There’s seemingly nothing dealerships won’t do to get potential customers onto lots — like those silly mailers that look like lottery scratch-offs. I hate those things, but some of the schemes actually do work out in favor of buyers, as long as they mind the fine print.
Other times, the “incentives” and the tricks are less consumer-friendly. I still have nightmares of the foursquare diagram, of watching a sales manager flick their pen on the page and shuffle it back and forth crossing numbers out, and adjusting monthly or down payments so fast it’s hard to keep track of the money. All the while, the financing term keeps getting longer, or GAP insurance materializes out of nowhere.
The practice reminds me of movie scenes where an unsuspecting person is hustled by card tricksters and sleight of hand artists. Now, anytime I see an incentive from a dealer that looks too good to be true, I suspect shenanigans will ensue. We asked our readers about the wildest tactics carmakers and dealers have used to sell cars, and these were their answers:
