OneBoredStudent
Junior Member
South Carolina
Last year, my mother retired for medical reasons. She is currently on a fixed income. When she retired she did not cash out her retirement account but rolled it into another account. The idea was that she could save the money for a while and then tap into it in emergencies. Primarily it became her “new car account” because her car is quite old and not entirely reliable so she will need to replace it in a few years.
She has more than enough in the account to purchase a new car but at one point we talked about getting her a good used car for a great deal less money since she really only uses it around Summerville.
That almost changed when I heard radio ads this week for a local dealership. The claim was that a purchase of any Ram or Chrysler 200 would get you not only that car but also your choice of a Jeep Compass or Patriot, A Dodge Caliber or Avenger or a Chrysler 200 “Free and Clear.”
Upon hearing this, I did some research and found that I could get a new truck for a few thousand dollars more than I was willing to finance. Mom could pay the difference in cash, I would finance the balance and we would both have brand new vehicles.
We went to the dealership this morning (3/17/2012) and Mom test drove one a Caliber. She liked it so I test drove a new Ram. I have no need to buy a new truck at this point, but if we could get a good deal and Mom was happy with her new car I was willing to do so.
When we went into the dealership and sat down to begin negotiations, we were informed that the second car was a 3 year lease. To me this is not “free and clear” as the dealership claims on their website. This was also the first we had been told about the lease. It was not stated on their website, in their advertising or in person.
Had we been made aware of the lease up front, we would not have gone to the dealership. Had the salesman told us about the lease when we first arrived and said we were interested in the 2 for 1 deal, we would have left immediately.
As a follow up, I contacted the dealership through the chat feature on their website. I asked about the 2 for 1 and was told that you own both vehicles, no catch.
To see if I could get a consistent answer, I called and spoke with a sales manager. He said that it was a lease for a new car but I was welcome to choose a $5,000 to $8,000 used car and he would transfer the title. I pointed out that this was not what the advertising said and he got angry and hung up on me.
So is it just me or does this sound like bait and switch to anyone else?
Last year, my mother retired for medical reasons. She is currently on a fixed income. When she retired she did not cash out her retirement account but rolled it into another account. The idea was that she could save the money for a while and then tap into it in emergencies. Primarily it became her “new car account” because her car is quite old and not entirely reliable so she will need to replace it in a few years.
She has more than enough in the account to purchase a new car but at one point we talked about getting her a good used car for a great deal less money since she really only uses it around Summerville.
That almost changed when I heard radio ads this week for a local dealership. The claim was that a purchase of any Ram or Chrysler 200 would get you not only that car but also your choice of a Jeep Compass or Patriot, A Dodge Caliber or Avenger or a Chrysler 200 “Free and Clear.”
Upon hearing this, I did some research and found that I could get a new truck for a few thousand dollars more than I was willing to finance. Mom could pay the difference in cash, I would finance the balance and we would both have brand new vehicles.
We went to the dealership this morning (3/17/2012) and Mom test drove one a Caliber. She liked it so I test drove a new Ram. I have no need to buy a new truck at this point, but if we could get a good deal and Mom was happy with her new car I was willing to do so.
When we went into the dealership and sat down to begin negotiations, we were informed that the second car was a 3 year lease. To me this is not “free and clear” as the dealership claims on their website. This was also the first we had been told about the lease. It was not stated on their website, in their advertising or in person.
Had we been made aware of the lease up front, we would not have gone to the dealership. Had the salesman told us about the lease when we first arrived and said we were interested in the 2 for 1 deal, we would have left immediately.
As a follow up, I contacted the dealership through the chat feature on their website. I asked about the 2 for 1 and was told that you own both vehicles, no catch.
To see if I could get a consistent answer, I called and spoke with a sales manager. He said that it was a lease for a new car but I was welcome to choose a $5,000 to $8,000 used car and he would transfer the title. I pointed out that this was not what the advertising said and he got angry and hung up on me.
So is it just me or does this sound like bait and switch to anyone else?
