I think they knew damn good and well that they were going to renig on the price to you. This was their effort to get you to their dealership. The fact that people show up at dealerships means that dealers won't be going out of business anytime soon. Just the very fact that you are on their property means that you are no longer on your own territory, both figuratively and literally. Just the fact that you are on their turf means that they have the advantage. Many psychologically weaker people view this as pressure, and will cave in under this self-induced pressure and buy a car, even if it isn't the car they are after. Ever notice when you ask a dealer a question they go to their manager to get the answer, then take you around the dealership to show you cars while the manager "researches" the question? There is a reason for this. The dealer is trying to occupy your time and trying to catch your eye on a car, which may be a different one than you are interested in. Even if they don't "catch your eye" on a car they are experts at talking you into buying a car, even if you know it isn't the one you want. In all reality, usually the manager already knows the answer to the question that he is "researching". It is all about getting you on their property and keeping you there as long as possible so that you may have your eye caught on a car, whether it be the one you want or not, and then caving in to your self-induced pressure, buying a car, and satisfying the dealer. For people that feel this pressure when they go to a dealership, usually this self-induced pressure only increases during the time they are at the dealership. Dealers know this and use this in their advantage by keeping you there as long as possible. The fact is, the longer you remain at the dealership the more likely you are to buy a car. Also notice that if you went to a VW dealer and told them that you wanted a Passat but told them you think you will wait until the redesign (B6) comes out, the dealer will try to convince you otherwise. They know that if you say you are going to wait until the redesign, that the chances are, you won't be back. They don't care about pairing you with the car you want. They care about moving inventory and making profit. Another common technique that car dealers use is to say that you had better act today because this deal won't be around tomorrow. Sometimes they even go on to give specific examples of people that have lost out because they waited. That is the most classic salesmanship technique in the book, for car dealers, real estate agents, or any salesman. I could write all day about the nonsense techniques that dealers use and how you can avoid that. The sooner people realize that dealers don't care about them but rather, care about selling cars, at any possible expense, including sacrificing their own integrity, the better off people are.
Let me tell you something more. My sister's husband's brother (hopefully that isn't too complicated) is a used car salesman for a major Dodge dealership in Denver, CO. He makes $15,000 per month and barely has a high school education. (I didn't make any mistakes with the zeros either, he makes $15,000 per month!). I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. My brother-in-law (sister's husband), is an incredibly smart, sincere, excellent guy. His brother (the used car salesman) is about half as intelligent as my brother-in-law, untrustworthy, but is a good enough salesman to sell a refrigerator to an eskimo or a bottle of sand to an arab. It still amazes me that they are brothers considering how diametrically opposite they are. Anyway, the fact is, car dealers are excellent at what they do, and most will sucker punch you when you least expect it. They are experts at making you believe something that is truly false. They are experts at talking you into the car you don't want. The fact is, they don't give a shit, they want your money and absolutely nothing else. And they will do absolutely anything to get your money, including compromising their own integrity. And they don't want your money when the redesign comes out, they don't want your money next year, next month, next week, or even tomorrow. They want your money right now and they want all of it.