Recently I’ve come across threads on many forums (such as this one) where a member asks about a letter they received from their car dealer. In the letter, the dealer says it badly needs more used cars, perhaps even the specific car the person owns, and so will make it especially easy to trade the member’s current car in for a new one. I’ve received these letters myself. The question generally asked on the forums, “Is this for real?”

In a word, no. These are ads, pure and simple. The dealer has one goal in mind: to sell a car. They know that just about anyone would buy a new car TODAY if it would cost them little or nothing more than they’re already paying. They also know that the reason this doesn’t happen is that people fear–usually correctly–that they’ll get killed on the trade-in value.

So the dealers pretend that this isn’t the case, that they need used cars badly, and so will pay more than they usually would for them. They tell car owners what they know car owners most want to hear. Not because it’s true, but because it will bring people into the dealership with “new car” on the brain.

And once “new car” is on the brain, it can be hard to get off. Even if the terms aren’t as good as the letter (very vaguely) implied.