When you buy a car, you’ll be offered warranties, rust protection and other add-ons you can usually accept or decline.
However, a new survey by Car Help Canada, a non-profit group that provides assistance to customers buying cars, finds that some car dealers are forcing customers to buy add-ons, and if they don’t, the dealer will refuse to sell them the car.
“Many dealerships are price gouging consumers charging them excessive fees and forcing them to pay for add-on products they don’t necessarily want or need,” said Shari Prymak, executive director of Car Help Canada.
The Canadian Car Buyers Survey…
Automotive Accessories
Buying a car has never been more expensive, assuming you can even find one — here’s why
Just as it did for nearly every facet of the global economy, the pandemic plunged Canada’s new car market into upheaval, throwing supply and demand completely out of whack.
Factory shutdowns due to COVID-19 made for widespread shortages of parts, filtering down to a historic lack of finished vehicles for sale on dealer lots. And on the demand side, consumers were far less eager to buy what was available, as the economic uncertainty had them holding on to their existing cars much longer than usual.
Three years later, most of the weak links in the supply chain have been fixed,…
Daycare center left damaged after being struck by stolen car on Chicago’s South Side
Car crashes into South Side daycare
Car crashes into South Side daycare
00:49CHICAGO (CBS) – A car slammed into a daycare center on the city’s South Side overnight.
The crash left damage outside of the daycare in Calumet Heights along Stony Island near 88th Street.
Tamera Fair, the CEO of Premier Child Care Centers, said she found out about the crash around 10:30 pm Saturday.
She says police told her that the car was stolen.
“Whoever crashed it fled the scene. The keys were in the car, no broken windows, the steering column was not tampered with. So, we…
LKQ Euro Car Parts launches graduate programme
Tamworth-based LKQ Euro Car Parts has launched its first ever finance graduate scheme to create new pathways for young people looking to begin their career in the automotive industry.
The aftermarket specialist is recruiting for three new graduate positions in its finance team. Successful candidates will enroll on a three-year program where they’ll be supported and funded to gain CIMA/ACCA accredited accounting qualifications.
The graduates will also be allocated a personal mentor to oversee their progress, as well as being sponsored by the director of commercial finance and financial planning and analysis (FP&A) Melanie Lowe.
Applications are open now and…
Is your new car on a storage compound? Inside Kia’s scheme to deliberately withhold deliveries
New Kia vehicles that have arrived from overseas are sitting on a storage lot in Wolverton, Ont., purposely locked up even though customers have been waiting months and months — some well over a year — to get their vehicles.
The new cars are being held from Kia’s Ontario dealerships — and reportedly from many more across the country — as part of a controversial plan by Kia Canada to game the number of sales in the last six weeks of the year.
Go Public has obtained a video in which a Kia regional manager explains the scheme — passed…
Automakers may develop the ability to shut down your car
Automakers may develop the ability to shut down your car | Automotive NewsSkip to main contentNEWSOPINIONDATA CENTERVIDEOSEVENTS & AWARDSJOBSResource Center+MOREAdvertiseLeading Women NetworkPodcastsWebinarsIn the Driver’s SeatPublishing PartnersAPCO HOLDINGS: Strategies for handling new F&I dynamicsAPCO Holdings: Connected cars create new challenges and opportunities in F&IAPCO Holdings: The Wild Ride into the Future of F&IAllstate: Compliance standards are changing. Here’s what you need to know.Allstate: The ABCs of maximum F&I effectivenessAlly All Ears Podcast Episodes | The next evolution in virtual F&I…
Why a car parts crisis is costing customers time and money
“The car is on a PCP [personal contract purchase] and we’re still paying for it,” she says. “Apparently, nobody can get hold of this part. And until they can, the car is off the road. The car is now SORNed because I can’t MOT it, I can’t tax it, so I’m kind of stuck, really.
This is not a problem unique to the dealership in question, either. Becky continued: “We originally bought the car at Salisbury Audi, because we’ve got a friend who works there, and they happened to call me a couple of days ago to talk about the…
This Windsor, Ont., man is paying for a car he can’t drive. He’s calling for stronger consumer rights
A Windsor, Ont., man who has spent months without a vehicle as his SUV sits in the dealership’s lot, awaiting parts, following an accident is calling for stronger consumer laws.
Mohamed Ahmed says the March car accident left his then month-old vehicle undrivable. He said he wasn’t offered a replacement, and was “shocked” to learn he didn’t have a legal right to one.
Ahmed financed a 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan in February. He is still waiting for the arrival of two main parts — a steering rack and rims — so his vehicle can be fixed.
“There is no ETA on…