Has anyone been contacted by Mitsubishi about a 'trade in deal'?

I received a call from an 800 number this week from Mitsubishi with an offer to trade in my Mirage at 2K over blue book. They said the dealer would give me $10 just for coming in and having it appraised (big deal!). I didn't ask if it was retail or wholesale BB value and don't recall which 'blue book' she mentioned.

My guess is that the dealer would play the usual shell game with trade in / new car prices and adjust the sales price accordingly. My 2 year old car has only 12K miles and the new Mirage isn't substantially different, so I won't be taking the long trip to the dealer to enquire about details.

Has anyone else been contacted and if so, can you provide more detail? Do you agree this is probably just a trade in / new car price shell game?

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Originally Posted by Ranny

I received a call from an 800 number this week from Mitsubishi with an offer to trade in my Mirage at 2K over blue book.

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You probably got a call from a local dealer with this offer. Usually it's something in the postal mail with a similar angle...

We have a sudden demand for used {fill in your car's make/model here}. So we are in a unique position to offer you top dollar for your {fill in your car's make/model here}. We will give you {some crazy amount} over Kelly Blue Book. Just stop in any time and bring this letter with you.

Funny...but no matter what strange used cars I have owned in the past, local dealers have had a sudden surge in demand for them. I swear if I owned a Yugo I'd probably still get an offer like this in the mail. :D

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...Do you agree this is probably just a trade in / new car price shell game?

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It's a complete scam just to get you in the door at the dealership. They probably force the sales guys to make these calls when traffic through the showroom is slow. Or they may be using a third-party company to do the calls.

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Originally Posted by Top_Fuel

You probably got a call from a local dealer with this offer. Usually it's something in the postal mail with a similar angle...

We have a sudden demand for used {fill in your car's make/model here}. So we are in a unique position to offer you top dollar for your {fill in your car's make/model here}. We will give you {some crazy amount} over Kelly Blue Book. Just stop in any time and bring this letter with you.

Funny...but no matter what strange used cars I have owned in the past, local dealers have had a sudden surge in demand for them. I swear if I owned a Yugo I'd probably still get an offer like this in the mail. :D

It's a complete scam just to get you in the door at the dealership. They probably force the sales guys to make these calls when traffic through the showroom is slow. Or they may be using a third-party company to do the calls.

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EXACTLY THIS.

It's a very common post-sale tactic. "We need inventory, and we need it NOW! Come on in for a special deal just for you!"

Keep in mind that dealerships make most of their money on used cars, not new ones. As has been mentioned, it's a 'shell game'.