Federal Trade Commission targets car dealers for misleading ads

“A huge percentage of people are upside down,” said Shahan. “What they don't realize is that they are just getting deeper and deeper into debt.”

Shahan says it's usually better to keep the old car and pay off the loan before buying a new car.

“The thing about cars is that they depreciate, so it's a bad place to put a lot of money,” she said.

Despite the claims, consumers still ended up being responsible for paying the difference between the trade-in loan balance and the vehicle's value, the commission said.