We went to Reno Dodge to trade in our 1998 Dodge Durango. They are a "5 star dealer" through Dodge; and, their mission statement says they want to make the customer happy.
We wanted a bigger SUV for our 4 children. So, we saw a 2001 Ford Expedition and wanted to see what they could do. We knew we were about $7000 upside down in our Durango, so we would have to eat some of that. Reno Dodge wrote a deal at a payment of $524. Per month and we signed. They called us back a few days later, telling us they needed more information for them to get the financing approved.
So, my fiance gave them that information. A few days later we left for a trip to California. They again called us to say we had to come back in for more paperwork. We cut our trip short and came back for nothing. When we got there, they said it had been taken care of and they would call. (The financing was still not finalized after 1 week).in the next couple of days, they called and said they had our financing ready. The payment was $625 and the interest rate would be 17.5%. Oh, they would give us the difference in the payment they originally told us, for one year, and then we could re-finance.
Well, we should have said no, but we had all the kids in the car and all of our things in the car; after all, we had the SUV for 2 weeks now! So, we said yes thinking they wouldn't really screw us over. We are honest, hard working, tax paying citizens, trying to raise 4 productive members to add to our society. We began trying to get re-financed, but found out we owed too much on the car, for what it was worth; and, our credit wouldn't support a really low interest rate.
Soon after we got the car, the automatic window on the driver's side began making noise and the car was leaking oil. When we took it in, we found out the mechanics for the auto. Window were not even screwed in; and, there was a hole in a very old oil filter. We also began hearing a very loud knock underneath the car. We had it in to 3 different mechanics who found some cylinder leakage, but nothing else and the sound is still there every time we brake.
So, after 4 months we had enough. We tried to go back into Dodge to have them make it right, since they are so concerned with "the customer being happy". They made my fiance wait with out little girl for 6 hours on that day. They would make a deal on an '05 Dodge Grand Caravan. So, we got my dad to co-sign this time so our interest rate would be lower. We signed a deal and took the van home. When we got it home, again they called saying they needed my fiance to come in again to sign the finance papers.
When he got there, he waited for 2 hours and the papers were not even what was originally agreed upon. The payment was $30 over what they had said; and, they took my fiance totally off of the agreement and only put my mom and dad on there. So, he did not sign and my dad did not sign. They got their own financing on the side, but did not like the price Dodge had given them on the '05 Grand Caravan (with 22,000 miles) or $33,400. Dodge said they would again pay the difference in the original payment for a year and we could re-finance. We had enough. We went in to get our Expedition back and waited for another 2 hours for them to tell us they couldnt' get it out of the lot it was in because it was across town.
And, they had lost our $500 down payment check so we needed to put a stop payment on it. So, Dodge gave us a rental car to take home so we could come back the next day to retrieve our Expedition.
The next day, my fiance went in and had to wait another hour for them to say, oh, we found your Expedition in the back lot. It was covered, so we didn't see it. He goes to take the rental back and finds that his car charger for his phone was missing off of the front seat. He confronts the dealer because the service employees had been in the car. The dealer said "his employees don't steal". When questioned, the car charger magically appeared on the ground next to a door that had been locked.
When we got our Expedition back, one of the wipers was broke. We cannot trade in the Expedition because it is $14,000 over trade-in value. We can't re-finance because of what we owe. We can't sell it to a private party because it is $7,000 over retail book value. We are stuck with a payment of $610. At 17% interest.By going back in to Reno Dodge, they had already made money on the Expedition from the trade-in and then made money again when we bought it, we felt for sure they would at least take a slight cut in their commission to help us out. After all, they are a "5 star dealer" with a mission statement that clearly is supposed to support customer service.
We would love to just give the car back but do not want wage garnishments and such. There should be laws that protect the consumer from such outrageous pricing and fraud, for the automobile industry.
Thank-you
Dana
Gardnerville, Nevada
U.S.A.
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