What to do about false prices being advertised
Asked by loretta Dec 17, 2017 at 06:36 AM about the 2017 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack SE 4Motion AWD
Question type: Shopping & Pricing
I found a car online for $17,877. I drove TWO HOURS to buy it and the price was only for employees of the automaker who are also college students!! The price I was given in person was nearly $30,000! This practice is highly unfair to the other dealerships advertising on your site and if it keeps up, will significantly affect YOUR credibility. Please advise. I have proof of everything. thank you.
6 Answers
We use your website as the FIRST STEP in car-buying! Thanks so much for your reply. The car in question has 200 miles on it. If you look at every listing from Winchester, VA, you will see absurdly low pricing for every vehicle on your site. It takes a lot of value away from your site, believe me. Anyway, I will be contacting the other dealers on your site that are in competition with this guy and I will let them know what is going on. Thanks!
Thanks Jim! I made PDF's of the actual incentive listing from the dealer's own website, the advertisement and the actual offer I received in person (after driving TWO HOURS to get there!)! Advertised for $17,877. In person 'purchase price': $29,583.18!!!!!!!
I know what dealer you're talking about and yes, their pricing shouldn't be allowed - very deceptive. I contacted them about a car and asking them what incentives/discounts/fees were included so I'd know what the actual price was and they refused to tell me - which also means they know their pricing is inaccurate. They did send me an email with MSRP and a statement that all pricing is finalized in person at the dealership. Thankfully I only called/emailed them multiple times but still a waste of time...would be much more frustrated if I spent the time you did on it.
The lesson I learned is that if the dealer won't give you a written price for a CASH OFFER, walk away! They are snake oil salesmen. Seriously, who wants to patronize a dealership who's slogan is "What we're doing isn't illegal"? NOT ME!
Thanks for your reply. Buy rrr VW has since changed all of their online pricing, both here and on their own website, to be more feasible. They still quoted us a price HIGHER that the ad, but it was only off by $900, not $9,000. It's sickening, really. I will take credit for them doing this. It was like pulling teeth (took 3 days!), but it's done. Their entire strategy was to get to the top of CarGurus searches. It de-values the entire website AND really hurts the dealers who are willing to be upfront about their prices. Hopefully, buy irr VW has learned their lesson, but I will STEER CLEAR of them!
@Guru59k5w - I suggest you add your ONE-STAR experience to their Google Reviews. We all need to work together to keep these dealers honest (as honest as a car dealer can be, that is). They already changed all of their internet pricing. At least the next shopper will have half a chance at not wasting their whole Saturday. Thanks!
