Obviously dealers are not in business to lose money. The nationwide lease deals that you generally hear about on the radio or on television are designed by car manufacturer’s to help dealers sell the cars on their lots to open up space for new inventory. They may or may not be good deals. But, anytime sales have been down for a while or whenever old inventory needs to be sold to make room for new inventory, car manufacturers will come up with special lease deals. Car manufacturers have two things in mind whenever they come up with national lease deals:
1. To make the advertised national deal seem like a good deal even if it really isn’t.
Dealers are looking to sell as many cars as they can and an obviously good way to do that is by making you believe that you are getting a fantastic deal just because a “special” nationwide deal is being offered. If a customer signs on the dotted line just because he or she believes that a special nationwide deal is automatically a great deal, the dealer just saved a bunch of time by avoiding any negotiation. This leads us to the other idea that dealers have in mind.
2. To reduce the amount of negotiation for the best car lease. What’s the point offering special deals if customers will not accept them as good deals? If the manufacturer has a special lease deal for a particular car, the dealer will mention it if you express interest in the car. If you try to ask for a better deal, he will often tell you that he is already selling you the car at a loss. The goal is to lease out these cars to customers who know that they are getting a great deal and who therefore do not try to beat the advertised special.