If you’re not careful, buying a new car or truck these days can be a real mindfuck.

After you sift through the exhausting details of over 400 vehicles currently on the market, you’re then brought face-to-face in the final showdown: negotiating price and terms with the dealer.

Few men and women relish this task. But unless you want to clunk around in some 2nd class hand-me-down, dealership negotiation is an essential skill in modern America.

It’s not hard. The key is knowing what to say and when to say it for maximum leverage. And now that the economy’s in the crapper, the process today is easier than ever.

Dealerships sell cars all the time whereas you and I only buy once in awhile. This allows them to get lazy and rely on the same old psychological tricks over and over. That’s why knowing what they are ahead of time (and how to reply) will make them stutter like a stood up date… and nab you a better deal.

So here are the 8 most common tricks car dealers have thrown at me over the years… and how you can use the dealers own words to turn the tables and back him into a corner from which there is no escape.

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Scams & Cons auto dealers, automobiles, car dealers, cars, dealerships, ethics, hard-sell, negotiation, sales, salesmen, trucks

Identity theft scammers get more and move clever every year. What used to be obviously fake e-mails and laughably bogus questions from prospective “customers” have now evolved into devilishly sneaky methods to harvest your personal information and tap your bank account.

Unlike the exotic romanticism of so-called “hackers” portrayed in movies, most of the online scams rely on posing as a trusted figure of authority who gets you to spill your own beans by asking a few simple questions. They call this human, or “social engineering.”

The solution here is NOT to stop using online services like Craigslist, Paypal, and eBay… but rather to look out for a few simple tell-tale signs that something’s not quite right.

In poker, professional gamblers are always on the prowl for “tells” – subtle indicators of true intention from the lesser mortals surrounding the table. To successfully do business online with safety and security, you too must become one of the pros.

It’s not hard. In fact, it’s really quite easy once you know what to look for.

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Scams & Cons craigslist, credit checks, email, identity theft, paypal, phishing, scams, social engineering, social security number, spam