Steer Clear of Buying a New Car on Tuesday, Site Suggests

Steve Gorton/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- If you're in the market to buy a new car, Tuesday may not be the best day to do so.  TrueCar.com says March 6 is one of the worst days of the year to purchase a new vehicle.

According to the website, which collects car-buying data in an effort to help users find the best bargains, the average car buyer will only get about six percent off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price on March 6, compared to the best deals of 8.5 percent to 9.5 percent off MSRP during the last weeks of December.

Mondays and Tuesdays are usually bad days to purchase a new car because business is slow and the beginning of any month is when prices are higher.  Dealers are more inclined to give customers a break at the end of the month and on weekends.

If you do wait on buying a car, just don’t go shopping on Tuesday, April 10 because that’s the day TrueCar says is absolutely the worst to head to your dealer.  The discount off the sticker price is expected to be only about 5.1 percent.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Three Common Car Dealer Tactics Hitting Consumers Hard

Comstock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- A car often can be one of the biggest purchases a person will ever make, and consumer groups say buyers are easily taken advantage of by unscrupulous car dealers.  That's why they are pushing for more regulations, and the Federal Trade Commission is hosting an all-day meeting on the topic on Thursday.

A car dealer's tactics can start the moment a driver pulls up at the dealership, according to Ray Lopez, who was a car salesman for 35 years.

"It's all a matter of the psychological games that we play," he said.

One of the biggest games is "yo-yo financing," which occurs when a dealer is so eager to close the sale that he sends a buyer home with the car before the financing is secured.

"The person's already been driving the car, has already fallen in love with the car," Lopez told ABC News.  "But when the financing falls through, the dealer calls back with bad news: Pay more money or return the car."

"It's outrageous and shouldn't be done," said Jack Fitzgerald, a long-time auto dealer.  He told ABC News that buyers should never leave with a car unless the deal is final.

"Don't take delivery of a car if you don't have a signed contract," said Fitzgerald.

Another one of the car dealer tactics is what critics call a hidden markup.  That's when a dealer jacks up the interest rate on a car loan, without telling the buyer they have raised the rate quoted by the lender.  It's perfectly legal, and dealers argue that markup covers their costs related to security and servicing the loan.

But the Center for Responsible Lending says interest-rate markups cost consumers nearly 26 billion dollars a year in "unneeded, excessive charges."

Consumers are advised to shop around for a loan -- they may be able to get a better deal from a bank or credit union.

Another trick car salesman use is selling expensive add-ons such as line paint sealant or fabric protection.

"All new cars come from the factory with paint sealant and fabric protection," Lopez said.  "So, if you hear that, walk away."

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio