No New Truck For You!

Have you noticed we haven't mentioned the new vehicle we were hinting at earlier this week? That's because the steam has been pouring out of Hubby's ears since Wednesday and it's been kind of a touchy subject.

I guess the deal was too good to be true, but really, the flyer we got in the mail was from Chrysler Canada so how could it not be valid? First, here's what they were supposed to be offering;

* 2010 Ram Quad Cab SXT 4X4
* 5.7 litre HEMI rated at 390 horsepower
* power windows, locks, mirrors (heated, too)
* 4 wheel disc brakes

* Price? $29,999! plus
* 1.9% financing for 3 year PLUS
* your choice of $1500 worth of accessories or $1000 worth of extended service or $750 in no charge options or $500 cash back!

Okay, great! We weren't planning to buy something this expensive but what a bargain! We talked it over and decided that it was worth pursuing. So off we trundle to our local dealer and there it was! Sitting right on the lot, looking just like the photo in the ad, same colour and everything. The price on the manufacture's sticker was $39000 and change but scrawled across three different windows was "As Advertised $29,999". Hubby's mouth was starting to water now so right after work the next day he goes to the dealer's lot again. The salesman comes out promptly and right away offers to let Hubby take it for a test drive.

The test drive went great. The truck was smooth, quiet and powerful. The interior was nicely appointed and there were lots of nice toys to play with. "Great" he says and heads back to the dealer to discuss the old truck's trade-in value having already decided that he would be recommending to me that we go ahead with the purchase. We had been looking for a used truck in the $10000 range but now we were going to spend more than 3 times that amount for this vehicle.

That's when the shit hit the fan.

By the time Hubby got back to the lot it was about an hour before closing time for the dealer. When he sat down with the salesman in the office he was told that the deal that had drawn us into the store was over as of close of business that day and that there would be a new special in place the next day. This was on Wednesday, November 25. Now, Hubby was sure that the deal he had seen was supposed to run longer but as he didn't have the flyer with him he couldn't prove it. So he left for home telling himself that the salesman was probably mistaken but thinking that we should follow up together the next evening after work.

When he got home the first thing that Hubby did was to read the advertisement again and sure enough right on the back page it said "Offer ends November 30, 2009" in big bold letters. Stupid salesman, he probably wasn't paying attention in the meeting that morning. What a relief, we would complete the deal on the 26th and still be inside Chrysler's time window.

The next day Hubby picked me up from work all excited about the possibility of a nice new vehicle, happiest I've seen him for a while. We got to the dealer and found our salesman and then took "our" truck out for another drive. I liked it, too. Okay, let's do it. Or, maybe not.

So, we meet back in the salesman's office and the first thing he tells us is that sorry the lot boys didn't get that price erased from the truck's windows. That offer closed yesterday. Today's offer is 0% finacing for 5 years but today the price is $5000 more than yesterday! Wow, 0% financing that costs $5000! Who could possibly turn that down!

Hubby produced his copy of the ad and pointed out the very explicit terms specified including the price, the extras and the expiration date of the offer. There was some discussion back and forth. The manager was called in as the salesman's forehead was starting to get very shiny. There was more disscusion. "We don't like this any more than you do" says the manager in some misguided attempt to make us feel sorry for them. "Those are just Weasle Words", "Bait and Switch", "Illegal" and "We're dead in the water" says Hubby and we left with our $35,000 still in our pockets. I guess the car dealers are making so many sales these days that they don't need it anyway.

As a final note, the salesman did call us back two days later and offer to go ahead with the original deal but in Hubby's mind the sale had already been poisoned. If you're going to commit to a major purchase like this you do not want it make your stomach twist into knots every time you think about it. We will be watching for more offers from the car manufacturers and if we find a good one we will pursue it. As for Chrysler, it will have to be even better than this one was supposed to be but, under no circumstances, will it be at the local dealer. They've already proven that they don't want our money.