The Internet has ruined everything for car dealerships. Too much information. Intelligent, patient, and otherwise prepared consumers have all of the tools available to them to make informed decisions.

As one dealer GM was once recorded saying during an interview, "Thank goodness for the idiots who still listen to the ads."

1) Push, Pull, or Drag Sale

A piece of junk on Wednesday is still a piece of junk on Saturday. There are ads that claim that no matter what condition you trade is in, they'll give you $1500, $2000, or even $3000 for it in trade.

Foolish people flock in. Some even drive off with a new or used car. They were given $3,000 for their 1983 Chevette and they feel like they just ripped somebody off. The truth is that they probably just got ripped off.

Most car dealers have around $2000 to $2500 worth of markup built into the price of their lower end vehicles and more (sometimes much more) built into their higher priced ones. When they put on their Push, Pull, or Drag sale, all they do is mark up their vehicles an additional amount equal to their "minimum trade allowance." By doing this, they can give you a ton for your Chevette and still make thousands.

2) $10,000 Best Price Guarantee

This is a great one for traffic. Many dealers claim that if they can't beat a deal, they'll give you $10,000. They might as well say they'll give you $10,000,000, because it isn't going to happen either way.

When it comes to new vehicles, the market is impossibly competitive. 95% of new car dealers will match the price than any other dealer gives on an exact same vehicle. But not all of them guarantee the claim with money, simply because they don't want to insult the intelligence of the consumer. The bad part is, not all consumers are intelligent enough to recognize that unless another dealer is willing to lose more than $10,000 on a vehicle, they'll NEVER pay the money.

3) Buy a Car, get a "Free" _______(fill in the blank)

Big screens. Camcorders. Computers. Whatever the item is, it isn't free. The price is simply built into the cost of the vehicles. A car deal that would normally bring $3000 profit may "only" bring $2200 after they give you the $800 gift certificate to Circuit City or Best Buy.

4) "When we make a deal, we'll pay off your trade no matter how much you owe!"

They might as well say, "When we buy groceries, we'll pay at the register no matter how much we owe."

The key phrase in this sentence is "When we make a deal..." Paying off the trade is part of making the deal. If they cannot pay off the trade because the consumer owes too much, they won't make a deal. It's the kind of doubletalk that gives car dealers a bad name.

5) Half Price Program Car Sale

Many cars, especially domestic mid-sized sedans, depreciate quickly from their original MSRP. A Lincoln Town Car, for example, may have an MSRP around $50,000. After the deep rebates and discounts, it's possible to buy one a few month before the next model year in the low $30's.

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