🚨 Interest Rate Markup: The Hidden Trap That Could Cost You Thousands

What Is It (and Why Should You Care)?

Interest rate markup is the dealership’s favorite trick to fatten their profits—and drain your wallet.

Here’s the hustle:

• You qualify for a 5% APR from a lender.

• Dealer tells you 7%.

• That 2% difference? That’s not going to your loan.
  It’s going straight into the dealership’s pocket.

Multiply that 2% over a 60- or 72-month loan?
You're looking at an extra $1,500–$3,000+ in interest you didn’t need to pay.

That’s a killer vacation, a chunk off your next ride, or a fat dent in your credit card debt—gone.

🎭 Why Dealers Love Marking Up Rates

This is where they really make money—behind the curtain, in the finance office. Here’s why they keep doing it:

• 💼 Back-End Goldmine: Markups = bonuses and bigger commissions.

• 😎 You’re Distracted: Buyers zero in on price, not APR. That gives them room to maneuver.

• 🕵️‍♂️ No One Shows You the Real Rate: You never see what the bank actually approved. So they give you a "dealer-approved" version—with a markup baked in.

It’s like being told you’re getting prime steak—but they slip you a hamburger with a Wagyu price tag.

💡 How to Spot It—and Stop It

Here’s how to bulletproof your financing:

🔍 1. Get Pre-Approved First

Walk in knowing your rate. Local bank, credit union, online lender—it doesn’t matter.
What matters is you know what you actually qualify for.

🧾 2. Ask for the Buy Rate

This is the rate the lender gave the dealer.
If they won’t show you? That’s a red flag the markup is alive and well.

💵 3. Compare Total Loan Cost

Don’t fall for a sweet-looking monthly payment.
Focus on the total interest paid and APR.

🧠 4. Let Us Handle It

We negotiate with full transparency.
We see the buy rate, call out the markup, and make sure the lender’s rate is your rate.
That’s what we do, every day, for every client.

🔧 How The 615 Negotiator Stops the Markup Madness

• 🕵️ We uncover hidden APR padding dealers don’t want you to know about.

• 💼 We work with trusted lenders, not just whoever kicks back the most to the dealership.

• 🧮 We break down financing so it makes sense—and saves you serious cash.

We're not just car guys. We're your financial firewall.

🚫 Don’t Get Played by a 2% Lie

A 2% interest rate markup may not sound huge—
But it’s one of the dealership’s most profitable and painful tricks.

If you're not watching, you're paying.

Let us watch for you.
Let us fight for you.
Let us negotiate like it’s our money on the line—because that’s how we roll.