The Newspaper Ad is a special beast, and I thought it required it’s own article. Many people still read the newspaper every day, and see the ads for new cars. The prices are amazing… the deals incredible.. it almost seems too good to be true. That’s funny, actually, because it is too good to be true. I’ll try to spell this one out plain and simple, so there’s no confusion
You can not buy a car for the newspaper advertised price, ever.
If you try to do so, several things could happen.
- Aww, we just sold that one! – The most common excuses why a dealer can’t sell you a car for the advertised price. Usually there is a stock number way down in the fine print – and shucks, they just sold that one. If the deal is too good, you can be sure they “already sold it”.
- The ad price is for the least desirable vehicle in the world – It’s only for a stripped down, manual transmission, roll-up windows, pink vehicle. If you don’t want that exact vehicle ( and no one does ), then you’ll have to pony up some extra cash.
- It doesn’t include the fees – Dealer prep fee, doc fee, extra dealer profit fee, whatever. The price in the paper is always “plus tax, title, license, and fees.”
A car dealer’s newspaper ad is designed to do exactly one thing – get more customers in the door. If a dealer doesn’t put ridiculous prices in the paper, and all his competitors do, he won’t get any customers. So much for being honest. So every single dealer prints an absurd ad, full of prices they can’t sell a car for.
The best way to avoid having to deal with this issue, and the confrontation that it can cause, is to get a quote online. A quote online, in writing ( your printed email ) is as good as gold. It’s for a specific unit, which you confirmed was in stock, and the price is good for internet customers ( you ). This way, you avoid the hassle, and never have to look at the newspaper ad.