Free preview · from the dealership side of the desk
You found the car online at a great price, called to confirm it was there, and drove an hour. Then the worksheet comes out and the bottom line is thousands higher than the ad: a doc fee, a “market adjustment,” a $1,995 “protection package” that’s “already on the car,” and a footnote saying the price assumed dealer financing and a loyalty rebate you’ve never heard of.
None of this is an accident. Advertised prices are built to win the search results, and the gap gets closed in the building. Free tip: screenshot the listing, fine print and date included, before you call. Some of what gets added is legitimate and some isn’t, and the rules are shifting, with federal enforcement and new state laws in play as of 2026. Below: the full $27,995-to-$34,103 breakdown, bait-and-switch and its milder cousins, where the law stands, which add-ons you can refuse, and what to say.
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In the full guide
- How an advertised price gets built
- A worked example: $27,995 becomes $34,103
- Bait-and-switch, and its milder cousins
- Where the law stands in 2026
- Which add-ons you can refuse
- Documenting the ad
- Your game plan
- What to say
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