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Dealer Fees And Extras: Which Ones to Avoid

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by Shari Prymak

As you approach the final stage of purchasing your new car from the dealership, you will likely be presented with a wide range of extra-cost items which you may not be prepared for. The business office is the place where the dealership takes a final opportunity to sell you on various add-ons before closing the deal. While some of these options might be worth considering, others are simply not worth the money. It is important to understand what you are being offered in order to make a fully informed purchase decision.

Administration/Documentation Fees – Avoid

Many dealerships will try to charge admin/doc fees anywhere from $299 to $799 as part of the itemized breakdown on the new car purchase agreement. It is important to understand that, unlike delivery and destination or provincial levies, this is not a mandatory fee which all dealerships charge.  If possible, ask the dealership to waive this fee from the purchase agreement. Some will be willing to do so in order to close the deal. If the dealer cannot waive the charge, ask for a discount equal to or exceeding the amount of the charge.

Nitrogen Tire Package – Avoid

The idea here is that pure nitrogen helps to maintain consistent air pressure in the tires even through large temperature swings. Given that regular air already contains nearly 80 percent nitrogen, the argument for pure nitrogen is questionable to say the least. In any case, the money spent on this package will have been wasted the next time you fill your tires with regular air. Some dealers charge as much as $400 for this extra, and we recommend passing on it.

Wheel Locks – Avoid

Wheels locking nuts help protect your wheels from potential thieves. For $100 or so, it may be worth the charge on certain cars with fancy wheels, but it offers no value to the average mainstream car, particularly those with steel wheels and hubcaps. Locking nuts can also make tire rotations a major hassle since you have to keep the key in a safe, secure spot.

Window Etching – Avoid

Some dealers will charge up to $500 to etch the car’s VIN into the glass to deter thieves. Again, this is an extra that is not worth its price tag. Most thieves know to look for etching when stealing a car. If you still see value in it, you can purchase a do-it-yourself kit for a modest amount. If the dealer pre-installs etching on their cars and insists on the charge, simply ask for a discount to offset the cost.

Maintenance Plans – Avoid

Maintenance plans allow you to prepay for your car’s maintenance for the first few years of ownership. Although the idea may sound appealing, these plans rarely offer the value they promise. Maintenance plans can cost as much as $2,000 and basically only cover inexpensive items such as oil changes and inspections. With the extended service intervals of today’s cars, the money is better saved for out-of-pocket service visits.

Wheel and Tire Protection – Avoid

Some dealers may offer tire protection for up to $1,000. Tire protection plans are often filled with exclusions, including potholes, curbing, and nail punctures. Without these items being covered, the value of a tire protection package is questionable at best. We recommend passing on this extra.

Rust Protection – Consider

Dealerships typically offer a few options for rust protection, including a spray-on product, wax coating, or even electronic modules which supposedly prevent rust. These products can be priced as high as $1,500 and usually come with some kind of warranty. We recommend skipping the expensive and questionable dealer products and simply go with a time-tested, inexpensive alternative. One solid option is Krown Rust Control, which offers a proven oil spray application that can be very effective when applied on a regular basis. For more details on rust protection, please read this article.

Extended Warranty Plans – Consider

Extended warranty can provide peace of mind and value to those who drive over 20,000 km per year. High mileage drivers are more likely to take advantage of the extra coverage compared to those who only drive 10,000 km per year. An additional 2-3 years of full comprehensive coverage usually costs in the range of $2,500. Less expensive options that only cover the engine and transmission are available as well. It is important to verify that the warranty is a manufacturer plan as opposed to a third party provider. If you are unsure whether you want an extended warranty plan, then wait. You have until the end of the original comprehensive warranty period to decide on this extra.

Lease Protection – Consider

Lease protection is an excellent option to consider for those concerned about returning a car to the dealer at the end of the lease. At a cost of around $1,000, it protects you from potential wear and tear costs, including minor dents or scratches that the dealer could otherwise charge you for. Simply hand over the car and let the dealer deal with those issues.

Paint and Interior Protection – Consider

Dealers often have expensive cosmetic protection products for both exterior paint and interior surfaces. We recommend getting a quote from a reputable independent detailer which may offer far superior products. Vinyl paint protection film, ceramic paint coating, and fabric/leather protectors are all viable options for maintaining the long-term aesthetics of your car. You can even purchase and apply many of these products yourself to save money.

Accessories – Consider

Car accessories such as floor liners, tow packages, dash cams, and remote starters are often best purchased at the dealership. It is important that these items have been approved and tested for your car, and the dealership products will meet this requirement.

Ark Aid Street Mission closing beds, slashing hours after $1M homeless funding ends

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Daryl Newcombe

Published: April 01, 2026 at 8:58PM EDT

https://www.ctvnews.ca/london/video/2026/04/01/ark-aid-to-slash-beds-hours-amid-1m-funding-shortfall

Ark Aid Street Mission is sounding the alarm a day after a federal homelessness program and city hall’s cold weather response ended.

Executive Director Sarah Campbell says the financial shortfall will exceed $1 million for the frontline agency, forcing several difficult but necessary service cuts for homeless Londoners.

It represents approximately one-third of their operational funding, and means essential services like meals, showers, clothing, washroom access, assessments, referrals, and system navigation will now rely entirely on donor support.

A total of 50 overnight spaces this winter (across three locations) will immediately cease.

The Ark had operated London’s only seven day-a-week open door emergency service outside regular business hours.

Services at 696 Dundas St. will be reduced from between 20 and 24 hours a day — to just four hours.

“We’re currently stepping everything down, starting with the night beds for winter. We will then reduce our daytime hours and by the end of the month, we’ll have just four hours each day,” Campbell explained.

Those remaining hours will be around dinner time.

“We have anywhere between 50 to 70 people through the doors at any one time, and on an average weekend we’re seeing 400 unique individuals come through our space because on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays there are no other open doors,” Campbell added.

Shelter beds inside Ark Aid Street Mission at 696 Dundas St. in London, Ont. (File)

Twelve referral organizations had been utilizing The Ark as a drop-off location for homeless individuals, including London police and local hospitals.

Campbell is disappointed that no other government funding was made available before the previous federal program expired March 31.

“If we have zero government dollars, how do we make sure that we show up for the people who need us, when they need us most?” she asked rhetorically.

Among the other services lost or significantly reduced:

  • 24/7 assessment and stabilization
  • Encampment meal service
  • Basic needs access reduced to five days/week
  • Diversion and pathway-to-home supports

“These are essential basic needs, but they’re also life saving activities,” Campbell explained. “We don’t allow any drug use on site, but we do have overdoses around our building regularly. In fact, we’ve responded to 29 overdoses just since January, so being present here is critical.”

Ark Aid Street Mission is issuing an urgent plea to donors and all levels of government.

“We would like the funding gap filled by the municipal government because that’s the [level of government] we can go to directly, but it’s not their responsibility alone,” Campbell told CTV News. “It was federal funding that had come to the municipality [that ended], so we’re advocating to all levels of government.”

Campbell worries that fewer services, resources and indoor spaces will lead to more suffering on the streets of London.

“I don’t think there’s a person in London who doesn’t know that this is a catastrophe,” she said.

The beds inside The Ark’s Cronyn Warner Shelter are not affected by the funding shortfall, but its funding is scheduled to expire in one year.

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Daryl Newcombe

Daryl Newcombe

Originally Published by CTV.ca Here

Eviction saga highlights effect of treating housing as commodity: UVic prof

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Estair Van Wagner said the letter of the law was followed in Mark Plank’s high-profile eviction case, but not the “human rights element.”

Michael John Lo
Apr 2, 2026 4:30 AM

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Estair Van Wagner, associate law professor at the University of Victoria, outside the UVic Faculty of Law. DARREN STONE, TIMES COLONIST

Listen to this article | 00:04:54 Duration

The near-eviction of a 63-year-old Victoria renter due to missed rent-increase payments brings home the impact of treating housing “as a commodity instead of a home,” says a University of Victoria associate law professor.

Estair Van Wagner said the letter of the law was followed in Mark Plank’s high-profile eviction case, but not the “human rights element.”

“The process of eviction, whether or not it actually results ultimately in the loss of someone’s home, is really traumatizing,” she said in an interview. “We should be building a system where we avoid that at all costs.”

Plank was set to be evicted on Tuesday from his Cook Street Village apartment after he lost a Residential Tenancy Branch hearing that he did not attend.

The self-described computer illiterate had been sent a rental-increase notice, then an initial 10-day eviction notice, via email to an account he does not access without the help of others. His property manager started the eviction process the first month he failed to pay the $24 increase, though his rent payment at the original $828 rate was accepted.

Following advocacy from groups like Together Against Poverty Society and the Victoria Tenants Union, he was able to reach a last-minute agreement to stay in his home.

Van Wagner said many people in situations like Plank’s don’t have the knowledge or confidence to use existing legal protections to help their case. “People will leave at the first instance of being told that they’re evicted without exercising their rights,” she said.

Plank didn’t report the fact that his studio unit had leaky taps and a broken fridge out of fear of jeopardizing his housing, even though a landlord is required by law to fix those issues once they are made aware of them.

“We aren’t providing enough legal education and resources and advocacy to make sure that folks not only know their rights, but feel that they can exercise them,” Van Wagner said.

While the media can highlight cases of so-called “nightmare tenants,” there are more rental units that aren’t being kept to provincial standards than problem tenants, she said.

Ultimately, preventing evictions, particularly for seniors, those with disabilities and others who are vulnerable in society, is the best way to prevent the homelessness crisis in Victoria and elsewhere from getting worse, Van Wagner said.

“The infrastructure around dealing with homelessness is extraordinarily expensive, and it’s expensive both on a very practical level of emergency shelters and services … but also on the long-term health and mental-health impacts it has on folks,” she said.

Van Wagner said better funding of legal services like those offered by TAPS is a good first step.

TAPS lawyer Leila Geggie Hurst said demand for legal help with evictions is extraordinarily high in Victoria, noting her organization’s walk-in capacity for tenancy issues filled up within four minutes on Tuesday morning.

“There used to be a time in the distant past when if a tenant got an eviction notice, they were able to pretty quickly find housing and move elsewhere,” she said.

But now, tenants are more desperate and more willing to fight to stay in their housing because there are fewer affordable options, Geggie Hurst said, adding that the loss of housing often causes a “catastrophic spiral” in someone’s life.

Kaeley Wiseman, a professor at Vancouver Island University’s master of community planning program, said people often assume there’s a safety net for people who are living in aging, cheaper buildings and are displaced for various reasons.

“They assume that people like Mark [Plank] will then get picked up by the non-profit sector,” said Wiseman, who is also principal of Wiser Projects, a non-profit housing development consultancy.

But finding subsidized, non-market housing is getting more difficult “because this provincial budget has axed that safety net,” Wiseman.

Premier David Eby’s government retroactively clawed back hundreds of millions of dollars in the province’s Community Housing Fund in its latest budget, effectively stalling many affordable-housing projects across B.C., including on Vancouver Island, Wiseman said.

The funding crisis in the non-profit construction sector is likely to last for the next decade, and that’s not good when it takes eight to 10 years to build a publicly funded housing project in Canada, she said.

“You can imagine the competition for the units that we have built in the last 15 years … is going to be fierce.”

Wiseman said 15 per cent of housing available in Canada should be non-market, but the actual amount is only around three to four per cent.

“So by cutting all this stuff, Eby has undermined our entire province,” she said.

mjlo@timescolonist.com

Originally Published On Times Colonist Web Site

The Toughest Kind of Love: Don’t Stop Writing Your Story

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Life is a collection of chapters, and some of them are undeniably painful to read. There is a popular sentiment that offers profound hope: “Don’t give up because of one bad chapter in your life. Keep going. Your story doesn’t end here.” This wisdom acknowledges that struggle is a part of the narrative, but it insists that it is not the final page. It is a call for resilience, a reminder that identity isn’t fixed by moments of failure or despair.

However, if we apply this metaphor to the crisis of homelessness and addiction on our streets, we must ask ourselves: Are we helping people turn the page, or are we simply buying them a new bookmark while they remain stuck in the same chapter?

The current approach to homelessness is often too passive, too willing to enable stagnation. It can be patronizing to assume that someone in the throes of addiction or living on the streets doesn’t need a hard response. By removing all expectations—by offering housing without requiring sobriety or a commitment to rehabilitation—we risk telling people that they aren’t capable of more . We accept their bad chapter as the whole book.

We need a shift from a handout to a hand up. This means coupling compassion with accountability. It means recognizing that allowing someone to continue using drugs without intervention is not kindness; it is a slow form of surrender . A truly compassionate response says, “Your story doesn’t end in addiction, and it doesn’t end on this street corner.”

Programs that are beginning to see success are those that provide shelter and support, but also demand recovery and work . They enforce rules, ban public camping, and use the leverage of the law to nudge individuals toward treatment. This isn’t about punishment; it’s about instilling the self-worth that comes from meeting expectations .

If we want to help people write a better chapter, we must stop editing around the margins of their misery. We must provide the structure and the hard line in the sand that says giving up is not an option. Because their story—and ours as a community—doesn’t have to end there.

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What Can I Do About A Slumlord?

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Dealing with a slumlord can be incredibly frustrating and stressful, but there are steps you can take to protect your rights and improve your living situation. Here’s a guide to help you navigate the situation:

1. Know Your Rights

  • Familiarize yourself with local tenant laws and housing codes. These vary by location but generally guarantee your right to a safe and habitable living environment.
  • Common landlord responsibilities include providing:
    • Working utilities (heat, water, electricity).
    • Proper sanitation and waste disposal.
    • Structural integrity (no leaks, mold, or pest infestations).
    • Safe and secure locks on doors and windows.
  • If your landlord is failing to meet these standards, they may be violating the law.

2. Document Everything

  • Keep a detailed record of all issues, including:
    • Photos and videos of unsafe or unsanitary conditions.
    • Written notes about when problems started and how they’ve been ignored.
    • Copies of all communication with your landlord (emails, texts, letters, etc.).
  • This documentation will be critical if you need to take legal action or report the landlord.

3. Communicate with Your Landlord

  • Notify your landlord in writing about the issues and request repairs. Be specific, polite, and keep a copy of the letter or email.
  • If they don’t respond or refuse to make repairs, send a follow-up notice and mention your legal rights.

4. Report Code Violations

  • Contact your local housing authority, health department, or building code enforcement agency to report unsafe or unsanitary conditions.
  • An inspector may visit your property and issue a violation notice to the landlord, forcing them to make repairs.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA – Some abandoned townhouses standing in Uptown district

5. Withhold Rent or Repair and Deduct

  • In some areas, tenants are allowed to withhold rent or pay for repairs themselves and deduct the cost from rent. However, this can be risky, so:
    • Check your local laws to ensure this is allowed.
    • Notify your landlord in writing before taking action.
    • Keep receipts and documentation for all repairs.

6. Join or Organize with Other Tenants

  • If other tenants are experiencing similar issues, consider organizing as a group. Landlords are more likely to respond to collective action.
  • You can also reach out to local tenant unions or advocacy groups for support.

7. Seek Legal Help

  • If your landlord continues to neglect their responsibilities, consult a tenant attorney or legal aid organization.
  • You may be able to:
    • Sue for damages or compensation.
    • Break your lease without penalty.
    • Force the landlord to make repairs through a court order.

8. Consider Moving

  • If the situation doesn’t improve and your health or safety is at risk, it may be best to find a new place to live.
  • Before moving, ensure you’re not violating your lease and that you’ve followed proper legal procedures to protect yourself from retaliation or eviction.

9. Report to Local Media

  • If the situation is severe and widespread, contacting local news outlets can bring attention to the issue and pressure the landlord to act.

10. Stay Safe

  • If you feel threatened or unsafe due to your landlord’s actions, contact local law enforcement or a tenant advocacy group immediately.

Resources to Help You:

  • Local Housing Authority: For reporting code violations or unsafe conditions.
  • Legal Aid Organizations: For free or low-cost legal advice.
  • Tenant Unions: For advocacy and support in organizing with other tenants.
  • State or Local Tenant Rights Websites: For information on your specific rights.

By taking these steps, you can hold your landlord accountable and work toward a safer, healthier living environment.

Arguments for Slumlords as a Source of Affordable Housing

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  1. Market Necessity: In areas with severe housing shortages, slumlords may provide the only available option for low-income individuals, preventing homelessness.
  2. Economic Realities: Some landlords claim they cannot improve properties without raising rents, which could displace tenants. Low-income tenants might prioritize cost over quality due to limited options.

Criticisms of Slumlords as a Blight:

  1. Exploitative Practices: Charging high rents for substandard housing capitalizes on tenants’ desperation, often violating health/safety codes.
  2. Health and Safety Risks: Poor conditions (e.g., mold, pests, structural issues) harm physical and mental health, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities.
  3. Moral Concerns: Profiting from inadequate housing perpetuates inequality and dehumanizes tenants, prioritizing profit over human dignity.
  4. Community Impact: Neglected properties contribute to neighborhood blight, reducing investment and perpetuating cycles of poverty.

Systemic Context:

  • Root Causes: Slumlords thrive in systems with inadequate affordable housing, weak regulation, and income inequality. They are a symptom of broader failures in housing policy.
  • Regulatory Gaps: Weak enforcement of housing standards allows slumlords to operate, while insufficient subsidies or public housing leave tenants with few alternatives.

Conclusion:

Slumlords are primarily a blight, exacerbating poverty and inequality through exploitation and neglect. While they may fill a temporary gap in housing supply, their practices harm individuals and communities. Addressing the issue requires systemic solutions:

  • Policy Interventions: Strengthen tenant protections, enforce housing codes, and expand affordable housing initiatives.
  • Ethical Alternatives: Promote public housing, rent control, and community land trusts to provide dignified, sustainable housing.

Ultimately, the existence of slumlords underscores the need for structural reforms rather than tolerating exploitative stopgaps.

slumlords provide affordable housing. In many cities, there’s a shortage of affordable housing, so even if the housing is substandard, it might be the only option for low-income individuals or families. Without these slumlords, maybe there would be even fewer options, leading to homelessness. But then, the counterargument is that the conditions in these properties are terrible, possibly violating health and safety codes. So even if it’s affordable, is it acceptable for people to live in such conditions?

You’ve highlighted a critical tension in the debate about slumlords and affordable housing: the trade-off between availability and quality. Let’s break this down further:

The Argument That Slumlords Provide Affordable Housing:

  1. Housing Shortages: In many cities, affordable housing is scarce due to rising costs, gentrification, and insufficient public housing. Slumlords fill a gap by offering low-cost options, even if the conditions are poor.
  2. Preventing Homelessness: For some low-income individuals or families, substandard housing may be the only alternative to living on the streets or in shelters, which can be even more precarious.
  3. Market Realities: Slumlords often operate in neighborhoods where property values are low, and the cost of maintaining or improving housing exceeds what tenants can pay. Without them, these properties might remain vacant or be redeveloped into unaffordable housing.

The Counterargument: Unacceptable Living Conditions:

  1. Health and Safety Risks: Substandard housing often violates health and safety codes, exposing tenants to hazards like mold, lead paint, pests, faulty wiring, and structural instability. These conditions can lead to serious health problems, especially for vulnerable populations like children and the elderly.
  2. Exploitation: Slumlords often charge rents that are disproportionately high relative to the quality of the housing, exploiting tenants who have no other options.
  3. Moral and Ethical Concerns: Allowing people to live in such conditions raises ethical questions about dignity and human rights. Affordable housing should not come at the cost of basic safety and well-being.
  4. Long-Term Costs: Poor housing conditions can perpetuate cycles of poverty by affecting tenants’ health, education, and employment opportunities, ultimately costing society more in healthcare, social services, and lost productivity.

The Broader Systemic Issue:

The existence of slumlords is a symptom of deeper systemic failures:

  • Lack of Affordable Housing: Governments and private developers have not built enough affordable housing to meet demand, leaving low-income individuals with few options.
  • Weak Regulation and Enforcement: In many places, housing codes are not strictly enforced, allowing slumlords to operate with impunity.
  • Economic Inequality: Rising income inequality and stagnant wages make it difficult for many people to afford decent housing, forcing them into substandard options.

Is It Acceptable?

While slumlords may provide a temporary solution to housing shortages, the conditions they offer are fundamentally unacceptable. Affordable housing should not come at the cost of health, safety, or dignity. The solution lies in addressing the root causes of the problem:

  • Policy Solutions: Governments should invest in affordable housing, enforce stricter housing codes, and provide subsidies or incentives for landlords to improve properties.
  • Community Initiatives: Nonprofits and community land trusts can develop and maintain affordable, high-quality housing for low-income residents.
  • Tenant Protections: Stronger tenant rights and rent control measures can prevent exploitation and ensure that housing remains affordable and habitable.

In conclusion, while slumlords may fill a gap in the short term, their existence is a symptom of systemic failures that need to be addressed. Affordable housing should not mean substandard housing, and society must strive to provide safe, dignified living conditions for all.

Can I Get A Loan Without A Job?

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Getting a loan without a job can be challenging, but it’s not impossible. Lenders typically look for a stable source of income to ensure you can repay the loan. However, if you don’t have a job, you may still qualify for a loan if you can demonstrate other sources of income or assets. Here are some options to consider:

1. Show Alternative Income Sources

If you don’t have a traditional job, you may still have income from other sources. Lenders may accept:

  • Government benefits (e.g., Social Security, disability, or unemployment benefits).
  • Retirement or pension payments.
  • Rental income from properties you own.
  • Alimony or child support.
  • Freelance or gig economy work (e.g., Uber, DoorDash, freelance writing).
  • Investments or dividends.

Be prepared to provide documentation, such as bank statements or tax returns, to prove these income sources.

2. Use Collateral for a Secured Loan

If you have valuable assets, you can apply for a secured loan, which uses collateral to reduce the lender’s risk. Examples include:

  • Home equity loans or lines of credit (if you own a home).
  • Auto title loans (using your car as collateral).
  • Secured personal loans (using savings accounts, jewelry, or other assets).

Be cautious with secured loans, as you could lose the asset if you fail to repay.

3. Get a Co-Signer

A co-signer with a stable income and good credit can help you qualify for a loan. The co-signer agrees to repay the loan if you can’t, which reduces the lender’s risk. This can be a family member or close friend who trusts you to make payments.

4. Consider a Payday Alternative Loan (PAL)

Some credit unions offer Payday Alternative Loans (PALs), which are small, short-term loans designed for borrowers with limited income. These loans typically have lower interest rates than traditional payday loans.

5. Explore Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Lending

Peer-to-peer lending platforms connect borrowers with individual investors. These platforms may have more flexible requirements than traditional banks. Examples include LendingClub and Prosper.

6. Borrow from Family or Friends

If traditional lenders aren’t an option, consider asking family or friends for a loan. Be sure to formalize the agreement with a written contract to avoid misunderstandings.

7. Improve Your Credit Score

A strong credit score can increase your chances of getting approved for a loan, even without a job. Pay down existing debt, make payments on time, and check your credit report for errors.

8. Look for No-Income-Verification Loans

Some lenders offer no-income-verification loans, but these often come with high interest rates and fees. Be cautious, as they can lead to a cycle of debt.

Sackcloth money bag with loan inscription and metal coins

9. Use a Credit Card or Line of Credit

If you already have a credit card, you can use it for cash advances or purchases. Alternatively, you may qualify for a new credit card or line of credit based on your credit history.

10. Consider Nonprofit or Community Assistance

Some nonprofits and community organizations offer low-interest or no-interest loans to individuals in need. These programs are often designed to help people cover emergency expenses.

Important Tips:

  • Avoid Predatory Lenders: Be wary of payday loans or high-interest loans that can trap you in debt.
  • Compare Options: Shop around for the best terms and interest rates.
  • Have a Repayment Plan: Make sure you can afford the loan payments, even without a job.

If you’re struggling financially, consider reaching out to a financial counselor or nonprofit organization for guidance.