Dealerships use every means to get customers into the dealerships. Dealership advertising has to be one of the wildest things a dealership gets into. Obviously, they are in business to "play the numbers game." Which, in layman's terms, means bring as many people through the doors, and you will land a few extra customers.
Some of the most known ways of advertising is the ole '"Loss Leader" scheme in the newspaper. Dealerships advertise a vehicle (usually an off color, damaged, or a demo) at an extremely low price. The consumer, when reading the newspaper says "wow, what a deal" and goes in to buy the car. Low and behold, the customer finds out the car is puke green, or has been damaged in some fashion (dealers need to disclose damage over 3% of MSRP or $ 600 by law). The other thing a customer may find out is that the car "was sold yesterday", when really the car was sold days ago … what a shame! Then the salesman offers up a nice compromise like the nice colored model at a slightly higher price … sound reasonable?
The other way dealerships generate their traffic from advertising is the ol '"freebees" deal. Ever read "come in for a free $ 100 worth of gas for a test drive?" This is a way to get customers through the doors because they know that when a customer gets behind the wheel of a new car and smells that new car scent, they are hooked. The real issue is that if a customer does not buy, the free gas is so hard to claim that it isn't worth the hassle for a customer.
"Free food" is a way to get customers to stay around, because the longer they stay, the more apt they are to buy. "Slasher sales" are ridiculous! Dealerships raise the price way above what they would already sell the car for and then "slash" it to where they would have been advertising it in the first place. It's all about emotions !!
Dealerships advertise low lease payments now … the newest trend. But look into the details, and you will find the drive offs are actually more than what a good down payment would be to purchase the car! 0% APR, what a crock! That just means dealerships are rolling the buy down into the upfront cost of the car!
Car Manufacturers and state governments are all cracking down on these practices, which is good to see. But lets be honest, a manufacturer wants to sell cars to dealers … so the more they sell, the better the manufacturer is. States (in these days), don't have the resources to guard the consumer from deceptive practices, so dealerships fly under the radar. Consumer Advocacy Groups don't have the time to check on every violation … so it comes down to YOU!
Don't get caught up in these practices. Make sure you know everything up front before even stepping foot in the dealership. Do your homework and stick to your guns. You will be happy you did!