. The author starts with an insider's look at how car dealerships (which always look like dungeons to me) are structured and how they make money and how they are out to extract as much profit from you, the customer, as possible. Then he dispenses some of the best advice I've seen on how to get the best price on a car. BTW, I'm an avid Consumer Reports subscriber, and the info in this book is even better than the guide put out by the good people at CR.

Some of the most useful information I found in the book includes starting your offer at one thousand *below* invoice, not at invoice as Consumer Reports suggests; why Saturn's no-haggle policy is really a sham; why buying a year-end model doesn't necessarily save you thousands; and the best time of year, month and day to buy. Whether you buy, lease or finance, the author constantly reminds you that getting the best price is the most important step in buying a car.

Every page of this book is filled with helpful and useful tips that *will* save you thousands (unless you are getting a hot rod like the new Honda Pilot where demand exceeds supply). And the author is honestly interested in helping us "little people" fight against slick dealerships and their fleets of lying salesmen. Be sure to get this book before you go into a dealership!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a 'Robin Hood' book to definitely read before you buy, October 26, 2000

By	J. K. Kelley "penslinger and long-term book j... (Eastern WA, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: What Car Dealers Don't Want You to Know (Paperback)

Ok, we all knew that what we were hearing from car dealers was largely baloney. What we lacked was the knowledge to cut through that baloney in an assertive way without having to be unpleasant. That is, until now.

Eskeldson is clearly familiar with the business and goes into a lot of detail. Trade-ins, 'dealer cost', negotiating tactics, 'no-haggle' dealers, financing, extended warranties, sales tricks to look out for, and the various shell games that are typically played with customers' money are exposed in thorough detail. This is a bible of guerrilla auto purchasing tactics that's sure to drive some dealers to drink.

There is no way any auto buyer, especially one who dreads the whole ordeal, should be without this book. I cannot possibly see how it could fail to save you the cover price.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth every penny! Will save you SO MUCH money!, August 8, 2001

By	Manny Hernandez "Author of Ning For Dummies" (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

A friend of mine lent me this book over a year ago, before I bought my current car, and it helped me save several thousand (I'm not kidding!) dollars, by instructing me on the steps I had to take to avoid falling in some of the most common traps Car Dealers set up for you during the process of a car purchase.

Unless you don't want to save yourself some headaches and a lot of money, read this book before you buy a new car.