I work in automotive engineering and this kind of defect is usually caught during production testing. The fact that it made it to one in three vehicles is concerning and suggests either a testing oversight or a supplier issue.
I’m actually curious about the technical side. Most inventory management systems should handle this automatically now. Dealers refusing to upgrade are just cheap or dishonest.
The FTC is getting more aggressive with enforcement, which is good, but I wonder about implementation. How will they prove a dealer intentionally advertised a sold vehicle versus a system lag? There’s a difference between fraud and technical delays.
Timing matters for negotiations too. Late afternoon on a weekday the dealership is less busy and salespeople might be more motivated. Avoid weekends when there’s lots of foot traffic.
If you lease, watch out for mileage limits! I went over by 8,000 miles last year and the penalty was brutal. Now I track my driving carefully. Maybe lease if you have predictable commute, but buy if you’re uncertain about mileage.
