Well, that’s what Rob Lambdin’s University Dodge in Davie Florida is doing. This South Florida dealer apparently started this little two-fer sometime in July of this year to jump-start slow sales by offering an aggressive promotion. And the formula seems to be working for them as sales are picking up. According to the dealer’s sales manager, Ali Ahmed, last month the Davie dealership sold 72 new vehicles, compared with 51 in November 2007. In early October, roughly 150 2008 Dodge Ram trucks were on the lot, now only about 15 are left — and there are deposits down on eight or nine of them. Seems like it’s beginning to look at lot like Christmas at University Dodge.
Ok, ’nuff of all that…how does it work??? It goes a little sumthin’ like this…You get smitten with a 2008 Dodge Ram Quad Cab, priced from $32,000 to $50,000, you buy it and you get a base model 2-door Ram truck valued at about $24,000 for free, says Ahmed.
In a phone interview with Wheels Blog before Thanksgiving, here’s what Ahmed had to say about their brainchild of a deal:
The promotion was originally envisioned to move a few of its backlog of 150 Ram pickups — some of which had been sitting since the $4 a gallon gas prices of last summer — off the lot before the end of the November sales period.
“But it has worked so well – between the foot traffic at the dealership, phone calls and online sales – that we are running out of trucks,” Mr. Ahmet said. “We hope to extend it into December, and perhaps the end of the year. We also have an affiliated Chrysler-Jeep dealership and we are working out arrangements with them to substitute, say, a PT Cruiser in case you don’t want the base Dodge Ram. Or substitute a Jeep Commander, if you don’t want a loaded Laramie Quad Cab. Things like that.”
Is the dealership losing money on such a deal?
“It’s pretty close, maybe a little below our cost,” Mr. Ahmet said. “But we are getting a little help from Chrysler – nothing special, just the kind of help every dealer can get from them. We are just trying to be a little more creative than others.”
Since the University Dodge promotion was announced, other dealerships have tried to come up with similarly creative sales. Bettenhausen Dodge in Tinley Park, Ill., was offering a Dodge truck for full price, with a second vehicle for $1. And a dealer in Vancouver, Canada, advertised online a full-price offer on a new vehicle, paired with a giveaway on a used Land Rover.
“I don’t know about those other deals,” Mr. Ahmet said, “But the amazing thing about this promotion is it is legitimate. You know, car dealers have this reputation. But this is legit.”
So how about it folks, think you can fit a couple of gift wrapped trucks under your tree this year?
If you see any other deals on cars or trucks, please share them with us…we just love great deals 
