Tax Time = Scam Time

It’s tax return season, and you know what that means? Used car scams! Tens of thousands of people in need of reliable transportation are about to receive $2-3000 checks in the mail. So get ready for Facebook marketplace to be crawling with a million scams for great cars for $2-3000 down! This is the season for sleazy car salesmen to make bank, selling salvaged, flooded, or imaginary vehicles to suckers from coast-to-coast.

So what do we do to avoid becoming a victim or seeing a friend or loved one become a victim? Fortunately, this is OnRamp’s specialty! We’ve actually written a short, free, downloadable book on this exact topic, “Reliable Rides: Used Car Buying Guide.” You can get it HERE, and feel free to share it with anyone and everyone you know.

In chapter 9, you’ll discover the five key steps to spotting and avoiding scams: spotting red flags, researching the seller, confirming documents, running a VIN check, and doing a Pre-Purchase Inspection. We’ll walk you through each of those steps in detail. You’ll find our full Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist in chapter 10 and our guide to signing paperwork and paying safely in chapter 11.

Back towards the beginning, in chapters 3-5, we list out the top 10 vehicles to buy (Toyota and Honda for the win!), and the top 5 to avoid at all costs (for example, never, ever, ever buy a used Chevy Traverse or a Nissan with a CVT!). And you get a bonus in chapter 6, our list of best vehicles for brand new drivers.

So please check out this free resource, and share it with anyone and everyone you know who might be looking for a used car.

Note to donors: your year-end statements have gone out by email and, if we don’t have your email address, by snail mail. If you haven’t seen yours and need it, please let Stephanie Mason know by emailing her HERE.