Long story short. Saw a '08 GTI online with a list price of $17,990. So I went to the dealer, test drove the car and was going to test drive an '05 GLI. While I was waiting I look at the GTI info from the website on my cell phone. Test drove the GLI and then went to go talk numbers about the GTI. All of a sudden the GTI is listed for $18,990. So I show the sales guy my phone and he goes to the finance person and comes back telling me that they just did an upgrade on the car and thats why the price is higher.

I'm taking a guess that he could tell that I was interested in the GTI and had someone change the price while having me wait to test drive the GLI. Since the price was not listed on the car and I said I was just driving by the dealership and randomly stopped in it would be easy to do something like that. I doubt the car got $1,000 more valuable in the 20 minutes between me looking at my phone and sitting in his office.

 

unless there's an addendum sticker on the car you pay no more than the MSRP. A lot of times the parts dept. will charge items against the vehicle and the sales dept. doesn't always know until they look at their cost screen. doesn't mean they were messing with you but, like i said, legally with no addendum sticker on it you aren't obligated to pay more and if they force you they are breaking the law.

 

In the Chicago area, the online price is almost always $1,000 cheaper then the price if you were to just walk in. My cousin is a sales manager at a dealer and has worked at them for years. The basic principle is that online shoppers are most attracted to and drawn to cars by the price, so they have to have it listed at their best prices.

While shopping for my last car myself, I saw this to be the trend everywhere. In many cases, the online price is usually about $500 over what they own it for, so their lowest price. You can test it too. Just call in and ask them about a car you saw on their lot. Theres a good chance the price you quote is higher then the price you saw online (of course don't tell them you saw it online, if you tell them that, then they'll look it up online and tell you that price). It's also why when you see it online, it says to call a specific person who is their online sales person.

 

This is true as well. But there is a different between charging $17,000 for a car that has an MSRP of $18,000 and charging $19,000 for a car that has an MSRP of $18,000 with no addendum on it.

 

08 GTI....is it FSI or TSI?