The biggest mistake of our lives was to get a car (actually, TWO cars) from JD Byrider. We were living on a very low income, with limited credit (not BAD credit, unestablished credit) and had tried several car lots with no luck. We had been walking everywhere for the previous 6 months, and it just wasn't working out. It took them 5 hours to get us financed, and by then, we were about to walk out the door.
We should have. We viewed several cars that day, including a 1993 Ford Escort wagon with over 300,000 miles on it. Of course, we turned that down. What we did take was 1991 Grand Am with 102,000 miles. It ran fine for the test drive. Of course, they charged us $6500 plus the standard (for those crooks) 24.99% interest rate. And they deferred the down payment, with interest, and added interest to their mandatory junk warranty.
The very next day, the car broke down. We spoke with them on the phone, and they agreed to pay the towing charge for the 30 miles, and fixed it free of charge. Two days later, we picked it up. On the way home, it broke down. So we called them again. They had a bit of an attitude that time, insisting that the car was fine, but agreed to fix it again. See, they claimed it was just the water pump, which they kept replacing. Anyway, they fixed it again. It broke again. Thats the third time. Now we were pissed.
We demanded a rental car, which they refused, until we told them they could take their peice of junk and shove it. We got a rental, and they finally fixed the alternator (ie the real problem) at a local dealership, on our insistence. They were rather nasty about all this, but we forced them to deal with us, which we found, is how you must treat them.
Over time, the car was alright, we had it for about a year, made all of our payments early, drove it in every month because they would not give us a payment book, and the hell if we were gonna trust them to properly credit it. Now, towards the end of the year, the car started overheating, and smelled very strange. We had a mechanic look at it, and it was determined that the wires were literally melting, and that the car was a fire hazard. JD Byrider didn't care. The warranty was up and that was that.
The Alliance JD Byrider is owned by Courtesy Kia of Alliance, and the deal was, that after 6 months we would be able to trade up into one of their brand new vehicles. HA! We tried at 6 months, they couldn't help us. We tried again at 12 months, and though they were glad to let us sit there for 2-3 hours, they still wouldn't finance us. So we had no choice, it was either fix the whole electrical system (costing thousands of dollars) or trade in the car for another JD Byrider lemon. We chose the latter.
After another 5 hours of finance work, we were approved for another car. This time, we got a 1992 Chevy Lumina, for over $7000. We made our payments early, like good little troopers, and had no immediate problems, except having to buy it new tires immediately. Two months later, JD Byrider had a talk with my fiance. It turns out that our previous car did indeed catch on fire, giving the new owner 2nd degree burns over 70% of his body. He sued, of course.
Anyway, after having this car for about 10 months, it started leaking oil profusely (it had been leaking about a quart every 3 months anyway). It seems that leaks had sprung out of every gasket. Odd, wouldn't you say? We contacted JD Byrider several times. It wasn't their problem. So we kept dumping in oil (it got to the point of dumping in 4 quarts EVERY TIME we drove ANYWHERE).
Eventually, the motor blew, and we made a decision. We had already paid $2,000 for a car worth only $600 (kelly blue book value) in prime condition. We would NOT pay another $5,000. So, with help from family, we bought a car straight out from a private owner, and voluntarily returned the Lumina to JD Byrider. They held my fiance against his will for 40 minutes with threats and told him he couldn't turn in the car. They went so far as to chase him out the door, still griping, with the keys in their hand, trying to get him to take them back. But we drove away, honking and waving, with his brother driving us to our waiting new car.
Now they plan to auction off the car, and will supposedly put that amount towards our balance. They have added $800 in fees, which we plan to contest, and we are planning on filing bankruptcy against their ridiculous loan.
The point is, if places like this were REALLY out to help people, there would be leniency, lower payments, and lower finance rates. They aren't concerned about taking a chance on people with bad credit, they make it HARDER for people with bad credit to get better credit. They will not negotiate any parts of any contracts or payment agreements. JD BYRIDER: YOU SUCK If they want to do us a favor, they can go out of business and stop scamming decent people.
Raymond
Boardman, Ohio
U.S.A.
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