U.S. News and World Report is reporting to the world the news that US car dealers are working a new angle: buy one, get one free (BOGOF). OK, a buck.
Seattle NBC-affiliate KING5 reports on one such offer from Washington’s Bill Pierre Ford. “General manger Curt Bush dreamed up the unique promotion. If you buy a super duty truck at a sticker price of $50,000, you get a Ford Focus for $1.” If the Fords don’t interest you, Pierre’s dealership network is doing the same thing with Chevrolet products. “On Pierre’s Chevy lot next door, you can buy a Tahoe and get an Aveo for $1.”
But the tactic is not unique to Washington state. Reno, Nevada CBS-affiliate KTVN found a similar offer in their area. “At Reno Mazda-Kia, if you buy a 2008 Sorrento at full price, you can get a Spectra for $1,” they report. “The price tag for the Sorrento is about $28,000.”
We’ve seen similar reports elsewhere: Buy-one-get-one-free Dodge Rams in Florida, for instance, or an Illinois deal offering a Chrysler PT Cruiser for $1 when you buy a Chrysler Pacifica at full price.
Gee! They’re giving them away! Well, obviously not.
U.S. News raises the red flag, however slowly and cautiously. (As Toots says, Times Tough.)
There are catches, of course. [Is that what you call them?] You can’t negotiate the price of the more expensive vehicle, or claim any cash-back rebates from Ford or Chevy on the deal. KING5 reports, “You’ll have to pay full suggested retail and hand over all rebates to the dealer.”
Unfortunately, U.S. News just can’t bring themselves to cry scam. “Do [the BOGOF deals] work for buyers?” the rag mag asks rhetorically. “Of course, that’s an individual decision based on your own budgetary needs.” Oy. Let’s try that again . . .
It’s also important to note that the deals all require that you pay full price for the more expensive model, and taxes, title and licensing fees still apply to both cars in the purchase in all cases. However, if you genuinely have a need for two vehicles, it is likely that paying full price for the more costly car and $1 for the less expensive car probably saves you money over negotiating the two deals separately.
Wait a minute . . . OK, another one’s born. Carry on.
A Chevy Aveo for one dollar would be a scam even if that was the only thing you were buying.
It’s not a new tactic. A couple of dealers in my former hometown of Omaha have been running the ‘pay MSRP for one, get another free’ routine on occasion for the past few years.
whatever tricks to get those craptastic aveos and US spec focus out the door man… depreciation is a cruel mistress.
Bill Pierre has long been known as a dealer/loan shark of last resort, IMO of course. They are still buying a ton of ad time, though, so it surprises me that KING5 would do this “report.” Maybe the stopped buying ads on that station, I dunno. /cynicism
So it’s a race to see which dealer can proudly claim that they sell cars that are worth one dollar. Cool.
Well, any BOGOF is based on the fact that you are vastly overpaying for the “BO” part, whether it’s cars or hamburgers.
In this case, inventory reduction is king.
Personally, If I were really in the market for two of anything at one car dealer, I’d write my own deal and dare them not to take it.
BTW, the Aveo would be useful to step on to climb up into the Tahoe!
That’s madness.
False on the face of it! Everything else aside, if you pay $1 for the second one, it’s not free.
Geez!
I used to joke about them doing this with the Aveo.
In more recent times I’ve thought “one of these days…”
mkII- you’re on target on the depreciation angle
Bunter
I suppose if you’re buying the truck for your business, you can write off the whole (full) purchase price on your taxes. That might make sense for some.
I’m not seeing how this is a scam. There’s fine print, of course, but it’s MSRP + $1 for two cars. Normal negotiations don’t apply, sure, but this strikes me as vastly less sleazy than the typical advertised deal that only applies to a car they’ve already sold.
What’s scam about it? Considering there could be $10K on the hood of a Silverado otherwise, why not toss in an Aveo instead? A dealer doesn’t HAVE to honor rebates, nor do they HAVE to negotiate.
The informed buyer would realize that if you really needed 2 cars, you could make away better with seperate deals being able to negotiate on both.
This is only a scam to people who are too dim witted to read the fine print. To the rest of us, it’s just another angle. But, of course, those who are least informed complain the most.
Just sayin’…
In the case of both the Ford and the Chevy, it would be a total rip-off IMO. However, some people might actually want a Tahoe or want/need a Ford Superduty truck. If they also have a need for a small around town commuter car, this might not be so bad of a deal. And, while I wouldn’t go for it, the Kia offer seems more attractive to me than what Ford and Chevy are offering up. (I can’t believe I just said that about a Kia.)
Once again, we see that the public has been conditioned over the last oh, forty years to expect something for nothing when they go to buy a car.
Imagine if a dealer attempted to place an ad simply put a car up for sale with the actual all-in retail price or payment. The underwhelming lack of response would be deafening.
Believe me, I’ve tried it.
Why do dealers put too good to be true offers out there?
Sadly, because they work.
I think they should be paying me $1 to take the Aveo.
Here is my question:
Do they give you free and clear title for the $1.00 car?
I could see people going for the deal, then never making a payment on the truck and getting a new Focus for $1.00 (plus trade in or down payment)
I wonder what the deal with that angle is. How did they cover themselves for that?
I’m with Lumbergh21, the Kia seems like the best deal of the bunch, followed by the Chrysler. Well, that’s if you’re inclined to buy products from either. The Spectra isn’t Kia’s bottom end product, and the Sorento isn’t their top line so it seems like you’re getting more value. There’s no way that there are enough rebates on both vehicles to make up the cost of the Spectra, the dealer’s obviously kicking in something to move ’08 models. The PT Cruiser deal nets you a used car, but still probably not the worst deal in the world, especially if you’re in need of a family ride and one for a commuter or teenager.
I don’t necessarily see a scam, but npbheights‘ question about the title is an excellent one.
I’ll add another one: Can you go with a friend, and somehow each leave with the vehicle each wants, with divided financing? Probably not; sounds too complex.
Here’s why I don’t see a scam:
1. Dealer inventories are super-high, like 5-6 months.
2. They want to clear out inventory.
3. They weren’t making these offers last year.
4. You still end up with two vehicles, which is cool if you need two vehicles.
I think the Kia and Chrysler deals sound pretty good.
I once paid $1 for a car, and it turned out to be one of the most expensive-to-keep cars I ever owned.
I’m sure if you read the fine print in either ad you might find that both the Aveo and Focus are not “new” cars. Most likely they are 2008 program cars-daily rentals purchased at closed auction. I’d bet they have in excess of 20,000 miles as well. So, you pay sticker for the F series truck and get the Focus for a buck. Gross profit in the Ford is probably in the $7,000 range. In the neighborhood of what the dealer paid for the Focus.
This has been going on with the local Kia dealer here in Birmingham Alabama for years. Nothing new.
Last year in one of Southern Ontario cities dealer offered KIA Rio for free (base model retails for $9,995 cash) if you buy fully loaded KIA Sedona at full MSRP (base model retails for $19,999 cash).