Few consumers relish the car-buying process. It's hard to shake the feeling that you've been taken or that someone else got a better deal.

Pennsylvania auto lemon law attorney Craig Kimmel, who's become an expert on dealer sales practices during his 13 years representing aggrieved car owners, talked recently about tactics some dealers use to grab more of your money and offered tips to help you avoid getting snookered.

Ploy 1: The dealership tells you your credit score is so bad, you don't qualify for regular or low-interest financing.

Dealers make the most money these days financing cars, not selling them, Kimmel said. Knowing your credit worthiness before entering the showroom can save big bucks. Go to a bank first and find out what interest rate you should expect to pay. If the dealer is telling you 9 or 10 percent when you know the going rate is 6 percent, walk away.

Ploy 2: You signed all the papers and drove your new car home, but several days later the salesperson calls to say your financing fell through and you'll have to pay a higher rate.

	Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette Auto lemon law attorney Craig Kimmel, with Kimmel & Silverman in Philadelphia, gives an update on possible changes to the state's lemon law and latest auto safety issues while at an auto dealer's lot. Click photo for larger image.

Don't believe it, Kimmel said. "Dealerships don't let you leave the lot unless everything is completed. If you have the document that says you bought the car, then you bought the car."

Ploy 3: You're told you must buy that day to get the best deal.

Dealers don't want you to shop around, so they'll pressure you to stay. But for the consumer, comparing prices is a must. "The best price is the lowest price you can negotiate over a number of dealerships," Kimmel said.

Generally, the best time to shop is at the beginning of the week when the showroom isn't crowded and you can take your time, he said. You'll also typically get a better deal at the end of the month, when dealers and employees are striving to meet sales goals and may be more willing to trim their profits to do it.

Of course, you'll want to be able to recognize a good deal by finding out first what the dealer paid for the vehicle. Try www.edmunds.com for new and used car prices and www.kelleybluebook.com to value your trade-in. A reasonable target price for a new car is 2 percent to 5 percent over the dealer's cost for vehicles in good supply, minus any manufacturer's rebates.

Ploy 4: You're asked what monthly payment you can afford.

Don't answer, Kimmel said. You should negotiate the price of the car, not a monthly payment. Otherwise, you won't know exactly what you are paying or whether you're getting a good deal.

Let's say you can afford $250 a month for five years. That gives dealers the opportunity to raise the price of the car, boost the interest rate or reduce the amount of your trade-in and still meet your $250 goal, even though a fair price may have been $200 a month. You've just transferred an extra $3,000 from your pocket to theirs.

Ploy 5: The salesperson tries to tack on a bunch of high-priced add-ons, such as "dealer prep" charges, rustproofing, fabric protection, battery and tire protection, invisible etching of the Vehicle Identification Number or $200 floor mats.

"Cross them all out and walk out if they won't agree not to sell them to you," Kimmel said. These are all things with little or no value being sold at wildly inflated prices.

Ploy 6: You're told the lender requires you to buy an extended warranty, costing several thousand dollars, in order to get financing.

Again, don't believe it. "No bank requires the purchase of an extended warranty," Kimmel said. Any dealership that says otherwise is not being truthful.

Ploy 7: You're being pressured into signing an arbitration clause, which says you agree to arbitrate any future disputes instead of going to court.

"When you see the word 'arbitration,' cross it out, initial it, and get a copy," Kimmel said. There's no reason to give up your right to sue, he said, which you may need to do if the problem is serious.

Trouble is, you may not realize you're signing such a clause, since it could be buried on the back of the contract in fine print that no one at the dealership bothers to point out. So carefully read everything you're signing.

Ploy 8: The dealer is pushing a lease as a better deal than buying.

"I say avoid leasing at all costs," Kimmel said. Leases are complicated and entail so many variables that it's nearly impossible to evaluate the deal. "Dealerships love leases because they're so profitable," he said.

Kimmel said car buyers should "look at dealerships like sharks circling the water."

That's not to say they're all out to rob you.

"There are a great many dealerships that are good and you can trust," he said.

Still, it's hard to know the difference unless you head to the showroom well-armed.