The Ford Bronco is a type of SUV made for driving on rough roads and trails. It’s designed to handle more challenging terrain than a typical car. People bring it up when they’re looking for an SUV that can still work for everyday driving.
MSRP is the price the carmaker lists as the suggested selling price. The host is saying you shouldn’t just trust the dealer’s number—check the official sticker too.
The factory window sticker is the official document from the automaker for that exact car. The host says you should look at it to make sure the dealer’s pricing claims are accurate.
Rebates are discounts you might qualify for based on certain criteria. The host is warning that dealers shouldn’t use them in a misleading way when they quote your final price.
A processing fee (sometimes called a documentary fee) is an extra charge dealers add to the transaction. The host’s point is that these fees must be included in the quoted price, rather than tacked on later.
A VIN number is like a car’s fingerprint. Insurance companies use it to figure out the exact car you’re buying, which can change the price they charge.
The Ford Ranger is a smaller pickup than the F-150. They’re using it to show that insurance costs can be different depending on which exact truck you buy.
The Ford Mustang is a sporty car, and the convertible version has the roof that goes down. They mention it because the dealer is pushing it hard, and insurance and buying decisions can get influenced by incentives.
A test drive is when you drive the car yourself before buying it. It helps you catch problems you can’t see just by looking, like shaking or weird noises.
An air leak means pressurized air escapes somewhere in the vehicle’s systems. Depending on where it’s coming from, it can lead to hissing noises and drivability issues, and it’s often something you only notice by inspection and listening.
Carfax is a history report for a used car. If it says there were no accidents, it usually means no accident was recorded, not that nothing bad ever happened.
Body panels are the car’s outer metal parts, like doors and fenders. If they don’t match or look different, it can mean the car was repaired or repainted.
Paint overspray is extra paint that gets sprayed onto nearby parts by accident. Shops cover things with tape and paper to prevent it, but repainting can still leave clues.
During painting, shops cover parts with tape and paper so paint doesn’t get on the wrong areas. After the tape comes off, you can sometimes see a line where the coverage ended.
When a car is repainted, painters often mask off areas with tape. The “tape lines” are the subtle paint edges you can sometimes feel or spot, which can hint the car was worked on before.
A trade-in is your current car that you turn in to the dealer to help pay for the next one. If there are problems you didn’t mention, the dealer may lower the amount they’ll give you.
A knocking noise is a warning sound from the engine. It can mean something inside the engine is worn or not running correctly, and it may get expensive if ignored.
Gateway Ford is the name of a car dealership. The host mentions it while sharing phone/contact details.
LIVE
Hey folks, Lenny Lawson here, the car guru, and I have solved one of life's biggest mysteries.
Yes, I have seen Noah's Ark.
It is, this is the weird part.
It's actually 50 miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio, just off of I-75.
I don't know why nobody ever looked there.
No, we were there.
We were just south of Cincinnati in Burlington, Kentucky, and visiting my grandson.
And we had like several hours to deal with, so my daughter Abby said, let's go see Noah's Ark.
And I knew about the Ark experience, just like I said, 50 miles south of Cincinnati, so we drove down.
My expectations were not high.
I just envisioned, you know, just a really small version, just kind of a model thing,
and nothing fancy could have been indoors or outdoors for all I knew.
Folks, this is the same size that they estimate, you know, based on cubits.
I think a cubit is the distance between your wrist and your elbow, which varies on a lot of people.
But, you know, that's what the biblical dimensions are quoted in cubits.
And so this was a lot of cubits.
It looked like a cruise ship, folks.
I don't know who donated the money.
I haven't done any research on it, but it was phenomenal.
And it wasn't just the exterior.
You get to go inside this beast.
And it was like five different levels, fully stocked with every creature, dead or animatronic,
you know, models of creatures.
And they had every room decorated.
They had all the lighting like it would have been supposedly back at Noah's time.
Now, whether you believe that stuff or not, I think that's basically irrelevant.
It is an amazing thing.
I happen to believe it, so it was even more amazing to me.
But, yeah, I mean, it's definitely a different worldview about when everything got started.
So if you have a problem dealing with that, then maybe, well, I still think you ought to go.
It was like, I don't know, like a Universal Studios experience or Disney World.
The parking lot was a little kind of rough shape, but and that didn't leave me with a great feeling.
But, man, when we saw that boat and all the other buildings around it and all the different
experiences that they have for kids and stuff.
So this is a road trip.
I think it's a worthy road trip.
A lot of people travel from up north on I-75 going to Florida or, you know, to the Gulf Coast.
You know, when they're heading south, it's pretty much I-75, I-77 comes through there.
I don't know what all the other eyes are, but if you are anywhere near that particular
exit where it says the arc, you need to go see it.
It's worth it.
OK, well, good news.
Good news in the car industry.
For car buyers, the laws are being enforced now, as far as advertising is concerned.
You still have to protect yourself because there are going to be dealers out there.
I started to say people, but, you know, well, people are dealers or dealers are people.
But usually it's not the dealers that are the bad guys.
They just allow the bad guys to run free reign in their stores because of how much money
they make them.
But there's still going to be people out there that are going to break the rules.
When you shop for a car online and you pull up a vehicle, let's say that you're looking
at a, oh, afford Bronco since I'm a Ford dealer.
You pull it up on a dealer's website.
He's got 17 of them.
You drill down on one of them.
Oh, I like that big bend version or that badlands version.
That don't make big bends anymore, but badlands.
And it's got the Sasquatch package on it.
It's a painted hard top.
You really like it.
You look over at the price.
It should say MSRP.
That's manufacturer's suggested retail price, and you'll see a number there.
Now, typically, most honest dealers will actually have a tab that you can click on to
see the actual factory window sticker.
You always want to look at that as well to make sure that they're not jacking up the MSRP,
that they're not just calling this number MSRP because they could do it.
And then along with that should be any rebates that you qualify for, that everybody would
qualify for.
If it has a whole bunch of rebates like military discounts and farmers discounts and all this
other stuff, that's illegal.
And as long as they're not taking it off the price, they can show you those things,
but they cannot deduct it from the price and say this is our price.
Also, any type of processing fee or documentary fee has to be included in that price.
So if you go into a dealership to buy a vehicle, they quote you the price.
It's the same thing.
It's on the website.
And then they say, but there's an extra charge.
What's that for?
Well, that's the documentary fee.
No, sir.
No, sir, that was on the website.
We saw it.
Didn't we, Eunice?
Yeah, we did.
So you've caught them.
You've caught them being dishonest.
But a lot of them haven't had time to shift gears because the FTC has sent a letter to the 97
biggest dealer groups in the nation.
It was printed.
I've got a publication on my desk right now.
It's called automotive news.
I guess probably a hundred percent of car dealers read automotive news.
So they've seen it on the front page.
This is what they're supposed to do.
But I know for a fact that there are some dealers that are, they're doing the right thing on their
website because the fine is $51,000 per violation.
That'll get anybody's attention.
So a lot of them are doing it right on the website.
But then you show up at the dealership.
You want to see that particular Ford Bronco and you walk up to it and there's an addendum
sticker.
There's a sticker beside the factory window sticker and it's a sticker.
It adds a three or $4,000 to the price.
That is against the law.
Now, if you want to go ahead and do business with these people, then you just have to tell
the salespeople all this other stuff on this other window sticker is irrelevant to me.
We're starting an MSRP.
If you try to do anything else, then we're just going to leave.
I'll have to talk to my manager.
Well, talk to your manager.
We'll go ahead and drive the car.
Could you go get the keys?
We'll drive it.
Let's make sure that you like it first because that's what you always got to do, right?
Is there any reason to negotiate price if you don't even know if that's the car that you want?
You know, you go in to look at cars.
You look around on the lot.
Too many people jump right into the money.
And really, does the money matter?
Of course it does.
But does it matter first and foremost?
No, it doesn't.
The money can be solved.
As long as you've done some math at home and you understand basically what the monthly payments
will be if you had to pay MSRP, which you shouldn't.
Right now, if you buy a Ford from me or from any Ford dealer in this country,
you can get employee pricing, which is a real deal.
That's the same price that an employee that worked for Ford Motor Company for 35 years
and retired or still works for the Ford Motor Company, they get a special deal and they should.
Well, you get that price right now as well.
No gimmicks, no games.
If that price is quoted on a dealer's website, which it should be at this point,
then all you have to do is add the dock fee or processing fee,
which every dealer will have one and it will be right there.
And if it's not right there and you go into the dealership
and you're finally getting a price after you've test driven the car
and they lay a sheet of paper in front of you and it has the selling price
and then it's the same price that was on the internet with the processing fee included
and then they've added it back again to that price.
No, no, no, you're not going to let them do it.
Yeah, I'm not great at math.
I'm pretty good.
I can add numbers in my head, do some subtraction, multiplication, can't do division.
So just take a calculator or use your phone, do the math, sit there.
I'll tell you what is one of the greatest fears of a car salesperson
is when the customer pulls a calculator out.
Even if you don't intend on using it, pull one out.
Just lay it right there on the desk.
That is a threat.
Salesperson will see that he'll say, uh-oh, they pulled out a calculator.
They must be an engineer or a doctor.
That's what they really think.
Used to you could really tell if somebody was an engineer because they had a
unattractive shirt on short sleeve with a pocket protector, full of pencils and a slide rule,
and they had notches in their short sleeves.
I mean, that was an engineer.
You expected them to pull out their slide rule and do the math on a deal.
Well, now all you have to do is take a calculator with you.
I'm not kidding, folks.
Just go to probably the best money that you've ever spent.
If you don't have like a cheap little calculator before you go shopping for a car,
go buy one, take it out of the package, and make sure that the salesperson and the manager
sees the calculator, sees you take it out, put it on the desk.
I mean, some of them might even say, what's that for?
Well, that's so that we can check your numbers and do the math.
We want to be able to tell what our payments are going to be and stuff like that.
Finance manager does that.
Well, I do it first, and then he'll go tell his manager and, sir, they've got a calculator.
They brought a calculator?
Oh, we're in trouble.
Now, again, if you go to the right kind of dealership,
they applaud the fact that you're an intelligent buyer.
You brought a calculator with you.
They're not threatened by that.
It's the cheaters.
It's the people that are trying to hide something.
Those are the ones that freak out.
I'll be back in just one minute.
All right, I am back.
I do want to review a couple of things with you before you start any kind of negotiation.
I don't care what it's for.
This show happens to be about cars, but it could be about anything.
If you are over-enthusiastic, you know, if you are exhibiting tremendous buying signs,
you're at a disadvantage.
If you don't have your key priorities locked into your brain, the things that are non-negotiables,
we've got to have three rows of seating, we've got to have a sunroof, we've got to
have all-wheel drive, we don't want any color but white or any light color.
If you don't have those locked in before you go into a dealership, you are at a disadvantage
because then you are wide open to the suggestions of a really good salesperson.
He can plant some really good ideas in your head that you never thought about.
Now, some of those ideas can be worthwhile.
Let's say that you weren't aware of an option package that maybe made the car a little bit safer
or made it a little bit more usable.
Let's say that you came in and you wanted a Ford Ranger, but then after looking at a
cheaper version of the F-150, you saw the extra room that you had in the bed,
the better ride, the more room on the inside as well for passengers.
You test drove both of them and the price difference wasn't that great.
The selling price difference, maybe it's $5,000 or so and then the actual monthly payment
once you calculated it wasn't that much more and you considered the fuel economy,
you called your insurance agent, you asked them before you made a commitment to buy the vehicle,
what's the difference in insurance between this VIN number and this VIN number?
The first one is an F-150 brand new, the second one is a Ranger.
Is there any difference in the insurance rates?
And there could be a significant difference or no difference at all.
And then you call another insurance agent and you can go,
well, I don't think you can really negotiate on insurance rates,
but definitely you can shop around on insurance, can't you?
At least that's what they say on the TV commercials.
So in that case, you've got a functioning salesperson, knows his stuff, makes a suggestion.
That's a good suggestion considering options that are reasonable.
However, if you go in and he says, you know, guys, I know that you really like that Ranger,
but we've got an incredible deal on Mustangs right now.
You know why he says that though?
They just announced a big bonus.
If he sells a Mustang today, he gets a $500 bonus plus commission.
So he's not trying to do you a favor and a lot of people are susceptible to that.
He paints a picture in their mind of them driving down the road with the top down,
if it's a convertible, in the Mustang and pulling up in front of their friend's house
and just how much they're going to, how impressed they're going to be when they
pull into their driveway and the neighbors come over to look at their new Mustang convertible
and go into Myrtle Beach and all that stuff in the Mustang convertible.
And they don't even care about the Ford Ranger anymore,
but they needed a Ford Ranger because they like to go to Lowe's on the weekend and,
you know, buy pretty things for their house and flowers and mulch and all that stuff.
What did we buy this Mustang?
And then they go in and try to trade the Mustang for the vehicle
that they should have bought to begin with and they're so upside down they can't do it
because they financed it for 84 months with nothing down.
And I'm sorry if I've offended you if you're one of those people.
But I hope you learned your lesson and if you didn't, I hope this is your lesson.
Stick to your guns.
Understand what the non-negotiables are.
And then go into the dealership with a little resolve.
And what?
What else?
Yes, that's right.
A calculator because that will put the fear in the salespeople.
If you can pull the calculator out when you're out there looking at the window sticker,
just start, just pull it out.
Just, you know, fake like you're punching numbers in looking at them.
Shake your head a few times.
You know, they'll think, uh-oh, we've got us, we've got an engineer.
And it will, it will serve you very well.
And don't be too excited, you know, make them work.
I'm not saying be mean to them, mean and hateful.
No, that's not necessary, but you can be direct and you can still be polite, but stick to your guns.
And for goodness sake, whatever you're interested in, drive it.
I've seen so many people over my 48-year career say, oh, we don't need to drive it.
We know what they drive it like.
You know, they'll say that because they drove one at, at a competing dealership
and then they're buying yours.
Let me ask you, should you test drive the car even though it will drive just like the one
up at the other dealership?
Absolutely, you should test drive it because it won't drive exactly like the one at the other
dealership.
You know, if, if the tires, for example, may be out of balance or there may be a little rattle
in the dash or the steering wheel vibrates, there might be something wrong.
May have an air leak.
Yes, cars still have air leaks.
Cars still have vibrations, you know, and then if you don't look at the car real good
and walk around, you might miss some body damage, especially if it's a used car.
You pull the car fax and it said it's never been in an accident.
How many times have I told you folks that that doesn't mean that it hasn't been in an accident?
It just means that it wasn't reported.
And if you pull the car out and walk all the way around it and in different shades of light,
in bright sunlight, usually you'll see it more in the shade.
And you'll look at the body panels and they don't match.
And then you, you do a little bit closer checking and you see that there are tape lines around
the doors, you know, where they taped the car off when they were painting it.
They tape it off using masking tape and paper so that the paint overspray doesn't get on other
things that don't need to be painted.
But when they pull that tape off, it leaves a little line there.
And, you know, one of the first things I always do when I'm looking at a trade-in,
I'm opening the gas store because that's where people put gas and that's also
a place that body shops get a lot of overspray when they're painting a quarter panel or wherever
the gas door is, you know, they don't think about that.
And you'll see a used car appraiser walk around the car and he's filling around the doors and
filling around the edges of the hood and the trunk.
What's he feeling for? He's feeling for tape lines.
I'll be back in just a minute.
Okay, one other strategy that I believe car buyers should do is to be upfront
and not hide anything about your trade-in.
There's too many people that, okay, let's just go trade cars.
And they need to take a little bit of time and say, okay, what have we done to this car?
What kind of money have we spent on it in recent months that will add value and keep the dealership
from having to spend that money?
You know, that's why you should have a folder with all of your repair orders,
either in the dash of your car or at home that shows all the repairs and money that you've
spent on it. You go through it and say, oh, yeah, we did breaks three months ago.
Or, you know, we had the cooling system flushed. These are good things to have.
And it makes the used car manager feel better about your trade-in.
But also, if you hit a deer and you didn't report it, you just had somebody fix it,
if you bring that up to them upfront, it will cost you less money. They will deduct less.
Because what happens, it's human nature. They're thinking, what else have they not told us?
They said that it had never been painted. And then we find out that, oh, they hit a deer.
We forgot about that. I'm sorry, but that doesn't inspire a lot of confidence.
And it doesn't if the tables were turned. You know, you're thinking about buying a car.
It's in somebody's front yard. They said, no, it's never been wrecked. You go pull a car fax.
The airbags have even been deployed. You go back to them. And you say,
I thought she said it had never been wrecked. On the car faxes says the airbags were deployed.
Oh, I forgot about that. How do you forget about the airbags going off?
That's a pretty serious collision. Again, not inspiring. And these people probably
aren't liars. They just forgot. But it will cost you money. So admit it. Admit it upfront.
If you're having engine issues, you're trying to trade cars. You know, hopefully you've gotten
some estimates. The dealership's going to find it out. He's going to drive it down the road.
He's going to hear that knocking noise. He's going to smell in a freeze. We're educated pretty well
when it comes to evaluating a car because the mistakes that you make are very expensive.
If you miss a car that needs a transmission, for example, that could be seven to $10,000.
If it's got major engine problems, $8,000 to $20,000. The air conditioning compressor is locked
up. $1,500. I mean, we don't want to make mistakes. We don't want to miss something.
It's beneficial if you confess it upfront. Say, well, it needs this. It
Is it costing you money? Yeah, a little bit. But we're going to find it out anyway. It's going
to cost you a lot more. That's just the way human nature is. So I hope that some of these tips
will help you when you go in to negotiate with a car salesperson, to evaluate a vehicle, to help
you choose the right vehicle to begin with and not make a mistake. If you need more tips, just
send me your email address and I'll send you a copy of the My Car Guru guidebook and it will help
open your eyes to a lot of the things that can happen, whether it's in the sales department,
buying a car from an individual, getting your car serviced, picking a body shop when you've wrecked
a vehicle. That's very helpful. That's what everybody tells me anyway. So if you need that,
send me your email address to my cell phone number 423-552-2020 or call my telephone operator at
Gateway Ford. She'll pass me the information, your name, your address and I'll print out a copy and
I'll mail it to you. Our phone number at the dealership is 423-639-5151. Pretty easy number to
remember. Well thanks for listening and I'll see you on the next edition of My Car Guru.
About this episode
Road-tripping to a Noah’s Ark attraction near Cincinnati sets the stage for a practical car-buying walkthrough. The host connects FTC advertising enforcement to dealer behavior, then shifts into negotiation tactics: confirm the exact vehicle, start from MSRP, account for addendum stickers and dock/processing fees, and use employee pricing. They also cover insurance comparisons by VIN, how to evaluate used cars with Carfax and physical inspection clues, and how to spot mechanical or accident red flags before signing.
