Some Car Dealers Taking Buyers For A Ride With "Payment Packing"

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- The last time you bought or leased a car, you might have been a victim of something called "payment packing" without even knowing it. It's one of the more common ways that car dealers take buyers for a ride and it's designed to hike up your monthly car payment.

Jo-han Noor Mohamed is a numbers guy. When the accountant recently got a price quote for a new car lease, he said the numbers just didn't add up specifically the sales tax.

"It was based on the full value of the car," said Mohamed.

Something that struck him as strange, since he was only planning to lease the car for three years.

"It didn't seem right," said Mohamed. And it's not.

When it comes to leases, dealers are "supposed" to base the sales tax on the "monthly" payments not on the full value of the car.

Click here to watch David Sutta's report. 

"Dealers are very creative," said car lawyer Lou Liberty.

He said some car dealers purposely find ways to inflate the initial quote in an effort to tack on extras later. This is called payment packing.

"That's their goal, to get you comfortable with a higher monthly payment than is required to do the deal," said Liberty.

Ultimately, dealers correct the sales tax or in some cases inflated interest before you sign. But Liberty said they keep the higher payments by "packing" in profitable add-ons, implying that they're free.

"Paint and fabric protection.... a theft deterrent device...an extra alarm system... service contract... gap contract... things of that nature," said Liberty.

The New Car Dealers Association said it,"encourages consumer(s) to approach their dealer directly with any concerns about proposed terms, including taxes."

That's exactly what Mohamed did. He prompted the dealer to correct the sales tax which ended up being a $2,200 difference.

"Being an accountant, you are required to pay very close attention to detail," said Mohamed.

The dealership contends the misquote was an honest mistake and not "payment packing."

If a dealer is "payment packing" and you declined the "free add-ons," they would not be able to charge you higher sales tax or interest. This mean they would have to lower the price.