I heard from my friend that you can get a free hummer if you agree to have shilly messages printed all over it. My boyfriend liked this deal of a “free car” so he looked it up and found conflicting pages. One one it said the idea was made up, but companies decided it was in fact a good idea and started giving away shillmobiles (also in non-hummer varieties). On another site there is a 25$ application fee.
Does anyone know if this is a scam?
One site I visited would put your name and info in a database for a fee of $25/year. Companies that want to advertise will look through the database looking for people that suit their demographics. Chances of you actually getting a free car are slim, but the company doesn’t care because they’ve already got your $25.
One thing to add…
Even if you do get a free car, it’s not really yours to keep. Usually a company just leases it for two or three years. You only get to keep it for that time and when it’s over, you get the chance to buy it.
There was an April Fools joke in 2000 in Esquire about this. The company Freewheelz (website now defunct) would give you a free car, covered in ads.
It was all a joke.
However. The joke was on them, as there were at the time several companies who did just this. According to this interresting article they are all extinct by now though. Apparently it wasn’t such a hot business idea after all…
Although, one of the companies mentioned in the article does still exist, and even though they don’t offer to give away free cars, they do offer to pay individuals to carry advertisment on their cars. Have a look at http://www.autowraps.com/ .
Thank you for your responses!
Are you sure he meant “hummer” the vehicle?
I’m a girl!
I don’t think anyone would agree to have shilling messages printed anywhere other hummers go.
Someboby’s been lying to you, girl.
Peace,
mangeorge