If you can't cheat, you won't sell: how American car dealers fool customers

The blogger American Observer shares his experience of life in America, drawing attention to the features of the behavior of "honest" businessmen, as it turns out, common to all countries and peoples of the world:

2003 year. I have been in the USA for a little over 2 years now, buying a new car for the first time. The seller throws in a bunch of numbers that are very different from what is written on the glass (window sticker). I am confused, I ask only one number: how much should I pay per month for a loan for 5 years. The seller writes the number $ 350 on paper, I subscribe. In the office of the financial manager I sign a dozen more pieces of paper and a second before signing the main contract I notice that the number of loan months is 72, not 60. I am almost hysterical, I am in a panic. The manager calls the salesperson: "Have you really spoken in 5 years?" He mumbles something, like I'm sorry I was wrong. I have a feeling that the seller is about to be shot / beaten / fired. The dispute lasted a couple of hours. They agreed on $ 360 for 5 years.

2020 year. I have been in the USA for a little over 20 years, my son is buying a new car for the first time. The seller throws in a bunch of numbers that are very different from what is written on the glass (window sticker). I am not confused, but I ask only one figure: how much should my son pay per month for a loan for 5 years. The seller says $ 350, I ask you to write on paper, I say that 350 * 60 = 21,000, and we owe $ 23,000, miracles do not happen. The seller calls the chief executive, who confirms the $ 350.

I say that we will return in a couple of hours and leave for another dealership, where a used car is waiting for us, for which we have to pay only $ 10,000. $ 10K turns into $ 16K and we're back. When asked what percentage of those who promised to return actually returned, the seller answered “One in a hundred”.

In the office of the financial manager, we sign a dozen pieces of paper, before signing the main contract, I notice that the number of loan months is 72, not 60. I have a joyful laugh, everything is exactly as I suspected. The manager calls the salesperson: "Have you really spoken in 5 years?" He mumbles something, like I'm sorry I was wrong. I have a feeling of déjà vu, which I immediately reported. The argument went on for a couple of minutes. It didn't work: we returned to $ 350 for 5 years, but then we got additional insurance (why the heck is it for Toyota?) For 8 years for $ 2000 and the payment became what it should have been: $ 385 per month for 5 years.

Now we will go to Alaska not in an old Ford Mustang, but in a new Toyota RAV4 AWD"