Car Ads Cited as Deceptive

California consumers may pay thousands of dollars more for a new car than the sale price dealers advertise in newspapers, according to a new study.

A California Public Interest Research Group survey of new car ads in newspapers in six cities found that most dealers sell only a token number of cars for the listed sale price.

At least two-thirds of the dealers surveyed were selling the rest of their stocks of the advertised models for higher prices, CalPIRG analyst Mary Raftery said Tuesday.

The average price difference between the sale model and stock was $1,984, Raftery said. The biggest difference was $6,001.

“They bait the consumer onto the lot with sale prices, a couple of low-priced cars,” she said. “When consumers get there, there are plenty of cars available, but not at this price.”

CalPIRG, the California State Automobile Assn. and a car dealer held a Capitol news conference to back state legislation that would crack down on misleading car ads.

The bill by Assemblyman Bryon Sher (D-Stanford) would require newspaper ads to disclose the number of sale cars in print that is at least half the size used for the advertised price.

The measure would also require advertisers, if only a portion of the cars are available at a discount, to disclose how many cars they have in stock of the same model.

The CalPIRG study reviewed car ads in Sunday, March 22, classified sections of major newspapers in Sacramento, Berkeley, Palo Alto, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Newport Beach and San Diego.

A telephone survey of 63 advertisers found that 67% were selling the rest of their models for prices higher than the sale cars.

The average number of cars available at the sale price was 2.6, the survey found.