Low-Balling

About four years ago, I was in the process of purchasing a new car with my dad. We went to a Ford dealership, found a car that we both liked, and test drove it. We told the car salesman from the beginning that we were only willing to spend a certain amount, and if this dealership couldn't provide us with that price, we were going to look elsewhere. After we test drove the car, the salesman told reassured as that he could give us the car at the price we had negotiated to. It wasn't until my dad was almost done filling out the paperwork that he realized that my monthly car payment was going to be over what the car salesman had originally promised us. When my dad questioned the salesman, the salesman apologized and explained that his supervisor didn't approve the price we had agreed to. My dad asked to speak to the supervisor and the supervisor told us that ultimately that if we didn't purchase the car (at the higher price) someone else was going to. My dad and I immediately left the Ford dealership without purchasing the car. A week later, the same dealership left a message on our answering machine saying that they still had the car at the lower price if we wanted it! I had already purchased a car at that point and was not interested in the low-balling tactics of this Ford dealership. The salesmen were hoping that by having us test drive the car that we would ultimately just look past the higher price on the final paperwork and purchase the car. This real life example, reinforces the fact that low-balling is a tactic that business men try to use with unsuspecting buyers!

-Katrina Tomik; A08084930