Was That Really A New-Car Lease Offer From Schaller Honda?

Is it a deal on a new Honda Civic lease . . . or not?

A Simsbury woman thought she had a deal on a new-car lease at Schaller Honda — until the dealer told her she didn’t qualify for the offer. That didn’t go over too well. Let’s look at the fine print in this weekend’s Bottom Line column:

The matchmaker software at Schaller Honda in New Britain thought it found a perfect candidate for a new-car lease when Linda M.’s name showed up in a database next to her expiring three-year deal on a 2009 Civic DX.

A Schaller sales representative, in a follow-up email to a phone conversation, told Linda that, based on the software’s “generic algorithm,” she could lease a new 2012 Civic DX, full warranty, for no money down and potentially lower her monthly payments.

Baby, that sure sounded good. So Linda went to Schaller Honda hoping for a new lease, a new car, no money down and lower monthly payments. Without thinking about the “potentially” lower monthly payments (mentioned in the email), she took a test drive in a 2012 Civic DX. Then, when she met face-to-face with the salespeople, it unraveled. Quickly.

More . . .