Free Cars!

I can't decide what I think. This guy in Maine noticed a coupon in the paper from a Toyota dealership offering $200 off a new vehicle. The ad listed no disclaimers limiting one coupon per person or transaction.

Read the story here.

I'm a detail-oriented guy. Part of me thinks "bully for him" for finding a loophole. But I'm also disgusted because nobody will really win. The dealership can't give away free cars. I don't know much about economics yet but that just can't be a good deal for them. And this has the trappings of a lawsuit waiting to happen (in spite of his claim that he hasn't hired a lawyer yet). So this mistake in a small-business newspaper ad that no reasonable person could expect to be anything other than a mistake will end up costing the dealership, the court system and the newspaper (they'll have to spend time and energy confirming that it wasn't their mistake), at the least.

That's this guy's legacy.

He won't get a free car (he shouldn't, anyway). But he will end up costing everyone a lot of money, indirectly.

What the dealership should do is give him a special, limited time coupon:

$4000 off the purchase of a new vehicle for your editing services. Vehicle must have a MSRP greater than $40,000. Sale must be completed by January 31, 2003. Use of this coupon indemnifies dealership from any other coupon claims by this buyer. Buyer agrees to leave us alone and go to...

OK, maybe I shouldn't write the disclaimers either.