Dealer May Sell For Less

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

The last week or two, I’ve been getting the Toronto Sun free of charge. The Sun, as it’s known, could be compared to, say, the New York Post, but it’s really more in the vein of a British tabloid paper. Like the Post, the front page always has some sensationalized headline, and it’s often looked down upon as the newspaper of the uneducated middle class, but if you want to know what’s really going on in Toronto, especially our farcical municipal politics, The Sun cannot be beat.

While its competitors have ads for local Aston Martin, Bentley and Land Rover dealers, the Sun seems to have never-ending full-page ads for local domestic car dealerships, which seem to be perpetually wrapping up some kind of blowout sale that brings a whole new meaning to the term “dealer may sell for less”.

Having never picked up The Sun prior to getting it delivered, I was unaware that you could get such a good deal on a new car. But every day, there are 2013 Fusions, Escapes, Journeys, Grand Caravans and even full-size trucks going for utterly unbelievable prices. How about

In some cases, like the Journey and the 200, you are getting some old tech, like 2.4L engines and 4-speed automatics. I don’t think I’d really want to drive a minivan at this stage in my life, but the Caravan at 17,995 is an unbeatable value – and the step up to a model with Stow N Go seats (which I’d imagine are a must have when kids and all their associated cargo are part of the equation) only brings the price up to just under $22,000.

The fact that a Dart 2.0L costs more than a Fusion or an Escape strikes me as absurd. I don’t know how much of it is manufacturer cash on the hood or a price war among dealers. One dealer principal I spoke to told me that this is happening already. According to him, car dealerships are just convenient real estate plays for a number of wealthy Toronto residents, and they’re ok with selling cars at rock bottom prices. For consumers, there’s never been such an abundance of good deals out there.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • Lie2me Lie2me on May 29, 2013

    They couldn't print it if it weren't true...

  • Ect Ect on May 30, 2013

    How the Toronto Sun survives is beyond me, given that it has to compete with 2 free newspapers for transit rider readership. What is more amazing is that they've put up a pay wall on their interet site. I can't imagine their regular uneducated male working class readers (which is their core demographic market) paying to read this POS on the web.

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