Questionable Sales Tactic by Lazydays

rockhillmanor wrote:

Deano56 wrote:

JALLEN4 wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:
They passed laws years ago to stop that practice.

If a dealership 'advertises' a vehicle and it is not 'physically' on their lot (doesn't matter if they say coming soon)it is now against the law to do so. It was called bait and switch with a fictitious vehicle.

If you take the advertisement and the listed vehicle stock number in the ad and report them you can make them give you that vehicle or comparable one for that exact sales price and/or they can loose their license also.

Could you possibly clarify that statement with a source. Forty years in the business and never knew it was somehow illegal to advertise an incoming unit.

would like to see that in writing also, if its not law it sure should be. A few things could happen before it arrives at the dealer or it might never make it's way there.

I worked in the car business also.

It is illegal to advertise a car that is not actually on the dealerships lot at the price advertised.

I was working at a dealership when this came out. It was a very common practice for dealerships to advertise a popular car at a ridiculous low price. As a come on and of course no such car 'at that price' existed on their lot. Buyers would get there and we'd just say oh it just sold.

If it is advertised in writing with a stock number when a customer gets to your dealership you must have that vehicle on the lot AND sell it for the advertised price.

The dealership may only have that just one. That is ok. If it is not there when a buyer gets there they do have to prove it was sold.

Which they started sending out fake buyers to make sure these dealerships had these discounted cars. If they did not they were fined for false advertising. They also 'had' to include a stock number in the advertisement.

Been a while so I can't remember who fined them it might had been the manuf of the ticket the dealership had. My dealership got fined twice, slow learners.

So the jist of it was the dealerships continued to use the low price advertisement as a come on AND where now forced to actually have that advertised vehicle on the lot for sale and just took the hit of selling it below cost to the first buyer that got there to obtain the increased buyer traffic.

Moral of the story if there is something advertised with a stock number and you get there and the vehicle is not there you have the 'right' to ask for them to prove it was sold.

That would not include a salesman telling you something is 'coming in' but it does apply if 'advertised'.

To the OP was this RV advertised in the paper with a stock number?

You are mixing and matching what are generally state specific rules of sale governing vehicle sales and advertising related to those sales. These vary greatly from state to state and usually are enforced by the State DMV. I have owned and or operated new car dealerships in multiple states and can assure you the regulations are very different from state to state. What is perfectly legal in Ohio may well get you fined in California.

I would defy anyone to find a written regulation that prohibits a dealership in Florida to advertise an incoming motor home as long as it is well established in the advertisement that it is exactly that.As well, you will not find any regualtion prohibiting a dealership taking a deposit to "hold" such a unit as long as the deposit is refundable.

While the OP may well consider himself way too astute to give LazyDays a deposit on an incoming unit, that is his own unilateral decision and has nothing whatsoever to do with any violation of law or for that matter, poor business practices on their part. They have acted in this manner for years and one can find multiple anecdotal instances of satisfied customers using this method.