I LIVE IN DELAWARE AND I SAVED UP 3500 FOR A DOWNPAYMENT FOR A CAR. WELL I BOUGHT MY CAR JUNE 19TH AND IT IS NOW JULY 23RD AND I STILL HAVE MY CAR BUT MY CHECK WAS RETURNED BECAUSE MY BANK ACCOUNT WAS HACKED INTO AND THE BANK IS TRYING TO RECOVER MY MONEY THAT WAS TAKEN. I AM FINANCED AND HAVE MADE MY FIRST PAYMENT TO THE LENDER ALREADY BUT I WANNA KNOW UNTIL I PAY BACK THE DOWN PAYMENT CAN THE DEALERSHIP COME REPO MY CAR? OR CALL THE POLICE AND REPORT THE CAR STOLEN? BECAUSE I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT THEY DONT OWN MY CAR ANYMORE THE BANK DOES. IS THAT CORRECT?

I had a really important question. My sister got a car a used car and after a few months after she got it it broke,I believe the motor blew.So they offered her to trade the car for a different one they out the monthly payments of that car on her newer car and told her it was under her possession that car broke and she still has to pay for it so the monthly payments of the other one was put with this new one so its double. 415.Is that fair. are they suppose to do that is that legal?

I went to the local dealership to look at a suv, when I got there I inquired about the suv that I called about the salesperson talked to me for awhile before another salesperson came over and said that vehicle was nowhere to be found and that they had another one they could show me a 1998 Mercury Mountaineer with low milage we went to look at it and it looked very nice on the windshield 98 suv only 28k miles the salesman asked if I wanted to take it for a test drive I agreed, during the test drive I stated that I noticed a few things that were in question (brakes ,steering) and if they could look at them, I was told they would have them looked at in the service dept, so we went into his office and sat there antalked about the suv I asked questions about it like was it in a flood,or in a accident of any kind, a lemon. The salesman said that the vehicle was just fine and that they ran a CARFAX on it and certified that everything checked out positive and that the service dept had put it thru a 150 point inspection, we talked a little more and I was informed that it was wiser to buy from a dealership then a private seller because the dealer would give me a warranty with it where as the seller will not.We then started to talk about the price ($9999.00) and I said that the price of the OTHER suv was $7999.00 and that's were I'd like to stay, we talked more and came to an agreement that things would be repaired or replaced (the WE OWE paper) and that I would purchase it for $9200.00 out the door, after all the paper work I finally got to leave and I went to the grocery store after being there for about 45 mins it was dark outside and when I got into traffic I could see that the windshield was scratched terribly, on my way home I stopped back by the dealership and they were closed for the day. So the next morning I went to the dealership to question the windsheild and was told that I took delivery of it the way it was I then told the salesman that it must have been scratched during clean up and he then told me HE cleaned the window and I replied "with what steelwool" no window cleaner then the subject changed to the smell of hot brakes and I told him that's the 2nd reason I'm here the brakes smell hot and there's smoke cominf off the left rear. The salesman said it was because they were just replaced what you need to do is get the vehicle up to around 60mph and then jam on the brakes to seat them properly and the smell will go away I also said I wanted to know why the suv was selling on the internet on their website for $8999.00 and he said that was a special internet price that a customer can purchase it for w/o a salesperson involved( I'm thinking to myself at this point ADD TO SHOPPING CART ?). I was told that there was no proof the window was scratched by them, so I took it to a glass shop up the street and was told by them that the window was scratched by the dealership and couldn't be repaired it would have to be replaced at a cost of $227.00. As I was leaving the rear brakes locked up, being only 5 mins away I forced it home. I haven't had it 24hrs at this point. I get home and call my salesman and tell him what happened and he sent a toew truck to get it on Monday (I called on Friday). Later that day they deliver it to me I go to park it in the driveway and the E-brakes won't hold so I park it on the road and look under it and see that the E-brakes have been disconnected.I call back again and take it in on Wed and later that day I get a call it is repaired to come and get it, I pick it up at 7:00pm and go home oh wait that's right it ran out of gas could it bee that they put 60 miles on it and a McDonalds cup. I call back againg the next day and told them that there is still a problem with the front brakes and steering the service advisor said he wasn't aware of that problem that the salesman didn't tell him that and that I'll have to bring it back so I set up an app and they need the warranty papers which after checking the glove box I FIND THERE NOT THERE I go to the salesman and he said that's odd they should be there.After checking the glove box again he finds that there NOT there, Ummm let me check the sales folder for them after about 15 mins he returns and says he need to check one other place another 10mins go by and he appears with the warranty and said I didn't sign them, so I signed a 2nd set this time the warranty was hand written in the salesman's hand writing with the coverage reduced by1/2. I got into my vehicle and went home and callth the GM and told him what was going on and if by chance they had a buy back program I was told no. By this time thay wanted me to pay out of pocket for the brakes aat a cost of $725.00 (I did it myself for $229.00). So I asked about the steering problem and a ABS problem they said I need a appointment but they were booked full for at least aweek do to a few really big jobs, I asked if they could call me if something came open yeah yeah. No one called so I called back and was told they still couldn't look at it.So I had to take it some where else to have it repaired at a cost of $721.00and 2 1/2 days later.They never took my suv into the dealership for any repairs I still need to repair my ABS & ABS MODULE, But I can't because I have no more money and when I got the title in the mail it came with the 1st warranty paper with 100% coverage hummm.Oh yes and the "WE OWE" paper is missing , brake shop inspected them and said the brakes are unsafe and vehicle shouldn't be driven.****I had to replace all the brakes, I had to replace the RACK & PINION, now I have to replace my ABS & MODULE, I ALSO don't get replaced hood shocks, Battery, both front and rear shocks, ALSO the paint doesn't match on the front fender,I never did get my CARFAX or THE 150 POINT INSPECTION, SO MUCH FOR IT BEING CERTIFIED. I have talked to a few professionals but they can't help because that's not what they do. Am I the victom of a BAIT & SWITCH? IF any one can please contact me...Thanks

Hi I just read your comment. We are in Jacksonville Florida. Is there any way of finding out the law in this state pretaining to the ten day law. If she signed a loan agreement and they were not able to finance her when she has had the car now 30 days that means that they have to honor the agreement and get her financed or finance her themselves? If you know any lawyers in our area that can help her I would be in your debt forever. My aunt is finally getting her life back together and she doesnt need anymore set backs.

Hi my aunt recently bought a car about four weeks ago. She took me down with her so that I could help her. They said her credit wasent strong enough due to her home recently being in foreclosure, which I had hired a lawyer and pulled it out of foreclosure and gotten everything settled, but it was still being reported to the credit bearu that it was behind. So anyways my grandmother cosigned for her for a Hyundai accent. I told her to ask what the price of the car was she was interested in and they kept side stepping that question and she wouldnt listen to me b/c she was so happy about getting a car. She had 1000.00 cash and a trade in which the contract stated that they were giving her 1000.00 for her trade in. When we were driving home her new car I looked in the glove box and the sticker price that was on the window they tore off the car and gave her some bs story about why it didnt have a msrp sticker on the window stating how much the car was worth. Well when I found it I found that they car msrp value was around 14,500.00 but they had charged her 16,054.00 then took off her cash downpayment and her trade in to bring it down to 14,054.00 plus tax, tag and title. I was upset and I told her that she just got ripped off but she was just glad to have a new car. So now four weeks later they find out from the dealership that they couldnt get her financed b/c my grandma doesnt make enough income and she has no one else to cosign for her. So now they want her to bring back the car they said they will give her her 1000.00 cash down payment back but that they cannot locate her trade in car. My question is if they already sold her car at auction or whatever what is she to do without a car to drive. She will loose her job since she drives for a living as a postal carrier. If they cannot get her car back are they obligated to pay her the 1000.00 that is posted on the contract agreement that they allotted her for a trade in value when the car was actually worth only a few hundred bucks. And what do we do if they do not even want to fix the situation about her trade in. Is she just out of luck. She has put about 2000 miles on the new car. What rights does she have in this situation and if she has to get a lawyer will it be worth it or would she be spending money she really doesnt have for the lawyer to get less back from the dealership. Also do lawyers take on cases like this without any money upfront if she is broke.

bought used car 2007 from autoway honda clearwater fl. started to shift funny, took back 3 time in two days each time saying it was fine and thats it. i was told by salesman at the start it was a good car but he didnt know the owner or its mechanical history. as it turns out it was a secretarys car who worked in there used car office. it had already had a 2nd tranny put in and ready for a 3rd. there used car guarentee was bring it back in 3 days or 150 miles and they would cancel deal. i did, but they refused to honor the guarentee , all they would do is let me trade it in on higher priced car which i did because i didnt want lemon or to have another heart attack or open heart surgery as ive already had. becuse of this i had to leave fl and move to a cheaper cost of living state which i did in ohio. now i just recieved a alot of calls from the bank i supposedly have the loan with, they say the vin numbers are for some other car and that some other bank has my loan. with this mess i cant get duplicate title so i can get ohio lics plate, im illegally driving. my question is since this is there error[ the dealerships] , does that make this deal null and void and can i now get out of the contract cleanly... no repo and compensated for there scams , poor ethics and bad paper work all so far at my expense? thanks very much for any help, ideas or what you think i should do. sincerely john.

I purchased a car in Maryland and it has beern over 30 days and the delaer has not paid off the loan on the car I traded in. I have had to make 2months of payments on a car I no longer own. I had to resign mynew loan agreements 1 week later than when I purchased the car and was told they had to be date the original date. I have not received any information on who the loan is with and how to ocntact them. This dealer is one of the largest in Maryland I asked when signing the new documents if I could just void the deal and get my old car back. They stated they sold my car the day I traded it in and it was a done deal. as of today 21 days later the old car is still titled in my name and the old loan has not been paid. What can I do

I bought a car from a private party. They gave me a clean title in their name. Week later I went to MDV to get title in my name and they said that car had second title issued just few days ago and they would not be able to give a title for this car.
Title was issued for a dealership. I contaceted to dealer, and he said that the car was "stolen" from him. People who sold me the car had worked for the dealer, and said that they got the car from the dealer for exhange for unpaid salary. Now I am in middle. I don't know how to believe. I have reported this to the police and the MDV fraud unit, but nobody is able to help me. How do I get my money back or title for this car.
Do I have to sue, but who? Dealer or the people who sold me the car. (this dealer is very shady, but there is not enouhg evidence against him).
HELP

I recently purchased a used 1999 Acura TL from a private party. I was told specifically that the car had never been in an accident. I took the car to my mechanic and upon inspection he discovered that the car had been involved in a fairly major front end collision and that the air bags were missing. The carfax report did not report that it had ever undergone any repairs due to an accident. The title is clean. Do I have any remedy against the private party seller? I bought the car less than one week ago.

JUST BOUGHT A BRAND NEW 09 HYNDAI SONATA. WALKED INTO THE FINANCE MANAGER'S OFFICE TO GET THE INTEREST RATE AND LOAN PAYMENTS FOR THE CAR. ARNOLD STATES HE CAN SELL US THE CAR FOR 509 A MONTH FOR 72 MONTHS OR 548/72 MONTHS WITH EXTENDED WARRANTY. WHEN I SAID THAT WAS TOO HIGH HE SAID HE COULD DO IT FOR 499 WITH THE WARRANTY. THEN I SAID IF HE COULD DO IT FOR 485 WITH THE EXTENDED WARRANTY, WE WOULD SIGN RIGHT NOW. HE SAID, HE COULD DO THE EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR 489 RIGHT NOW AND PUT HIS HAND OUT. I SHOOK IT, AND MY WIFE AND I SIGNED. HE PROCEDES TO TELL ME HOW PRETTY MY 5 MONTH OLD BABY GIRL IS. HE RUSHED ME THROUGH READING OVER THE PAPERWORK BEFORE I SIGNED IT. WHEN I GOT HOME I REALIZED HE ADDED ANOTHER YEARS WORTH OF PAYMENTS TO THE CONTRACT. A PORTION OF MY PAYCHECK COVERS THE USE OF A COMPANY PAID ATTORNEY. DO I HAVE A CASE? IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN DO BESIDES TAKE THEM TO COURT?

THANKS

Hello,
My husband and I recently purchased a used truck and course a warranty. The truck has been lowered (suspension), rims came with it, and the tail pipes were made to resemble dual exhaust (but not actually dual exhaust). We've had the truck for going on 3 weeks and it just went out one day. Looks like it may be a water pump problem, we thought that it may be a fuel pump & fuel gauge problem. It's looking like it is the water pump and fuel gauge. When we took the vehicle in to be fixed with our WARRANTY. They stated they could not honor the warranty because the vehicle has been modified. They showed us in writing where suspension changes void the warranty. We have since gone back to the dealer (who knew the vehicle was modified) to ask for them to pay for the repairs to be done and now run a FULL DIAGNOSTIC and pay for any repairs that need to be made since we now do not have a warranty. We advised them that if they are not willing to do so - that we want to bring the car back. The dealer is basically refusing both options. What are our options and do we have a legal case? Thanks for your help!

I purchased a vehicle on early July from a dealership in california. I left the vehicle because I did not have proof of insurance. when I came to pick the vehicle up the following day, the finance manager said that there was another contract that had to be signed. This new contract included an extended warranty, and my payments increased from $415 to $435. I was told that I was financed and given the name of the finance company. 11 Days after I sign what I believed to be the final contract, I am being contacted and asked to sign a new contract. I was unable to make it initially and now the dealership is asking for the return of the vehicle after cashing one of 2 of my deferred down payment checks, which was schedulded to be deposited 16 days after I signed the original contract. They still have one of my down payment checks. what are my rights? This dealership is trying to get as much money from me as they can. The deferred down payment is not listed. On my contract it states that I put down $2500 cash.

Hi Hal,i live in miami ,fl , the 5th of july i "bought" a car in one of those outside events that some dealers have ,i signed every a cotract with all the details ,down payment,monthly payment due date,ineterest rate,etc etc.i took the car with me that day.the miles that were in the contract was not the real miles of the car ..neither matched the miles that was on the sticker of the window .
i gave a 1000 check for deposit ,the following day i called the salesman to tell him to don't deposit that check because i wanted to ise a credit card instead,the check had been already deposited but bounced for insuficient funds.
a week laer the sales called me to tell me that they need the 1000 deposit for me avoid a repo and affect my credit.
the fllowing day i went to the place a gave a 500 deposit with a debit card and 3 days later i gave 500 cash.
the car was needing a service wich the manager pormised me to do ..and told me to take the car to the same dealer where i gave the deposit but such service never happened,it was a lie..
i called him and told him about thisservice and he told me to forget about it ..just leave the car right there and take the deposit back and that's it.
after that he called me again and told me that i needed a cosigner in the car that i had not been approved...
the following day i gave some information about a person who could be as a cosigner,
but they never contacted this person to run his credit..they did it without his authorization..
i called them back and told them that the cosigner didn't want to be part of that at all..i went to the dealer ..took the car and ask for my deposit.
they don't want to give my deposit back..they can't get me approved...they aren't suposed to keep my deposit ..aren't they?

We just bought a car on Saturday and the salesman kept saying they couldn't get the model we wanted, then out of nowhere he had one in another state that was to be driven to us today. So we went and signed the papers got financed and was just waiting for delivery. They called us today and said that they "accidently" sold our car and was trying to push us into another car that wasn't what we wanted at all. They were trying to push off different colors or differnt size motors or drive trans. None of which was what we were trying to pay for. Now they are still trying to say that we are obligated to buy from them. I feel that since we signed papers with that other cars vin number on it that said we were buying that car, that we should be allowed to back out of the entire deal 100% since they breached the contract by selling a car that was already sold to us. Something somewhere is off here. I read the above scams like negative equity and changed sticker price, and things of that nature. By the way this was a new car lot not a used car lot.. this car was brand new.

Hello Hal! I currently have an auto loan with a sub-prime lender Roadloans/Triad Financial. Their website and contract states that I can prepay my loan with no penalty and that all I have to do is send in more money. I noticed that each time I sent them more money, they put less and less money toward the principle of my loan. This was a brand new loan for me.....month one I gave fifty dollars extra and they applied so much to principle and so much to interest......month two I paid a few days early and gave seventy dollars extra and they applied less to principle and more to interest...month three....I paid even earlier with more money and they applied even less. They told me on the phone that they can do whatever they want with my money...applying it however they want, however, that is not what their website states.........the only instruction on their website is to send more money if customers want to pay more money towards their principle. They wont do it! Additionally, this is a simple interest loan which accrues interest each day at the rate of approx six dollars per day.........if I am late they will, of course add this amount to my balance, however they seem to be compounding the interest charging me interest on top of interest rather than charging me on what I actually borrowed. Again their website conflicts with this information as well. They explain the contrast between compounded interest loans vs simple interest loans and state how their simple interest loan is much better, yet they seem to be treating my laon as a compounded type but my contract ant the roadloans company confirmed that it is a simple interest loan....so no confusion about that. I think this lender is taking me to the cleaners and when I ask them to investigate the matter they say they will and they never do.........What can I do? I need help.

Hey Hal,
Happy 50th! :)
I contacted you a month ago about a fraudulent auto contract with Parks Suzuki in High Point, NC. You might remember, I faxed everything to you and you said I had a strong case since they changed the MSRP 5000+ and I have a copy of the actual invoice. Well, this is what happened now? As you may recall, I had filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office and Consumer Portfolio Services, my finance company. The legal dept. at CPS told me since they were not in compliance that they would have to buy the car back from me. D. Parrish at Parks Suzuki called me last week and said that they paid my loan with CPS and they needed to pick up the car since the title would be coming directly to them. He needed me to sign a Power of Attorney and a arbitrary form, which stated that if I ever had any problems in the future with them, I would try to resolve matters with them first instead of seeking legal advice. I called Billy Rouce, the investigator of my case with the Attorney General's office and she siad they finnaly got a response from Parks that day although it was dated 06/29/08 and it was from Darrius Somebody, talking about his conversations with me and how he valued my loyalty to their dealership. She said she was going to mail me a copy of the letter. I told her that I had never dealt with Darius and had never even met him before and I was hesitate about signing the paperwork. She called D. Parrish and called me back and said that I was definitely upside on the car and they had already paid off the $22,000.00 loan and I just need to read the paperwork carefully before signing but she encouraged to cooperate since this was definitely a good resolution. A salesperson from Parks came to my office to pick up the car on Thursday and the form were not filled out. He said that D. had told him that I just needed to sign them and he would fill them out later. I signed the forms T. Moore and did not sign them using the legal form of name. Also I had him give me his interpretation of the forms before I signed them. I took the original letter that I wrote Mr Parks when I filed my compliant and wrote on the bottom exactly what D. Parrish had told me and had him sign it. Now I am going to write Mr Parks a letter stating that I need compensation for the 5000+ that they had fraudulently added to the price of the car or I will seek legal action. I really hate that you couldn't take my case because I contacted all of the attorneys you referred me too and no one would take it because they don't want to travel to High Point if it goes to litigation or they want $1500 down up front and apparently attorneys are not like you in NC. No one will consider taking the money out the settlement. If I would have had legal counsel to review the documents first, I wouldn't be worried about whether or not I did the right thing?
What do you think? Good news or bad news....
TM

I recently bought a new Saturn Sky from my dealer in National City, CA. I love the car and was extra excited when the sales manager offerred me a free tank of gas if I brought my factory satisfaction survey into he dealership--as oppossed to mailing it in. As expensive as gas is, this was a super agreement and I eagerly did just that and they did as promised. I was telling a friend about my good fortune and he gave me a disturbing glance. He said the dealer wanted the survey so he could fill it out with positive answers. He claimed the dealers get cash awards for good scores and other recognition. Did I participate in something illegal? Should I notify anyone of my actions? I feel guilty. Is this a common practice among new car dealers?
Can you suggest actions--if any?? Or should I just let well enough alone?
As i said before, I feel very guilty..

We just bought a vehicle from a dealer for my teenage daughter and had the car for less than week when it broke down. We called the dealer and he agreed to come and fix it but did not show. Meanwhile we had the car repaired through a friend which cost us 125.00 for parts. I should have checked the vehicle before purchase, but did not. However, I did check carfax last night and it showed the vehicle was a total loss. We have only had the car now for a week as of today. Wasn't the dealer by law supposed to inform the buyer that this was a total loss vehicle? Can we take the car back to him and demand our money back? The car was overpriced to begin with, but were willing to pay because we thought the car was in better condition.
We live in Michigan, can you tell us what we should do next? I don't want my daughter driving around in an unsafe car.

My wife had a 2004 New Beetle convertible that she loved, but it has been having some problems, and she really wanted a new car. After looking around, she decided what she really wanted was the same car. So we went to a new VW dealer, and negotiated what seemed like a straightforward deal: they would pay $10,000 for the trade-in, less the $1,700 still owed (to VW Credit), and we would then finance the remainder at 0% for 60 months. We would also get a $1,000 rebate from VW (this 0% & rebate is a current deal VW is advertising). We qualified for credit with no problem, then had the dreaded turnover to the finance guy, who rushed us through the paperwork saying it was almost closing time. The one tricky part of the deal was that the sales manager said to get the rebate, we'd need to write a check for at least $1,000, then we'd get the rebate on that. I said to go ahead and use the whole trade-in as the down payment, so he could just give us a check for the $8,300, and I'd give him one back. I didn't have my check book, so I'm going back today to finish the deal, but we did sign everything and take the car (of course). So here's what has me worried: on the RISC, it says under Total Downpayment:
A. Agreed trade in 10,000
B. Less Prior Credit or Lease Balance 10,000 [it says "Estimated" to the left of the number]
C. Net trade in N/A
D. Deferred downpayment N/A
E. Manufacturer's rebate 1,000
F. Other N/A
G. Cash 8,300
Total Downpayment (C through G) 9,300

Does that seem odd? It doesn't explicitly say that they are paying off the $1,700 on the old car, and it seems to say that I'm giving them the trade-in for nothing (I'm not sure I understand line B; it seems like that should be 1,700, but if he does give me an 8,300 check we're OK). Does this look like trouble, or am I being paranoid? What's my recourse if I did sign this in good faith that he would give me the $8,300 check and he refuses to do it? - David in Southern California

Is there a benchmark or even a law about how long a dealership has to pay off the lien on a vehicle that is traded in? With the down economy I hear way too many co-workers comment that they trade in their car and the dealer obtains their pay off info--then fails to pay off the trade in a timely manner. Many times they have already made their 1st payment on their new car and get a late notice on their trade. It gives the appearance that the dealers are creating cash flow by not paying off the trade for 45-60 days.. Is this legal?

I am sure I was scammed when I agreed to the warranty in my contract on my used vehicle that I bought in April of this year. I am paying to much causing my monthly payment to be higher than I care for it to be. If I cancel the warranty will this lower my monthly payment amount? I am just trying to research what my options. I am being solicited by another company that are stating that the warranty I have only covers engine and transmission repairs and are trying to convince me to purchase the warranty at a lower rate. Confused about warranties.

Hi Hal,
Just found your site ~ hope you can help. Last night we went to take a look at a used 2001 Infiniti from a private party. It wasn't until the very end of the visual inspection and test drive and looking at the registration to get the fellow's address so we felt secure leaving a cash deposit that we realized that it had a salvage title. We agreed to come back today and take it to a mechanic to have a look and see if the (repaired) front end damage was substantial enough to pass on the purchase of the car. We had this guy sign a note that said we were leaving a deposit under the condition that we take it in and depending on what the mechanic said we'd either purchase it or not. After we got home and ran a CarFax we realized it was NOT a 2001 as claimed, but a 2000. Also we called the dealer to ask about cost of replacement keys and keyless entries as he only had one key and said it cost only about $15 for replacements. Not the case - very pricey at $120 each. Anyway, today he did not want to drive it to our mechanic stating that he had no tags since he couldn't get insurance, but wanted us to take it to a place near his home. We only trust our own mechanic. So under the circumstances we decided against purchasing the car. However when we asked for our deposit back he said he had spent it and would possibly give it back if he sold the car. He said we 'breached the contract' and he already told other perspective customers that he had taken a deposit, thus possibly missing out on their purchase. (Mind you, we called just 45 short minutes after the ad was first placed on CraigsList - he had said he had gotten about 25 responses - it's a beautiful car cosmetically so I don't think he'll have a problem selling after all.) We feel the 'contact' was already breached when we found out after we gave a deposit that the car was not a 2001 as he claimed in the ad. If he doesn't give us the deposit back do we have a chance in small claims court? Also, what wording is best for us to use in the future to hold a car with a deposit that will assure we get the deposit back if we decide against the purchase after all?
Thanks!
Renee
California

On Oct. 1, 2005, I entered the lot of a dealership located on Route 40 in Baltimore Md. Approximately 9:00 A.M. I parked my car and got out and started walking around the lot, at that time no one came over to me, I was considered as what is known as an “up customer”.
An “up customer “ are customers who walk or come onto the lot. The “up” system is the order in which customers are taken by the sales staff. I made my way around the other end of the lot when I was approached by a salesman. He introduced himself to me and asked me if I was interested in purchasing a car. I mentioned to him that I was and if I could get similar payments..
I also mentioned that I only paid $300.00 a month and that I paid the car off early due to sending in extra payments. Since my vehicle was an 1997 Toyota Corolla I asked about that name brand car, he told me that they didn’t have Toyota’s but they did have some cars but they specialized in other cars. He then asked about my credit, I stated to him that my credit was fine, we walked and looked at several cars, I did not see any car that I was interested in so he asked if I would be interested in a truck.
I stated to him sure just as long as I am able to negotiate the payments if they were higher than $300.00 a month, we walked around until we saw a demo vehicle. He and I both did not believe in the price(now I know I was the only one did not believe in the price) he asked two guys if the price was right and if it was for sale and the guys told him the price was right and of course it was for sale. He then decided to take me for a test drive, the truck needed gas so he stopped in the office to get a voucher for gas, we drove for maybe 5 minutes and when we returned I went inside of his cubicle to start on the paperwork.
He started filling out my credit application, then he proceeded to allow someone to assess my trade. I continuously asked him how much my trade was worth and I also told him how much I thought it was worth. He just stated that I wouldn’t get that much. He never gave me an opportunity to negotiate with the guy that appraised my trade. He did not mention how much I did receive. I continued to fill out more papers and answer questions. I constantly asked him how was my credit and what was next? He stated everything was fine, my credit was perfect, it went through, he was waiting for an advisor to come over and talk to me, I noticed he kept leaving going to the front desk a lot, I asked him why was he doing that and he stated to me everything was fine, I asked was there a problem? He said no everything looks good and then he offered me some lunch, during that time I was still wondering what was taking so long.
he left again, I thought an advisor would come over and talk to me but no one ever came over, after hours and hours of waiting he came over to me about 4:00 p.m (remind you that I was there when they opened up) and stated to me that the payments would be $500.00 a month and that I could not afford the payments, this is when I instantly got upset with him , how could he state to me what I could & could not afford? I thought that an advisors would come over and work with me on the figures or negotiate something, I did not get this chance, this is when I asked about my trade, the truck was $29,000.00. He mentioned my trade and stated it could not be negotiated, He left and came back with this deceitful look on his face and said to me that he could not find the keys to the vehicle , then asked me if I had them and I said to him that I did not have them. (Why didn’t he bring the vehicle to the front so that the salesmen would know that the vehicle was being sold?)
He came back to me with a piece of paper and stated that he had another truck he wanted me to have, I told him that I did not want another truck I wanted the demo truck, we walked to the lot, he persisted that I have this other truck. I was not satisfied bit I stated to him if they had negotiated my trade, along with my payments I would be able to get the other truck, he talked over me and took me to finance, I sat down with a lady in financing, I asked her why I could not have the first truck? She did not try to negotiate another payment with me, I also told her that I would like to look at other vehicle other than the truck I was offered , I mention a PT Cruiser, she stated to me that the Cruiser payments would be higher than the truck, I asked her how would she know if she had not did any figurations or even calculated anything, I also mention to her that the sticker states the truck has leather seats and interior , she ignored that statement , I asked will they install the leather , she just plain came straight out and said no, I told her that was false advertising, she just looked at me and said anyway I already have your information in the system and I can’t change anything, we also have included your trade. So there I was with a truck I did not want, no other transportation, the truck I wanted denied, my trade taken and had no choice but to accept this truck for transportation.
I found out later that she should not have made a deal with me this way by the owner,his sales manager and another gentleman in the old sales dept, but no one tried to make things right. the salesman worked in the New Car Sales Dept. He should have not been selling me vehicles that were not new vehicles anyway, he should have been only selling me new vehicles.
I realized that I should not have signed a contract if I was not completely satisfied but I had no choice , My trade was included in the deal and I had no vehicle to go home in. I left at 5:00 p. m. that evening pretending to be satisfied knowing that I had been had. They made their profit & back end money, they never gave me a chance to reason, I was cheated, ripped off, pressured, swindled and mislead with deceptive information. I was told at the time of the sale that the truck also had a 7yr/70,000 warranty which was verified by mouth by the salesman and finance dept.. My door hatch on the vehicle had to be adjusted and they insisted that I make an appointment for the upcoming Monday instead of attending to the situation right then because I had just purchased the vehicle, so I went home disgusted and also upset, I did not want them to know how upset I was so I smiled because of the sale, I knew I had been had. I went home sat down and looked over my contracts again and noticed that what they said to me was untrue, my warranty did not state a 7yr/70,000 warranty came with the truck. When I took the truck in on Monday to get the latch fixed, I stopped in sales & asked for the finance lady and I asked her information concerning the warranty , she stated to me that the truck had a warranty with 7yr/70,000 miles coverage then she turned and asked the manager and he said also yes it does, he did not at the time know or see which truck we were even talking about he just agreed along with her. Since he was upper Management I trusted in them and went back over to get the latch fixed on the truck.
When I arrived home that evening I had a voice mail on my phone from the salesman to come in & see the finance department. The next day at work I decided to call about the warranty myself and find out about the warranty. After work I drove back to the dealership and asked for finance again, she was in her office with a gentleman., I asked them why did finance want to see me and she stated she did not know why the salesman called me to come in or called me, I was confused, this is when I mentioned to her that the truck did not have a transferable warranty on it, the waranty dept stated that the vehicle could not be issued a warranty because the vehicle was listed as a rental vehicle and could not transfer a warranty, that I should have also been told this information during the deal. This is when the man in finance wrote down a number and told me that the price to purchase a warranty was $50.00.
I called the warranty dept again and verified that I still could not transfer this vehicle because it was still considered as a rental. I went back to the dealership again & talked to finance again and told him the price was not $50.00 it cost $150.00 to purchase a new contract, also the truck needed to be certified in order for me to get my contract warranty, the truck was never certified , information I also should have been told. I told finance that I felt I should not have had to pay for a warranty since I was not told in the first place and I felt as if the company should have paid for it. He stated that he would go and find out if the would pay for it, he came back and said that they would only pay $50.00 and that I would have to write him a check for $100.00. He also stated that my credit application was not clear and that he had to redo it, he brought in a application and had me only to sign the bottom, I asked why he did not fill it out and he said he would do it later. I soon found out I not only could not transfer the warranty on this vehicle and that this man had taken my money, he cashed the check and I am now in the processing of checking my credit to see exactly what he may have did to my credit. ( I had to wait until the new year to get a new credit report)I came back again to the dealership the next few days because of a problem with the squealing of my brakes, they would not do a thing about the squealing of my brakes, they stated the squealing was normal. I could not force them to look at them they would not. I walked over to sales to see if I could locate the owner and I could not find him and nobody seemed to know where he was and told me that he did not have an office there and that he only stops there on certain mornings and they did not know exactly when that would be. I went to work the next day and decided to try again to purchase a new warranty on my would because for some reason I could not reach the finance man. I purchased a warranty and then I called to find out if the finance man was in so I could tell him, the operator asked if I wanted new or used cars, I told her used cars and she connected me there. A man answered the phone, I mentioned to him about my whole experience and he stated that I had a bad deal and to cancel my warranty for the truck and to come in to get my Jeep Pre-certified because it had to be certified in order to get a warranty, I canceled the warranty I had made and the next day I brought my vehicle into the dealership for them to certify it. this genteleman told me that my salesman should not have handled my deal because it was a Used Vehicle and he works in the New Sales. He also stated that I should have not been in the dealership for that extended period of time and should not have been denied the truck that I wanted, he stated that something did not sound right and that he would look into it for me.
I left my vehicle on Oct.13,2005 and picked it up on Oct 14,2005 after work, when I received my copy of the paperwork I asked why the paper was signed on Oct. 4th when I did not bring the vehicle in until the 13th of Oct. Everything was checked off that had to be done and dated on the 4th of Oct. My timecard I have proves that I was at work on 4th of Oct. I left the truck on the 13th of Oct. So how did they come up with the 4th of Oct.
After a couple of days I came back to see if I could possibly run into the owner , I went back to the used part of the dealership and talked to another gentleman a manager of used car & truck department, I told him about my experience I had in the dealership, he also admitted that it was a bad deal, I also told him of some feature the truck should have had, about the leather interior, he read the article sticker I brought in and said it was a mistake & if I thought they would do something about it then I must be crazy. I said to him that he was not supposed to talk to me that way and that I had to tell someone about it. I went again to see if the owner was in the building but I came across the general manager in the service dept. he asked why I wanted the owner and asked me to come across to his office to talk to him, again I sat down and explained to him my experience in the dealership, he also stated the same thing as far as my length spent there for my sale, how it was handled and I should have been told the truck was a rental also that I should have been able to make another choice. I explained to him concerning the certification and let him know that it had no transferable warranty , I showed him a report from Carmax that stated no warranty was never brought for this vehicle and that it was still considered as a rental vehicle. This is when he went to his computer and told me it was a warranty on the jeep. Used car sales department had called and placed a warranty on the jeep and the warranty dept placed it on file. He called a manager into his office and asked him if a warranty was ever on the vehicle , he never stated yes or no he just told him that they was getting the vehicle pre-certified , we got into an altercation concerning the entire situation I guess because he was in front of that manager so he just changed his demeanor, he got upset and left out of the office, that manager also said he would talk to the owner , so I went home , waited and called him back in a week no answer, called back the next week still no answer, then I let voice messages for him to call , he never called. Finally I was able to reach him and he never mentioned anything concerning my situation, he just told me that he does not know when he will be able to reach the owner
On 11-26-05 I took the truck in for a liquid leaking from the bottom of the truck. Service took a look at the leak while I went into the waiting area. They insisted that it was the rear pinion seal, sealed it (supposedly) and told me everything was ok. I went home, the truck still continued to leak. On 11-28-05 instead of going back to the service I decided to go to one of their other dealership down the road and talked with that general manager and told him also of my experience and he stated the same thing a bad deal , everyone knows that it was a bad deal but no one was going to do anything about it. I talked with him about 1 hr and then all he did was call and tell the dealership I was dealing with about the leak he was seeing under the jeep and that they should service it, he told me also he knew nothing of the owners whereabouts, nor did he mention that the owners son was right across from him. I went back to the service area and asked them to call me back to the mechanic’s area when the tech starts to work on the truck, they called me back along with the manager of service they both looked under the vehicle with a light and insisted it was no leak under the vehicle l, I asked for the light to see for myself, when I looked I saw a large amount of fluid oozing underneath the pan, they could not have missed that. All they stated they would do was tighten the bolts, I told them what they should do was to find out where the leak was and then try to fix the problem instead. They insisted that tightening the bolt would do it. At this time I was upset and I went back into the waiting room and told a young lady about the problem I had since Oct, 1, 2005, when I first came to the dealership, she stated to me that she does not know why they would not put me in touch with the owner his office is here but she knew where she could find his son , she waited for me to get in my truck and drove up the street and there he was, I could not believe that on one in the whole dealership would not put me in the direction of the owner or his son.
I introduced myself to him and I appreciated that he took the time to listen to me, some things he did not believe and I believe he knew I was not just making any of this information up, he stated that they had problems in that dealership and they were in the process of cleaning it up. He picked up the phone and called down to the dealership and said that he wanted another to talk with a gentlemen and that he was send me and the young lady back down to the dealership and that he wanted a certain gentleman to handle my deal, he wanted the other truck to be paid off and that he wanted me to have a new deal, he wanted me to walk around the lot and pick out what I wanted and not what they wanted me to have. the owners son said to me while looking me straight into my eyes and said Ms. , you seem to be a intelligent person “why did you sign that contract, I told him that no one can make a person do anthing but the dealership included my trade in the 1st deal so I had no vehicle to go home in and that I needed a vehicle. I also told him how they would not allow me to get in touch with him or his dad.
I went back down to the dealership and when I entered I was met by another gentleman, instead of him taking me to the lot he took me over to a man, and told me that he would take care of everything, I told him that the owner son told him to take me on the lot and he said he had a customer and he would be back, in the meantime this guy would start on my application, I sat down with him and started on the application and I did not go into details about what had happened because I knew the entire dealership knew what had happened to me. I filled out the application and then he asked me about another used vehicle and I said to him, he works in new sales why would he sell me a used vehicle, I did not want another rental, he went into his computer, he let and told me he would be back, he left and came back and said would I be able to pay $550.00 a month , I asked if my trade was redone and included then why would my payment be so high. He then told me that my trade was not included in this deal, then I said to him that the owners son told him to start over the entire deal and give me a new deal. He kept doing his paperwork, got up and asked me how much could I pay? What I wanted to pay he said it was not going to happen. In the meantime I was still looking for the guy that was supposed to come to get me to take me to the lot, then he asked me if I could pay $500.00 a month and put some money down , I told him I could and asked him if I could ask a question, I asked him if now they allowed me to pay $500.00 why couldn’t they have allowed me a change to pay for the 1st truck at $500.00 a month. If a new 2006 truck was $500.00 a month how could a 2005 truck be $500.00 a month with $1,700.00 down and both trucks cost the same.?
He just looked at me and said I don’t know why, he took me on the lot and said that they only had 2 I could choose from, I told him that the owners sonl said that I could look over the whole entire lot , he stated that they were the only 2 trucks that he was dealing with, so I chose from the two, we went back inside, I did not test drive the vehicle, they also did not allow me to , I questioned the price because the vehicle had no sticker, he stated that they would tell me in finance. Hel took me to a lady in finance, I asked her when was the gentleman that I was supposed to talk to coming back, he never came back, she started going over the finance part of the sale, as she went over the paperwork I noticed that the price of the vehicle was much higher than I thought it should be so I asked her where did she come up with a price because they need to show me a sticker, she explained that I had a negative balance and that it was carried over on the balance, I told her that I had no negative balance and that the owners son said to pay the balance off from the other truck in its entirety.
She actually did not comment nor pay me no mind about that and kept writing , I asked her to call the owners son so that I could talk to him and she stated that the phone was busy, she tried again and said he must have been gone for today. I only had this choice to leave with this truck because I did not want the damaged truck and I could not get back my trade. So I ended up with this truck for some type of transportation, I gave her a check for a down payment and she told me they would pay the other truck off as soon as possible . This was on 11-28-05, sometime in the 1st week of December I called Capitol One to see if the other truck and been paid off, it had not been paid off and also I found out that they had not record of the new truck being sent over to them, they had a request but they did not have a contract, I contacted the manager to see why no contract was set up, he told me that it was so I believed him and continued on believing it was taken care of. I checked after another two weeks to see if it was paid off again , I found out that it still had not been paid off nor did I have a contract. I called and talked to a manager and he said I needed to talk to finance. I tried and tried to reach finance, left messages, no calls or messages were returned. Of course the only thing I could do again was to make another trip back to the dealership. the guy that did my application was sitting down in his seat and I asked him what time did he arrive to work and he said I have been here all morning, I asked him why did the gentleman tell me that you would not be in until 1 o’clock? I went back up to the owners sonl and explained to him that I did not have a contract and again he called down to the dealership and asked what in the world is going on and sent me back to them again, when I entered the dealership I explained to them that I had no contract, and also that the other truck had not been paid off. He asked another manager to come over to his desk, and asked him what happened, this is when he said to me that I did not have Capitol One that I had a contract with another company, Capitol one told me that even though they did not have my contract sent over that they were still giving me 7% on my new purchase. the manager came to me with the paperwork and contract for another company by the name of WFS, the % had increased to 9%. Of course I asked him why was my contract number one changed and secondly no one told me of this change, also why it took more than a week to get me a contract set up and when you leave a dealership you should know who your bank is, I believe after I left they cancelled Capitol One with my 7% apr. I have letters proving that my insurance information was not forwarded for proof of insurance . I ended up with 9% apr in less than a month? If they first offered me the truck I originally wanted with a payment of $500.00 on a 2005 employee’s month sale with a low % then how could my payment also be $500.00 at 9% on a new 2006 truck. What kind of people are these? I also came back to the manager and he told me