THIS^^ Unless the manufacturer is offering a great finance deal (like zero APR), I always get my own financing at my local credit union. Other than zero percent deals, they have never been beat plus they are easy to work with. For leases, you can find Chrysler Capital standard money factor online as well as any good MF deals they have. Dealership's are in it to make money, so if they are offering $1k off but you gotta finance through them, they are likely getting more than $1K somewhere else. Look for the rub and you will find it. A buddy who is a salesman at a dealership was telling me his shop gets pi$$ed if someone comes in with cash (or already financed). It doesn't take long to figure out why.
I don't think most dealerships are trying to screw people over, but they will make more money with the buyer who either doesn't care or doesn't know about the "gotcha's". I like buying and selling cars. The other day my wife told me I should work at the dealership as the FI guy since I kinda understand how it works. I told her I couldn't do that since ,in a way, they take advantage of people.