[kstrauser]

If you’re assertive enough, it is.

“Oh, sorry, looks like we’d already applied the undercoat to your car.”

“Ah, thanks!”

“That’s an extra $400 charge.”

“I’m not paying for it. I didn’t want it. You can have it back if you want.”

[syndicatedjelly]

"Darn, sorry we can't make a deal. Hey look at all the people who need cars that are waiting!"

This is not as much of an upper hand as you think it is, often these shenanigans happen after sitting at the dealer for a couple hours while they do whatever it is they do. Do you value your time so little that you'll just walk out of a transaction over less than a 1% difference in cost?

The dealer knows how to play this game way better than you, if you walk into a dealership without having a plan to score a deal then you already lost

[kstrauser]

Yes, I have literally done exactly that thing and ended up with the dealer eating the price. The dealer has time and effort sunk into closing the deal, too, and they’ll almost always chose a bird in the hand.

And also-freaking-lutely would I walk instead of eating a BS charge. Sometimes it really is the principle of the thing. My principle is I’m not paying a penny for something I didn’t ask for. A dealership I’d be caught dead doing business with will eat the bogus charges instead of losing a customer forever. Conversely, next time I need a Toyota, I have the business card of the guy I’ll buy it from and he doesn’t even know it yet. He treated me well last time and his investment in that deal will keep paying him back.

[ghaff]

Yeah. Last time I bought a car, at the last minute, it included "factory installed" extras that included a first aid kit for a car that wasn't built yet. I may or may not have actually walked (a couple of the options were actually useful) but I was "I'm not happy but I'll close the deal NOW if you add it to my trade-in" which they did.