WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT TRADITIONAL DEALER “ADD-ONS” VS The FitzWay Our Response to Statements by Consumer Advocates and Other Industry Experts WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT TRA Dear Customers, This brochure has been prepared to help you under- before you agree to buy the vehicle. We encourage stand the issues concerning the purchase of dealer you to shop and compare our charges. Our loan “add-ons” and to address the statements made by interest rates and prices for “add-ons” are posted industry “experts.” Most of the “experts” will say that in our showroom and on our Internet site dealer add-ons are overpriced and unnecessary. (www.FitzMall.com). We also offer discount prices for extended warranties. This brochure includes prices for We believe that the “experts” say this because some- our most popular “add-ons” which are also posted in times dealers will increase pricing for dealer-installed our showroom. options, loan rates and extended warranties to make up for their low advertised or quoted sale prices (a.k.a. The following is additional information on dealer bait and switch). The consumer really doesn’t find out “add-ons” along with examples that help illustrate the about the high prices for these “add-ons” until after price/value benefit to look for: they’ve agreed to buy the vehicle. In cases like this, we • Vehicle Accessories -– If you buy a genuine factory agree with the “experts.” This is a business practice accessory (that is permanently installed by your that is both unfair and wrong! We don’t allow this. dealer) before you take delivery, you’ll get the same To combat these tactics, the "experts" advise con- warranty on that accessory as on the rest of the car. sumers to arrange financing through their own bank • VIN Etching is ridiculed by many consumer “experts” or credit union and to never buy dealer installed but it’s recommended by the Maryland State Police options or extended warranties. We disagree! We and the Montgomery County Police who say it is a think a better way is to shop and compare all of the deterrent to the professional car thief. Our price is prices and rates before agreeing to anything. These $69 installed which is much lower than most dealers include the price of the vehicle, dealer options, acces- will charge. sories or warranties, and the interest rate and length of loan. A good idea is to have a copy of your credit • Our Paint Sealant (sometimes called an report with you so the dealer can quote you accurate Environmental Protection Package by dealers) from interest rates and terms. (Credit reports are inexpen- DaimlerChrysler costs $159 and guarantees you won’t sive. Contact Equifax at www.equifax.com 800-865- have to wax your car for three years. The “experts” 1111, Experian at www.experian.com 888-397-3742 say you should wax your car 3 times a year. The cost and TransUnion at www.transunion.com 800-888-4213 savings are obvious! for a copy of your credit report.) You owe it to yourself to shop and compare the price Dealers have many lending sources. By using the deal- of the vehicle, any add-ons and the financing at the er’s large network of financing options, you may be same time. That’s how you know you’re getting the surprised to find a rate comparable to or lower than best deal! We truly believe that if you become a better your bank or credit union. But know the interest rate shopper, then you will want to buy from us. The “Experts” Say Don’t Buy AOL AUTOS, January 2003 “In the Finance and Insurance Room. You will move to the Finance and The excerpts below are from very popular sources of Insurance (F&I) room to sign contracts. Review the contract carefully and avoid high l priced extras like rustproofing,l and road safety kits. Check your new vehicle for information. These “experts” say don’t buy dealer scratches and dents before takingl delivery of it.” add-ons, but in our view their objections appear to be related to what they say are outrageously high prices typically charged by dealers and the assumption that the CNN/MONEY, January 2003 “Beware of the eleventh hour: Signing for your new car usually takes place in a manufacturers warranty is sufficient. Any product – rush, said Ashley Knapp, researcher at Autoadvisor.com, and that’s no accident. Many regardless of what it is – should be priced commensu- dealers will purposely heap decisions on you at the last moment, usually regarding l rate with its ultimate value. We feel strongly that if all pricey extras: whether to buy an extended warranty, floor mats, car alarms or tinted l windows.” l dealers priced their products and services as we do, each of these “experts” would change their opinion. DITIONAL DEALER “ADD-ONS” VS THE FITZWAY Excerpts from 6/20/02 Wall Street Journal Article “Did You Overpay for Your Car? States Sue Dealers Over Fees” by Karen Lundegaard In the Driver’s Seat changes are you paying for, and what is the total cost? Below are some of the most common add-ons sold Products: Theft etch by car dealerships: What It Does: Dealership puts number in windows Products: Loan as theft deterrent: if car is stolen, owner gets What It Does: Provides financing over a fixed term. $2,500 or $5,000. Question To Ask/What To Look For: What is the Question To Ask/What To Look For: Not considered interest rate they are offering vs. what you can get much of a deterrent. Essentially added theft insur- from your bank or credit union? What are they ance that many consumer experts don’t think is charging you to help you get the loan? (That figure worthwhile. is usually tacked on to the interest rate without you Products: Total loss protection or GAP knowing it.) What It Does: If car is stolen or totalled, pays the Products: Extended warranty or service contract difference between car’s current value and loan What It Does: Covers cost of repairs. balance. Question To Ask/What To Look For: All new cars, Question To Ask/What To Look For: Often recom- and some used cars, come with a manufacturer mended for lease, though not necessarily if buying, warranty. What does the additional coverage offer especially if you make a big downpayment. beyond that? If you miss an oil change, is the next Products: Chemical protections repair covered? What It Does: Seat protectant sealant, sound-proof Products: Maintenance Plan material. What It Does: Essentially, a pre-paid oil-change Question To Ask/What To Look For: Manufacturers plan. do much of this anyway on new cars; manufacturers Question To Ask/What To Look For: How many oil often don’t recommend sound-proofing. “Suits Target Warranties, Loans, reflects how little most customers McGrath, deputy district attorney this material: some customers even $6,000 Theft Plans; What to Watch know about the more complex add- in Los Angeles County, who han- sign pages before all dollar figures Out For” ons pushed by dealerships.” “Most dled the case.” have been written in by the seller.” customers, for example, have little “(One publicly owed dealership) “(Some dealerships) and others, “Some top car-dealership chains idea how much extended warranties AutoNation, for example, earned an meanwhile, are giving customers have allegedly been sneaking hid- should cost and where they can buy average of $725 a vehicle from such prepackaged lists of products and den fees into auto loans and charg- them for less—or even whether they extras in the first quarter of this prices. But such lists don’t necessar- ing customers for add-ons they need them at all. (Many consumer year, up about 113% from the year- ily solve the problem. The prices are either didn’t know they were buying experts believe they are unnecessary earlier period.” bundled with the loan and appear to or had specifically said they didn’t for new cars.)” “In a typical scenario, the sales- the customer as a lump-sum month- want.” “Sonic, which is being investigat- person asks the buyer how big a ly payment, forcing them to do the ...these (charges by State regula- ed by two state agencies and faces six monthly payment they can afford. If math to figure out how much the tors) are being leveled against some civil suits involving two Clearwater, the buyer says $350, for example, “extras” are. of the most respected players in the Fla., dealerships, says it is cooperat- the salesperson will “pack” the “One tip: Get loan quotes from industry.” “And the victims... ing with the government.” monthly payment with products and your bank or credit union before you include doctors, lawyers, police offi- “Dealerships are seizing on this services until it reaches that price— go to the showroom. “If you’d rather cers—even judges. ignorance...(t)he most common never telling the customer that they borrow through the dealership, it’s “State regulators have filed law- scam: charging as much as $6,000 have qualified for a loan with best, experts say, never to base your suits against a handful of top dealer- for “theft etch,” in which a number monthly payments of, say, $270.” negotiations on the size of the ships... (t)he suits focus on loan is etched on the car windows to “Consumers need to be very monthly payment. Instead, tell rates, extended warranties and deter theft and, if the car is later aware of what they are getting and them the total you want to pay for theft-protection plans, among other stolen, the owner is paid several what they are paying for it at the the car and haggle over that figure.