Here’s a post started in August 2019 that somehow never got finished. This year’s thoughts are in italics.

It isn’t just politicians who at times seem unacquainted with truth. They probably learned it from the car salesmen though.

I just don’t buy it. Why would anyone else? Isn’t it just asking to be lied to?

I was listening to the radio while on vacation in Maine when a local car dealer’s ad came over the airwaves. It was an aggressive hard-sell promising me the best deals. My ears perked up – I love a good deal.

Ask any dealer for their factory invoice I was told. Dealer X would sell me a car for $1,000 below the invoice, plus take off discounts and factory incentives.

I guess Americans have become increasingly used to being lied to and logic no longer prevails. If someone is selling me something for less than their cost they won’t be in business for long.

Turns out the “factory” invoice isn’t what the dealer pays for the vehicle. They pay something called a “dealer’s” invoice. Just reading about it confused me, which I am sure is intentional. Makes me wonder if the numbers on all  new vehicle “invoices” might perhaps be a fabrication. 

Car dealers used to have a reputation for sleazy business practices. Maybe they still do.

Or maybe the definition of “invoice” changed when I wasn’t looking. Somehow I don’t think that is it.

The problem is, all car dealers pull this sort of stunt. Or maybe I should just say, all retailers.

How often have you gone into a store and discovered that prices have been raised, and then items put “on sale” at what was the actual price the previous week? There’s no deal there.

If I go into the grocery store for milk, I pay the price marked. I don’t have to haggle with someone and worry about the “invoice price” and whether I am getting the best deal. I can buy or not, and nobody is trying to manipulate me.

I have lived in countries where I did negotiate the prices on much of what I bought, including food. Not being raised that way, I found it time consuming and somewhat stressful. As a consumer I just want a fair price – I know the vendor needs to make a profit to stay in business.

Sometime in the next few years I’m probably going to be purchasing a new vehicle. (And having said that I’m sure some internet algorithm is going to be sending car ads my way whenever I am online.) When I do, I’ll choose a dealer with a reputation for honesty, willing to offer me a vehicle at a price we both consider fair.

Do you think that is possible?