At $66,000 CAD, this may have been the most expensive tire change in history.

Madeline Leonard walked into Mazda of Orangeville in Ontario, Canada wanting to replace the tires and inspect the transmission on her 2004 Mazda 3.  Instead, she drove off hours later in a 2010 Mazda 6 sedan that cost her $45,846 CAD, plus thousands in dealer extras.  Finance costs for the 8-year loan would total another $16,000 CAD thanks to a 7.4% interest rate and a final balloon payment of $7,000 CAD.

PHOTO: Steve Russell / Toronto Star

Leonard is intellectually disabled and suffers from osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, depression, and anxiety.  She claims that she was “on a lot of medication” while at the dealership and that she was unable to concentrate on the deal being offered.  (She also must have missed our post about how to determine whether a deal is fair or not.)

“He started pointing here and said initial this, initial that, sign here,” Leonard said of her salesman, Mohammed “Moe” Shaikh.  “I wished I had never walked into the place,” she added.  “I’ve had a lot of trouble keeping up with these payments. The stress has been terrible.”

Leonard’s loan is structured with biweekly payments of $319 CAD, a tall order considering that she is on disability and has a fixed income of less than $1,900 CAD per month.

The business manager who helped create the lopsided deal, Kien Trung, told the Toronto Star that Leonard was treated fairly.  “We didn’t do anything wrong in the case of this transaction,” he said. “We made a little bit of money on the deal. I guess she was not happy with it.”

“The deal was way over the top regarding pricing,” remarked Carey Smith of the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council, the agency that took Leonard’s case.  Their investigation found that the car’s value was closer to $40,000 CAD and that the salesperson had lied about the car being new when, in fact, it was a used demonstrator vehicle with about 3,700 miles on the odometer.

Sunny Bains, the owner of Mazda of Orangville, has since fired the salesman and the business manager and has pledged to make things right for Madeline Leonard.  “She has been contacted, and we are going to take the car back and pay her the money, whatever she paid,” he told the Toronto City News.

Shaikh and Trung are not off the hook, though.  The OMVIC has charged both men with, “engaging in unfair practice by making an unconscionable representation.”  Under the provincial Consumer Protection Act, the men could face fines of $250,000 CAD each and up to two years in prison.  They may also be held liable for damages.

Laura Halbert, Director of Compliance for the OMVIC notes, “We felt that the circumstances were quite outrageous, the fees and things…and that’s not something we are going to tolerate.”

It’s no secret that most people hate haggling over the price of a new car.  Fighting with salespeople is awkward and no one wants to drive home and find out that their neighbor got the same car for $500 less.

Why can’t a dealership just tell you how much a car costs and then give you a fair price?  Do they really think that they can get you to pay more by being sneaky?

Results from a 2008 study by Synovate eNation found that most consumers don’t have a problem with dealers making a fair profit – but they do have a major fear of getting stuck with a bad deal.  So the more a dealer tries to hide the truth, the harder most consumers will fight back in negotiations.  This practice is bad for customer satisfaction and bad for profit margins.

At Honk, we figured that if we can show you how much a car really costs, you’ll know whether or not you’re getting a good deal.  So we started with a clean sheet of paper and built a pricing section that skips the gimmicks and shifts the balance of power to you, the consumer:

How do you know if you’re getting a great deal?

Want to know how much a car costs?  Want to know what other people actually paid?

So do we – and that’s exactly why we feature pricing data from TrueCar.  They analyze transactions from around the country and can tell you which deals are good, great, or laughable.

The number you probably want to know most is the TrueCost figure, which estimates how much the vehicle actually cost the dealership.  Once you know this figure you can estimate how much – or how little – a dealer is making on the sale.

The TrueCost is especially handy when you need to know whether or not a salesperson is lying after they shout, “But we’re not making any money on this deal!”

We think that TrueCar rocks because they give you the perspective you need to judge an offer and the details you need to win a great one.

Skip the haggling altogether

Even better, if haggling stinks so much, why not just skip it altogether?

Honk has an auto buying service that can help you skip the haggling on new cars in most major markets.  The prices are pre-negotiated and posted up front.  All you have to do is build the car you want to buy and we’ll show you up to three prices from dealers in your area.  You don’t even have to give up your name or email address until you’ve selected a dealer to work with.

Other car sites will promise you a price and then sell your contact information to multiple dealership as a sales lead.  That means that you won’t get a price until someone from Crazy Joe’s Car Emporium interrupts your dinner the next night with an obnoxious sales call.

Honk’s auto buying service is designed to keep you in charge.  We’ve even integrated TrueCar pricing data so that you can see for yourself how the Honk price stacks up against what you could negotiate on your own.

Long story short: we think we’ve built a better way to research and buy a new car.  Just remember to tell Crazy Joe that Honk sent you.

As the designated car guy in my circle of friends, it is my sworn duty to offer 24/7 support whenever someone needs help buying a new car.  I research cars, explain features, double-check market prices and personally accompany friends to the dealership whenever possible.

After supporting dozens of car purchases, I’ve come to an important realization: emotions always win.

Toss that specifications sheet and cancel your subscription to Consumer Reports because if you’re anything like my friends, you’re not going to listen to your head when it’s your turn to buy a new car.

My friend, Iris, is the poster-child for this phenomenon.  “I really like the Mini Cooper, but I need four-wheel drive for snowboarding in the winter and I also need to carry a surfboard or two inside,” she explained.  “I’m thinking about buying a Nissan Xterra or that Lexus SUV.”

We hit the ground running on Saturday and looked at twelve SUVs and crossovers, test-driving her favorite seven.  We kicked tires, calculated payments, and carefully examined cargo space.

Iris called me early the next morning.  “I know you’re going to hate me for this but I’ve decided to buy a Mini Cooper S.”

Between the anti-surfboard size and the summer tires, I knew that this was quite possibly the worst car for her needs.  But even though her change of heart was frustrating after a full day of dealership visits I could tell that she was grinning from ear to ear as she spoke.  “The Mini is a great car,” I sighed.  “You should definitely get it.”

Three years later, Iris still loves her Mini.  “I get 35 miles per gallon and my car is sooo much fun to drive!” she tells people.

And Iris isn’t the only one who took a last-minute left turn.

My neighbor, Pauline, complained of high fuel prices and was certain that she’d end up with a small car.  She ultimately bought a mid-sized Nissan Murano crossover because she loved the dark blue color and post-modern design.

An acquaintance, Lewis, was convinced that the super-efficient Toyota Prius was the best choice for his wife’s lengthy commute but purchased an Acura TSX because she fell in love with the interior.

A close friend and colleague, Trevor, had his pick of a super-discounted lease on a company vehicle but chose to spend thousands more on a Honda S2000 sports car because of the way it felt behind the wheel.

Are these people crazy?  Far from it.

I think that car-shopping is a lot like discovering a new friend.  It’s easy to find strangers with common interests but true friends are the ones who click on a much deeper level.  The same is true of cars.  They can all get you from A to B, but only a few can really move you on an emotional level.

So how will you know which car is the right car for you?  That’s easy: it’s the one that makes you smile.