Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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2-3 weeks before buying, I called about 5-7 dealership talking directly with the fleet manager or the internet sales manager. I would suggest never dealing with the salesmen standing outside. I got quotes from 1000-1200 below manuf. invoice (does not include 1500 manuf. incentive). Called them up again about 1-2 days before i was going to buy, and Dealership A offered 1400 below. But I had already made an appt with Dealership B for 1200 below. I arrived at DB asking them if they could match the 1400 from DA. They couldn't, so I drove to DB. Only spent about 15 mins at DA. Got to DB and told them I wanted the car at 1400 below. They then said they had excess of 4runners with moonroof. They asked if I would consider a moonroof and I said yes but at what price. They offerred the moon roof at 200 below inv and ended up getting the 4runner at 1600 below invoice (1500 incentive not included in negotiated sales price).
Things that worked: Do your research online to know what a good deal is. Sometimes online quotes are good. Most of the time its not good enough. I would suggest finding the biggest dealership around (volume dealership) and getting a quote from them. And start calling back and forth asking them to match and beat it. Always, have the price emailed to you. That way you have a record and most times they enter the price into their comp. system as well. Don't deal with the salesmen standing outside. Do your negotiating via the phone or email. My very first quote was 1k below (which happens to be the place I bought the car at). I then called 5-6 others afterwards asking for quotes. I asked them for a quote w/out telling them I already had a 1k below invoice quote. Most of them gave me quotes of around 100 below to 100 above invoice. Once I told them of the 1k below quote, they matched instantly or called me back 10 mins later saying they could match. One could only go 750 below, and another was giving me word play.
Things I would have done differently: Calling them for quotes 2-3 weeks before your purchase seems like light years away for them. Start calling one week before and then set up appointment(s) 24-48 hours before.
Hope this helps. Any questions/comments or need help, email me at ipurchasecars@gmail.com
Does she have any recourse, or a leg to stand on in NOT keeping the vehicle?
Legally, by the written contract, the dealers have probably protected themselves so she has no leg to stand on in court, unless she has witnesses to testify on her behalf.
But maybe one of those Channel 5 On Your Side TV news investigative reporters would be interested in setting up a sting operation on that dealer. I'd love to see them on TV getting caught doing dirty. Then I bet she'd have a good case against the dealership.
I hope she secretly and immediately calls all the TV staions in town to see if one will do it.
Thanks.
With all those flaky buyers out there, aren't you asking for a huge leap of faith on the dealership's part to have all that done because you made an appointment?
Does she have any recourse, or a leg to stand on in NOT keeping the vehicle?
We do this but we have the customer sign a subject to form. It basically has allot of legal mumbo jumbo about if you take the care and damage it then it is your car, the car is under your insurance, blah, blah, blah. We also put a line in that says it is subject a 24 hour ride and drive by the customer. If we do not here from the customer within 24 hours then then it is a done deal and we will process the paper work. If the car does not suit your needs then you can return it within the 24 hour period.
Did she sign anything like that?
We do it for a few reasons, so you can see if you really like the car, lets you take mental ownership, and if you have a trade it takes you out of the market because we have your trade in and before you can trade else where you have to bring our car back.
I'm with joel on this...the only time I've seen a dealer allow for a "24-hour test drive" is after they have you sign a term sheet that essentially says, you've got insurance and that you'll be responsible for any damage or excess mileage on the car. Those term sheets also stipulate the amount of time you can keep the car.
In order for her to have actually purchased the vehicle, I would imagine she also signed some sort of finance contract and some amount of money changed hands, in addition to signing a purchase agreement.
It should be fairly clear what she signed. Just read the terms of the agreement.
If it's a test drive agreement, and she complied with the terms, there should be no question that she can return the vehicle.
If it's a purchase agreement and finance contract she signed, the dealership is right. She has no recourse. The car is hers.
:surprise:
-Moo
Normally I can see the funny side of things, but I'm having trouble finding the humour in that.
-Moo
It amazes me how dealerships complain about their general reputation and then things like this happen.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
-thene
Hopefully she can work out some type of exchange for a less expensive vehicle. The dealership has a decent reputation, so they may work with her to save face.
**And thank you all for the responses. It was much appreciated!
Ask to speak to the loan officer involved with the transaction if possible.
Keep in mind, normally the dealership will then take back the car. Either way, don't let this happen.
Car Buying Tips
You don't really give a whole lot of details here, yet everyone is running with this like it's the worst thing the dealer could have done.
For all we know, this is a 5,000 used car, she signed the purchase and loan agreements, put 1000 down and bought plates/registration, and has had it for a week and put 750 miles on it.
Without really knowing any of the details, I think it's hard for any to really give an opinion about what is really fair. We don't know any specifics about the car, the value of the car, the price she paid, what paperwork she did sign and commit to, how long she had it, etc.
They will probably tell you to make sure it is first payment default because the dealer will be on the hook for the whole thing, you will then have a repo in your bureau and get to pay 22% interest on your next car if you can get it financed.
Not real stellar advice IMO
It was a 2001 Volvo C70 with 40k miles on it. She called me when she was at the dealership and said that they offered her the vehicle w/ $2000 down payment and payments for $315/month. I asked her what the full asking price was for the vehicle, and she didn't even know. She had to go back and ask them so that she could tell me ($18k). I immediately told her to just walk away...and her response was "OK." Didn't want her making a purchase based off emotion rather than rationalization.
Now, did she walk away like her brother told her? Of course not! And now she's stuck with that payment and a car that she didn't necessarily want for the next 4 years. The dealership is possibly willing to exchange it for another, less expensive vehicle through THEIR dealership only (which is understandable). I'm sure some of the value will be knocked off, but hopefully she can work something out. I really wish that I could catch a flight out to L.A. to help her out (as I currently live in GA).
@kiawah - She only kept the vehicle overnight, and tried to return it the following day like the salesman told her.
Ya it will go something like this
Lawyer: You said she could bring it back
Dealer: Where does it say that. All we have is a contract she signed.
Lawyer: My client was given a verbal promise
Dealer: Where does it say that? All we have is the contract she signed.
Lawyer: Your Sales Person told her that she could bring it back if she does not like it>
Dealer: Where does it say that? All we have is the contract she signed.
I don't condone there action. If that is the whole story and what really happened then I feel bad for her. But she bought a car. If she does not know enough to get things in writing in any contract then she has just learned.
Car Dearlers, Plumbers, Accountants, Lawyers, Police Officer, Most real good, a few crooked as hell.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Lawyer: You said she could bring it back
Dealer: Talk to our lawyer
Lawyer: My client was given a verbal promise
Dealer: Talk to our lawyer.
Lawyer: Your Sales Person told her that she could bring it back if she does not like it>
Dealer: Talk to our lawyer.
The payments come out to $15,120 plus $2,000 down. That's actually not so bad considering interest is included in that. Probably something like a 12-13K selling price plus a bit higher interest thatn she'd probably like. So they charge her a lot more in interest - so pay it off quicker and avoid it.
Run the numbers - if it's actually 4 years, then she's not doing so bad, really. And, it really is a decent enough car.
Live and learn. It's not a total disaster by the looks of it.(14-16K is the typical dealer asking price at cars.com for a similar vehicle) Now, if it's five years or has some balloon payment or whatnot hidden... Then it's a whole other matter.
Perceptions of cars and how they linger once made intrigues me. I recall the Oldsmobile on top of the superstrong Volvo advertisements; turns out they reinforced the roofs. Several coworkers in that era had bought Volve for just that reason. That was before they became Ford-owned.
Just left friends' home near Nashville on Monday. Their neighbor left his car running in driveway to talk to the wife about their gazebo they just finished when he saw her out in it that afternoon. The Volvo wagon started smoking from the instrument panel while they were talking. Burned to the ground. Those nice cars can have defects like all. BTW, he's an attorney. Whom does he sue?
::::::::::::
I think the attorney talk in the ladies case on the forum here could go like this:
My client was given an oral agreement that she could return the car.
Talk to our lawyer.
She will be defaulting on the first payment because your dealership didn't follow through in good faith. We realize she may have signed away the return privileges by mistake.
Talk to our lawyer.
It will cost you in the financing with first payment default. Is there some compromise with a different car suitable at a fair cost that she will want to keep unlike the one promised here. The publicity would not be complimentary to your business
Let me see what we have available.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Let me see what we have available
But the customer still ends up with a Repo in there bureau, and in the long run who really got hurt. Not the dealer, they can afford to write a check to pay off the loan and resell the car. The customer is now in a credit nightmare that will effect her for seven years. Try to get another car, a cell phone, a CC, hell you can't even get water turned on at your house with out a huge deposit.
In todays world you can't buckle every time some one threatens you with a lawyer. If you did you would live in the court room.
Besides chances are the customer signed an Arbitration Agreement and an arbitrator would here it first.
If she really, really thinks that she got the shaft then I would reccomend the BBB, especially if the dealer is a member.
And let's not forget about car insurance going up based on someones credit history.
Outside of that, the only thing anyone can go by is what the signed contract says. From what you've told us, that means the car is hers. Money changed hands and a finance contract is in place.
I'll assume she's nervous about the financial terms? Running the numbers you posted, it's not a bad deal. I'm not very familiar with Volvos, but they seem to be nice cars.
I've got a couple of questions....
-Does your sister just not like the car as much as she originally thought?
-Is she worried about the payments?
Reason for asking, she's going to have to step down quite a bit, both pricewise and "car-wise" to make a significant difference in the payments. As a rough guesstimate, every $1,000 that's financed translates into $25/month in payments, depending on the term length and interest rate. In short, to lower payments $100/month, she's going to have to get something that's $4,000-$5,000 less than what the Volvo costs.
Plus, I doubt seriously whether the dealership isn't going to penalize your sister to just take the car back. There's going to be some money that she's going to loose in the process....it could be a lot of money. Add that amount to whatever it is the dealership finds that's cheaper, and it may not translate into something that she can live with.
If there's something minor she doesn't like about the car, I'd tell her to live with it for a few years...and then trade for something else...when she's got some equity in the car.
If it's too big of a financial stretch for her, then I think she should be prepared to step down dramatically in the type and condition of the car she can live with.
Car buying isn't like buying a dress. You change your mind about the dress, you just take it back for a refund. A car? You don't like your purchase, it's either a big fight, or a financial setback to get out of it.
That's really quite obvious. Sue the cigarette manufacturer. It has deep pockets and lots of people think it should be punished.
Never mind that the Volvo should have known that smoking would be hazardous to its health.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
That car should never have taken up cigarettes at all. But even so, sue the manufacturer. Juries are often sympathetic to ones harmed by cigs.
But seriously, it's actually a really nice car - and while Ford did own Volvo at the time, it was still 100% made by Volvo at the time - the last couple of years before Ford's beancounters started the cancer growing. Oh - and it has one of the best sound systems ever made for a car. Truly incredible. If it's a convertible, then she did very well.
She bought it - it's not a bad car or a bad price by the looks of it. Sort of like "oh no! I bought a 3 series" :confuse: Live with it and have fun.
It is not like what GM did to SAAB.
Thankfully it's not a bad car at a bad price. Though, the dealer SHOULD of course offer to swap it - but the thing is, it's a nice car and they'll ream her on the swap - probably their entire tactic.
I can imagine her asking the dealer after the ink's dry and they jumping on it in hopes for a swap. That they didn't offer to do one is odd.
But it is a nice car and she's an adult, afterall. Be careful what you sign.
In this day in time I would want a Ford made car if quality is what I was looking for.
link title
It may be true that Fords are the highest quality cars being made at this time, but it doesn't matter to many of us.
Some of us were disgusted with the poor quality of Ford products 20 years ago and that sticks in our mind, so we will never buy a Ford product again. Ford lost an entire generation of car buyers.
Maybe if Ford starts advertising on the Saturday morning cartoon shows they car build a good image with the next generation.
Interesting that the industry average dropped a point. It is all really sill though when you think the differance between a first place finish and a last place finish is less the one problem per vehicle.
When you think about it that way there are really no BAD cars out there.
It is not like all the problems were twenty years ago -
Taurus and Windstar headgaskets
Taurus transmissions
Explorer tires
Crown Vic Police Interceptor gas tanks
The ISSUE with Ford has been an inability to resolve big problems quickly which allows the problems to fester publicly.
Very true, but once you get XXX number of thousands of these units on the road you just can't ask for a do over. hence the bad rap on your product. Fortunately for the imports the media is a kinder to them then they are the domestics, because there quality is really no better/worse then any body else now days. Engine sludge with one of the big dogs and the other has recalled more cars then they have sold this year My guess is because they put allot more advertising dollars into the market then the Domestics do.
I didn't post that link to start a brand war. I just spend allot time here taking some good hearted ribbing about the the product I sell and wanted to throw a little back.
I thought that's not just a Ford problem, every manufacturer has that problem. I agree with you
To a certain agree, I would agree with you. However, the time between when the problem is identified (generally by the press) and when Ford admits it has a problem, is FAR too long.
As I mentioned before, the only people who know what was said, were the dealership, and mba's sister.
Bottom line, she paid them $2,000, signed a fianancing contract, and declined the "return" waiver.
From all outward appearances, it appears as if she knew she was "buying" the car. Reading between the lines, the dealership may very well have told her she had a 24 hour period where she could return the car. They even gave her a contract that she had to sign denying her the return option. But, she signed the waiver that would have allowed her to do so.
For all intents and purposes, she was indeed told she could return the car in 24 hours, She declined by signing the waiver. Paid them the money and signed a purchase contract.
He wanted to run the purchase by his wife and told the salesman that he would decide and be back the next day to sign the papers.
The salesman suddenly went very cold and told him that the price they had agreed on was good for that day only. This seemed odd to my friend since he was ordering the car and was told it would take over a month to arrive.
Why would this be the case? Is there really some pressing need to complete a deal on an ordered car or was the salesman just trying to pressure my friend? Remember, this was at the beginning of the month, so there would not be any great pressure to reach a quota, especially on a unit that would not arrive until next month.
Oh, I forgot to mention, this was for an 2008 model so there was no end of production for the year problem.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
It is only a deal when the the dealer has the Certificate of Origan signed and the paper work is done. He could of wrote up a P&S took a deposit and wrote on the P&S subject to wifes approval and still had the car ordered. Maybe the salesperson was having a bad day.