
Welcome to my 100% free online car buying guide for new and used vehicles. My name is Carlton Wolf and I've been in the retail car business for over 20 years. I created the Auto Cheat Sheet to better educate buyers on the deceptive sales practices found in many dealerships across the country.
Please understand, not all car dealers and their personnel are dishonest. However, you never know who you're going to end up dealing with when you walk into a car dealership.
Most Recent Car Buying Articles
- End of the Model Year New Car Buying Tips
Would you like to buy a car, but worry about paying too much or being ripped off by a dealer? If you're like most people, you don't want to spend hours in a dealership haggling with a car salesman, but still want to get the best possible price and walk away confident you received a great deal. My free online car buying guides will show you how easy it is to accomplish that goal.
For almost two decades, the Auto Cheat Sheet has helped thousands of people level the playing field when navigating the deceptive car buying process. But also educate them on how to recognize and avoid costly car dealer scams.
Online Car Buying Guides
My detailed new car buyer's guide will guarantee you get the best price available while new car shopping. 95% of the new car buying process can be done online without haggling with a car salesman. I'll teach you how to pay the best price available, get pre-approved for a low interest car loan and avoid car dealer scams without ever leaving your computer.
Buying a used car is a little different than buying a new vehicle. I'll show you how to find the right vehicle, negotiate the lowest price, check the vehicle's title history, arrange financing and even how to find the perfect extended warranty so you can protect your investment.
How you buy your first car will set the tone on how you buy vehicles for the rest of your life. Don't let your emotions and the excitement get in the way of making a smart car buying decision. Follow the tools I provide in this guide to make sure you're successful, receive a great deal, and avoid dealer scams when buying your first car.
How to Buy New Cars
Buying a new car is the second most expensive purchase most people will make in their lifetime. It should be fun and exciting, not frightening or scary.
Auto Cheat Sheet will show you how to buy the new car you want at the best possible price without having to deal with pushy arrogant frontline salespeople.
Best Online Car Buying Sites for Free Quotes.
Complete guide on the best online car buying sites to have dealers compete in a reverse bidding war so you pay the lowest price.
How to Buy a Car Under Factory Invoice.
How to save thousands with AutoCheatSheet.com's detailed guide on how to figure a car dealer's true new car cost on any new car, truck, minivan or SUV.
Best Time to Buy a New Car.
Timing is everything when it comes to buying a new car. I share with you the best time of the day, week, month, and/or year to buy a vehicle from a car dealership?
How to Figure a Fair Profit New Car Offer.
My guide on how to calculate a fair profit new car offer to guarantee you don't overpay when buying your next new car.
What New Car Dealer Fees You Should Pay.
Useful and informative guide on what fees and taxes you may encounter when buying a new vehicle from a new car franchise dealership.
How to Calculate Dealer Holdback on Any New Car.
Complete guide on how to figure and calculate a car dealer's secret holdback amount on any new car, truck, van or SUV.
How the Appraisal Process Works.
How the trade appraisal process works in a car dealership, what happens when you trade a car in with a dealership.
How to Increase Your Trade-in's Value.
My guide to low cost tips and tricks to help increase the value of your vehicle before trading or selling it to a car dealership.
How to Estimate Your Used Car's Trade-In Value?
How to estimate the value of your trade-in vehicle before contacting a car dealership.
How to Sell an Old Junk Car
how to sell an old junk car online and get more money than if you traded it with a car dealership.
Get Free Low Interest Car Loan Quotes Online.
One of the best ways to protect yourself from being ripped off by a car dealer is having a car loan in place before contacting a dealership.
Bad Credit Auto Loan Approval Guide.
Buying a car can be a very frustrating experience; it can be even more frustrating if you're trying to get a car loan with a bad credit problem.
How to Read Your Credit Report
At first glance, the information on a credit report can be very difficult to read. My guide will teach you how.
Establish Good Credit History From Scratch
It's not easy to build your credit history. It can be even harder of you're a young adult, especially if you're under twenty one.
How to Get Extended Auto Warranty Quotes Online.
How to find reputable extended auto warranty companies that provide consumers free online quotes.
How to Select the Perfect Extended Car Warranty.
My guide to choosing the right warranty coverage for you and your vehicle.
Refinance Your Car and Lower Your Payment.
How to refinance your current car loan and save thousands of dollars in interest.
All About Credit Reports & Scores
Your personal credit score is one of the most important factors in determining what interest rate you will pay
10 Questions Before Buying an Auto Warranty.
Questions you should ask yourself before buying an extended auto warranty.
Extended Auto Warranty Industry Definitions
Definitions to the most common extended auto warranty terms and words used within the automotive industry.
Get Free Car Insurance Rate Quotes Online.
Guide on how to find and get auto insurance quotes and compare auto insurance rates online from reputable companies.
Top Rated Auto Insurance Company Reviews.
Reviews of the best online car insurance companies available on the internet that provide free no obligation car insurance quotes
Car Insurance Myths Exposed.
The color of a car does not raise the premium. So if you want to go out and buy that red or black sports car, you can.
Car Insurance Discount Secrets
As long as you know what to ask for, by law, an insurance agent must disclose if there are discounts available to you.
What is GAP Insurance?.
What is GAP insurance, how it works, should you get guaranteed auto protection on your next car?
What is Credit Life and Credit Disability Insurance?
Everything you ever wanted to know about credit life and credit disability insurance but didn't know who to ask.
How to Buy Used Cars
Buying a used car is different from buying new. Used cars do not have an invoice and there is no way to tell how the vehicle has been treated by the previous owner.
The Auto Cheat Sheet will walk you through the entire used car buying process. You will find useful information on how to estimate a dealer's used car cost, negotiation tips, tell if a vehicle has been in an accident, read a VIN, and even learn the proper way to perform a test drive.
Best Used Car Quote Sites.
How to find local used cars for sale online and have car dealerships send you free, no-obligation used car price quote.
Estimate Used Car Cost on Any Dealer's Car.
How to calculate how much a car dealer paid for a used car by figuring a dealers true used car cost.
Vehicle History Reports | How to Check if a Vehicle has been in an Accident.
Complete guide on everything you ever wanted to know about vehicle history reports and what they will tell you about a used car's past.
Used Car Negotiating Tips and Advice.
Useful negotiating advice and strategies to give you the upper hand when negotiating a used car's price with a car dealership or private seller.
What New Car Dealer Fees You Should Pay.
Everything you ever wanted to know about a vehicle's VIN (vehicle identification number) and what each digit in a vehicle ID number represents.
How to Correctly Test Drive a Used Car.
Easy six step process makes it easy to correctly test drive a used car and reduces the risk of buying one you can't live with.
The Best Car Price May Not Be the Best Deal
Receiving the best price on a vehicle is only one piece of the car buying process. There are several areas a dealer will attempt to part you with your money. These areas include, but are not limited to financing, your trade, warranties, insurance, aftermarket products and the many car buying scams associated with the industry.
My car buying guide will cover all these areas in detail so you can have confidence knowing you received a great deal when buying your next new or used car.
Other Important Car Buying Topics:
- Car Loans: Where to find low interest car loans.
- Extended Car Warranty: How to buy an auto warranty.
- Car Dealer Scams: I expose the most common car dealer scams.
- Auto Insurance: Where to get the best auto insurance rates.
- Car Buying Blog: Useful articles about the car buying process.
Just one of the topics above may save you thousands of dollars on your next vehicle purchase. My advice is you read through all the above topics to guarantee you have a general knowledge of the entire car buying process. Make sure you send me your success story and let me know how you did.
How Car Dealers Count Their Money
Ever wonder why one person can get a great deal on a car and the other one doesn't? A dealer knows every car sale is different and they look at every deal separately. However, they look at the total profit collectively from all the vehicles sold for the month and then average it out over the total vehicles sold.
Example: Customer A buys a Honda Accord for $500 under dealer cost. Customer B bought the same car for a $1,600 profit and customer C bought the same car at a $5,400 profit. From the above three car deals the dealer grossed a total of $6,500. Divide it by the cars sold and the dealer is averaging $2,166.66 PVR (per vehicle retailed).
My tips will not show you how to steal a car from a dealership, but I will teach you how to not be customer C in the example above. The car buying tips within the Auto Cheat Sheet will NOT make the dealer a lot of money, but because of the way they average profit, they will still be happy to sell you a car.
Why, you ask? Because after you, there will be another person stumble into the dealership, uneducated and unprepared, trying to buy a car like their parents did. I guarantee the dealer will make up any lost profit from your car deal on the next guy. Learn more about the new car buying process and how it works.
Car Dealer Scams Exposed
Not all car dealers are bad, but it can be very difficult to know which ones are doing business honestly. Many of the most common tricks of the trade are easily avoidable if you know what to look for.
My goal is to expose the deceptions used by the unethical dealers so you don't end up becoming another victim.
- - Spot Delivery
- - Credit Doesn't Qualify
- - Forced Auto Warranty
- - Deferred Down
- - Payment Packing
- - Dealer Prep Fee
- - Straw Purchase
- - Addendum Sticker
- - Co-Signer Loans
- - FLEET Manager
- - Trade-in Value
- - Dealer Added Options
- - Purchase-Lease Switch
- - Pay Off Your Trade
- - All Credit Accepted
- - Guaranteed Approval
- - Bait and Switch
- - 0% Interest Available
- - Key Mailer
- - Slasher Sale
- - Certified Pre-Owned
- - Rebuilt Title
- - Didn't Payoff Trade
Why is Buying a Car Such a Hassle?
In reality, manufacturers would love to get rid of the middleman (car dealerships) and let you buy a new car directly from the source. However, back in the day, manufacturers focused only on building cars and did not want to take on the hassle of selling to the public.
This is how the traditional car dealership came about. Dealers took on the responsibility to sell and provide service for the vehicles the manufacturers were building. To guarantee the manufacuters could not take back control. Dealers banded together decades ago to protect their business's from franchise laws.

With no Internet available, it was very difficult to comparison shop or gather information on a vehicle you wanted to buy.
The only way to buy a new car was to go to your local car dealership and hope that you don't get ripped off.
Since the birth of the Internet you can get all the pricing information you need if you know where to look. However, the franchise laws dealers put into place in the past is what still protects them today.
There have been several attempts to change the laws to benefit the consumer, but dealers are protected politically and it is very difficult to win once you sign a contract. The fact is, if you're going to buy a new car, you will always have to buy it from a franchise dealership. An example would be if you want a new Ford pickup you'll have to buy it from a licensed Ford dealership.
The Car Buying Game is Rigged
Car dealers have an unfair advantage when it comes to negotiating the price of a new or used car. The average person will buy a car every four to six years, in this same time period a car dealership will sell around 4,500 cars. As you can see, the dealer has a little more experience selling cars than you do buying them.

As if this weren't enough, there's several different areas to the car buying process where a dealer can take advantage of you. Do you want new or used? Are you trading in a vehicle? Are you financing, leasing, or paying cash? How about protecting your investment with an extended warranty and insurance?
To make matters even worse, dealers are very good a wearing you down. They know if they drag out the car buying process long enough, you'll get tired and buy a car on their terms just to get out of there. It's a fact that some car purchases can take the entire day to complete. The sad thing is, even after taking all day to buy a vehicle you still won't know if you actually received a fair deal or not.
What's the Secret Formula to Buying a Car?
Car dealer's prey on the uninformed, just dropping in to buy a car without first doing your homework puts you at a severe disadvantage. I don't know how many times I'd hear a customer say, "When I came in, I wasn't planning on buying a car today," right before driving off in their new vehicle. The average gross profit made on these customers is much higher and is what makes if possible for a smart car buyer like yourself get such a great deal.
The secret formula to getting a great deal when buying a new or used car is "knowledge." The more you familiarize yourself with all aspects of the car buying process beforehand, the less chance you have overpaying for your next vehicle.