Effective car salesmen have a sizable bag of tricks from which to draw when moving in for the kill. To avoid falling prey to the ruses, you need to know how to spot them.

CNNMoney is there for you, identifying several smooth operations that salesmen are known to attempt. Among them:

*Telling you your credit is bad. It’s best to know your credit score, or better yet, secure your own financing before heading to a dealership. Fail to do so and you’ll be defenseless if the finance guy tells you your credit is sub-par and tries to offer you a poor financing deal.

*Trying to sell you on lower payments. Finance guys can tack all sorts of ridiculous fees onto your price, as well as future interest, and still make it appear as though you’re getting a better deal by stretching out your loan term to lower your payment.

*Hard-selling you on the extended warranty. First off, if you’re convinced you’re about to purchase a hunk of junk that could break down as soon as the manufacturer’s warranty expires, you should probably reconsider buying the vehicle. Once salesmen are sure they’ve got you sold, they often try to get you to cough up more for an extended warranty by putting a scare in you about potential major repair costs in the future. Remember that even if you really want an extended warranty, you don’t have to commit to one at the bargaining table.

What car sales tricks are you most wary of?

Biggest car-buying rip-offs [CNNMoney]

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