Ten tips that can save you a lot of money when you buy your next car.

One of the smartest folks I know just wrote a terrific article giving you ten tips on how to buy a car that should be required reading for anyone who is even thinking about it. 

Its published over at the NHS Consumer Law Center blog, where you can find out much more about consumer rights, scams, and how to protect yourself.

One Smart Car Buyer Gives You 10 Tips

In the article, Nadine Ballard explains what she just did in buying a car that kept her in control of the process and avoiding some of the major pitfalls and dangers that lurk in the sales staff and paperwork car dealers use.

She also shows you how just saying "NO" can save you time and money and preserve your legal rights - and how car dealers will change even their form contract paperwork just to make a sale to you if they have to.

Nadine's advice is highly recommended to everyone!  Don't leave home (to go car shopping) without it -

Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Magistrate Judge Nadine Ballard has been picked by newly elected Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann to head the state's Consumer Protection Section. There could not have been a better choice made for this critically important position.

Magistrate Judge Ballard has a remarkable record of public service and, quite frankly, she knows more about Consumer Law than probably anyone in the whole state. Better yet, she has a strong history of working to protect Ohio consumers. She has spent nearly 15 years as a Magistrate Judge for Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, handling thousands of cases, so her "real life" experience is one thing no one can doubt.

She has seen the best of business practices and the victims of the worst of business practices. She knows how to handle this job better than anyone else. She is both a perfect choice and a logical choice.

She graduated in 1977 from Michigan State University with a Public Affairs Management degree, concentrating in Consumerism. She then started law school and graduated in 1980 and went to work as an Assistant Attorney General in Bill Brown's Consumer Protection office, what was known as one of the more consumer protectionist administrations ever to sit in the AG's office. She then spent 7 years for the UAW Legal Services Plan, again concentrating on Consumer Law litigation before going on the Montgomery County bench.

A frequent trial practice teacher at University of Dayton's School of Law, she currently teaches Consumer Law at Sinclair community College part time and is the co-author of Ohio Consumer Law, the "Bible" of Consumer Law for Ohio attorneys. In spite of a busy professional and personal life, she remained active in professional organizations too.

Magistrate Judge Ballard will bring a breath of fresh air to Consumer Protection in Ohio, one that hasn't been seen in Columbus for over a decade. Her local influence and professional reputation was built from her years of experience and hard work on behalf of the legal system, consumers and businesses alike.

The bad news for Montgomery County? She won't be there. The good news for the new Attorney General of Ohio? She'll be there. We are confident that no better person exists for the job to be done. Some great appointments have been made by Marc Dann, but this appointment of Nadine Ballard is terrific!

To top it off, she starts her new job on February 5, the start of National Consumer Protection Week. Perfect timing!