Associated Press

January 18, 2003 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press
COUPON EFFORT FAILS: Chris Shields of Eliot, Maine, shows the 207 coupons he used to try to get a Toyota for free. The dealer, Toyota of Portsmouth, ran the $200-off coupons in a newspaper without a disclaimer of only one per customer. Shields packed up his briefcase and tried to trade them in for a silver 2002 Sequoia Limited worth about $42,000. He didn't get the car. Dealership owner Jim Boyle said the ad wasn't misleading and "no reasonable person could possibly expect to piggyback coupons like that and walk away with a new car." Shields said he has no plans to hire a lawyer but has contacted the state attorney general's consumer protection bureau.