Dealer fraud -- it comes in many shapes and sizes. Americans spend more than

$650 billion a year on new cars. Chances are you’ve been there, sitting

across from a smiling car salesman, sweating out the negotiations,

determined to get a bargain, but convinced you won’t. According to our

country's high dealer fraud rate, you’re probably right. What exactly is

dealer fraud? This is a very broad question. In general, the sale or leasing

of cars without a proper disclosure of known defects or dangerous conditions

with the vehicle constitutes auto dealer fraud. There are various types of

fraud -- To name a few, forging your signature on a document, rolling back

or replacing the odometer, falsifying figures or terms on a lease, lemon

laundering, and lying about the previous ownership history. Lets look at

some of these in detail.

 

Price Stuffing

 

Most consumers really don’t understand the finance part when they buy a car.

That naiveté allows unscrupulous dealers to add in lots of extra charges

that you never see if you don’t read the fine print or sift through the

paperwork. If you finance through a dealer, you may never see the details of

those add-ons because they are “stuffed” or hidden under a pile of papers

you sign and then they are incorporated and buried in the financing

documents you may never see. It appears, sometimes, that even the banks who

lend the money are being defrauded. If you feel you have been involved in

this type of auto dealer fraud, please contact us for a free case review.

 

Lease Fraud

 

Leasing is very complicated. Some unscrupulous dealers take advantage of

consumers in leasing cars and trucks. Consumers in California are protected

from some form of dealer fraud by the Vehicle Leasing Act, which specifies

certain items the dealer must do in a leasing transaction. Some dealers fail

to give consumers the agreed amount of credit for their trade-ins. Dealers

sometimes tell the leasing company (such as a bank or GMAC or Ford Credit)

that the vehicle has more equipment on it than it really has. This allows

the dealer to overcharge the consumer. Consumers sometimes believe they are

buying a car when in fact the dealer is leasing it to them. This sometimes

happens when the buyer cannot understand English very well. If you believe

you were cheated in this type of auto dealer fraud when leasing a car or

truck, you may wish to contact us for a free consultation.

 

Odometer Act Violations

 

Rolling back an odometer is illegal under federal & state laws. It is also

illegal for a dealer to sell a car or truck with an inaccurate odometer

without disclosing that fact to the buyer/consumer. Buyers have the right to

recover three times their actual damages or $1,500 which ever is greater,

plus attorney fees. Alternatively, buyers have the right to return the

vehicle & get all their money back. If you purchased a vehicle from a

California dealer with an inaccurate odometer and the dealer did not

disclose that fact, you may have been involved in this type of auto dealer

fraud. Please contact us for a free case review. Attorneys in our firm have

obtained refunds and damages for many consumers who were sold vehicles with

inaccurate or rolled-back odometers.

 

Car dealer fraud is plaguing our country. Auto buyers are being taken to the

bank to fill the pockets of unscrupulous dealers. The tactics used are so

sly that even informed consumers who did their homework can be taken for

hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. Your best resource is to become an

educated consumer. It is our sincere hope that this area of our website has

properly educated you.