Car dealer advertising often slippery
Dear Terry,
I am in the process of purchasing a preowned car from a local dealer in San Diego. When I first found the car, I was on AutoTrader.com and the car I wanted showed up as being on the dealer’s lot. It said the price was $16,995.
I went in that afternoon and test drove the car and asked about any discounts on the price. They seemed thrilled that I had seen the car online for “such a low price” and said they had discounted it way down to get to the $16,995 price, so there was no more room to budge.
I had been in negotiations with them for a week when I went online to the actual dealership page and searched the preowned inventory again. No wonder they were thrilled at the price of the car — they were advertising on their own Web site a “special” on this particular car. It was the exact same car for $14,995.
Am I in the right to demand that I get the lower price for the car, the price that was advertised twice on their “specials” section of their Web site? Are they wrong to tell me otherwise, when it says the offer is good until the end of the month? Any feedback would be helpful.
— Nicole
Dear Nicole,
There’s nothing more slippery than dealer advertising. In this case, I think that state law would require them to sell you the car at the advertised dealer price.
You need to make sure the vehicle identification number, or VIN, is identical — most states require ads for cars include VIN information — and, if necessary, threaten to turn them into the state consumer affairs bureau.
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