The CARS (Combating Auto Retail Scams) standard of the FTC , requires transparency in the vehicle purchasing process, becoming a key piece for those who want to purchase a car, generating trust and security in the acquisition process before, during and after it.
CARS will mean significant savings, estimated at $3.4 billion a year, for people who buy a new vehicle. And it is estimated to save consumers 72 million hours a year, said Malini Mithal, associate director of the Division of Financial Practices at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)., during an information session held by Ethnic Media Services.
Mithal commented that people have reported being victims of deception and scams when trying to buy a car, where, in Many occasions, The decoy and deception is presented, an example of this is when an advertisement is published with an affordable price and at the time of starting procedures they mention extra charges. The lure is the price or promotion used to entice you into an unclear purchase.
Another case, Malini mentioned, is when additional charges are added to the contracts and since it is a lengthy and tiring procedure, people do not notice what they are signing or what they are acquiring, some time later the extra costs, supposedly acquired services, come to light. or higher prices.
Thus, the CARS standard aims to take care of the consumer when choosing where to buy, in addition to helping markets to be more competitive and more transparent in their processes.
In that sense, Mithal commented on the bases of the rule: dealerships cannot lie about costs, financing terms, returns, etc.; They must also tell consumers the final price they offer and explain the total cost, which must be very clear regarding prices and expenses; Likewise, they can only sell those services that the consumer accepts and wants once they have full knowledge of the service or product.
Jamie D. Brooks, an attorney with the Financial Practices Division of the Federal Trade Commission, talked about bait and switch, where an ad is placed with eye-catching information offering low prices to get the customer's attention, but in small print it says that there is an extra charge or monthly payment; They even leave a low price only for the first payment, making it believe that all payments are low, these practices are very common.
In these cases, the combination of languages is also used, he said, the small letters may be in English or only Spanish, in this way all the information will be present but will not be taken into account by the consumer who only knows one language, this is also fraud.
Given this, Brooks invited consumers to always ask the final price of the car, regardless of whether it is in payment or in cash, since they must know the process and the total cost, otherwise a complaint may be filed at the Federal Trade Commission.
Sanya Shahrasbi, an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission's Division of Financial Practices, said many people buy "junk costs," which translates into additional costs that they won't use, but are sold to them with the idea that It's a good promotion or opportunity in life, the add-ons get into the contracts and people don't even realize what they are acquiring.
In these cases, he said, the CARS standard protects the consumer from feeling obligated to pay for things they do not need, so that they have the freedom to choose what they want to acquire and what they know they will not use, they can invest in other things.
Experts agree that it is very easy to fall into any type of scam when purchasing a car, but it is always important to take the necessary time, read all the documents and ask them to explain if something is not understood, and if they do not meet the established price. or there is fraud, it must be reported and a report filed, this way more people can be investigated and prevented.
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