Who Sold the Most Cars in September?

It matters because it tells consumers what is happening in the market place. Knowing that can help you get your best deal in your local dealer's showroom.

Dealers who didn't sell much will have more inventory than they want and the dealing should favor consumers. Dealers whose brands outsold all the others are likely to be less concerned about making sales right now because they know they have a "hot" product with lots of buyers out there, so the deals may not be so good for you when you shop at Toyota for instance - they had the highest percentage increase in business, way over anyone else last month.

First of all, more light vehicles (cars and light trucks) were sold in September 2012 than at any time since the Spring of 2008 - a dramatic turn around from then to now and widely considered to be clear evidence that the economy is actually much better than at any point in the last four years.

One surprise is Ford, whose market share is down to 14.4%, which is the lowest for the company since August 2009. That may signal better deals at your Ford dealer because they have to pull the business out of the doldrums.

Ford was outsold by Toyota, which showed a 41.5% increase over last year's numbers.

Honda sales are up 31% over last year's numbers, so don't expect any great retail deals there.

Hyundai sales increased too, up 15.3%.

BMW? Up by a mere 3.5% for the month and on the road for a 7% annual increase over last year's numbers, While Mercedes is headed for a 15% annual increase in sales. VW says it sales are up 34.4% while Audi said sales rose 26.5% for the month.

Nissan dropped 1.1%, so buyers may find some anxious salespeople at their local Nissan store.

Meanwhile, GM says it had low September sales but hasn't released its numbers yet and Chrysler says it had a 11.7% increase, which was the best for them than at any time in the last five years.

If you are in the market for a new car or truck, shop carefully. Price comparison is more important now than every. And don't sign anything that you aren't very sure of.



The 5 Finger Close can cost you thousands

And watch out for the 5 Finger Close that can cost you thousands of dollars out of your pocket. That's a tricky technique of sales fraud used by some car dealers to get you to sign sales papers without you realizing that the numbers on the papers have been increased above without you knowing it.

For instance, the dealership Finance Manager holds the stack of sales papers still with one hand planted in the middle of the top document while pointing to the signature line with the other hand and asking you to just "sign here and here and here," etc., using their hand to cover up an area of the sales document where the numbers appear (that they don't want you to see).

It can appear to you that the Finance Manager is being helpful in holding the page still but in reality the technique is used to deceive the customer into believing that the numbers, such as the price, etc, are the same as what was talked about earlier when, in reality, they are not. It is sometimes also called a five finger spread or five finger push.

You can learn more car dealer slang terms by reading our Car Deaelrship Dictionary of Terms - just click here.

Be careful out there - and if you get ripped off or end up with a lemon, just remember. Fixing that for consumers is what we do.