Rusty Car Scam

Buying a Car With
Rust Can Get Dirty!

The rusty car scam can cost you thousands. Buy a car with a rusty undercarriage and you could be in for some expensive repairs and your cars value will drop tremendously.

You could say that you car would be "worth it's weight in rust!"

OK. Bad joke, but seriously this is something you definitely want to be aware of.

This car buying scam usually affects people in southern states (sun country), because there is rarely snow and these consumers don't even think about car rust.

If you are from snow country, then I think you'll already know the importance of checking for car rust.

How The Rusty
Car Scam Works

It begins with an unscrupulous car dealer in sun country connecting with a wholesaler located in snow country. They will buy and transport vehicles to their dealership knowing they are rust buckets.

Why? Simple. They can buy a vehicle in sun country for $15,000 and can buy a similar, but rusty, vehicle from snow country for $11,000.

Once the vehicle gets to the dealership they will spray paint the undercarriage so that a quick glance under the body of the car will reveal no rust.

For those of you that don't know, rust is like cancer for a car and it will continue to spread and essentially eat your car to pieces.

I actually worked (past tense, I quit soon after) for a dealer that did this exact car buying scam. I didn't even realize he was doing it until winter rolled around and our winter visitors started coming into town.

Our winter visitors are retirees that live in states like Minnesota, Montana, etc. and come down here to get away from the snow in winter.

Anyway, they are very aware of car rust and would point it out to me on the vehicles we had for sale. I took a look for myself and noticed that 3/4 of the vehicles on the lot were rusted out.

Even a reputable dealership could unknowingly sell you a rusty car. Remember those winter visitors I mentioned earlier? They often times buy new vehicles when they're in town and will usually have vehicles to trade in.

These trade ins are from snow country and can often times be rusted out. This isn't a small problem. These winter visitors travel out of snow country to places further south each year and they number in the millions.

I'd recommend always having a qualified mechanic check out a vehicle prior to purchasing. Have them look for not only the overall mechanical condition, but rust, bodywork and frame damage.

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