Car loss leaders in the paper

[preslove]

So, I bought a paper this afternoon for lunch. The classifieds section had a car advertisement for a local GM dealership. It has all these ads '06 cars for 48%-58% of their MSRP. They're slow sellers; Lacrosses, Malibus, Vibes etc., but still that's a huge difference. Are they just trying to get rid of inventory? Will they kill you on the financing? Or will those cars be conveniently "sold" when one gets to the dealership.

 

[JS80]

it will be "sold" when you get there.

 

[preslove]

Originally posted by: JS80
it will be "sold" when you get there.

Is that always the case? I saw Rossman post that he got some insane deal on a newspaper lossleader add, but yeah, your scenario seems the most likely

 

[Midlander]

Did the ad say the cars were new, or do they have lots of miles on them?

 

[preslove]

Originally posted by: Midlander
Did the ad say the cars were new, or do they have lots of miles on them?

It says "Final '06 Model Close-out Sale," but doesn't specifically say "new." I'm inclined to JS80's idea because it says "many Others to choose at similar savings," which could actually mean Dissimilar savings.

 

[Midlander]

There were similar ads in the paper here, but the cars all had more than 15,000 miles on them. Nowhere did the ad specify "new." I have no idea if they sold them or not.

 

[helpme]

1 at this price!

 

[crypticlogin]

It's usually only for that specific VIN on the lot. If you're lucky and can be flexible to the color and trim, you can score a great deal.

 

[ttown]

it's 1 only -- it's the car on the lot, with no modifications

My dad once bought a pu truck that way
He got a great deal, but no choice of anything

And ya, they go quickly. I responded to a couple of those types of ads -- and the cars were sold by the time I got there.

 

[JSFLY]

One thing I've learned is that Dealership will do anything or say anything to get you into the door.

Then their salesmen all with shiny white teeth will work their magic till you buy a car.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

I'm lucky. I walked onto a car lot once ready to pay cash for a new car if I could get it with the specs for the price I wanted. But I literally could not get anybody to give me the time of day. I look very young for my age and dress skater prep even though I'm a working professional. I was handed down twice really quickly from sales guy to sales guy at which point the guy just strolled off after escorting me to a car I didn't ask to see. I wasn't going to MAKE them take my money and, in fact, I was specifically interested in doing business with a dealership that had some respect for their customers..........which is why I ended up buying a used car.