It was on Monday, April 18. After extensively searching the internet for a used mini-truck, & after looking at vehicles all day Saturday, I was intent on completing this task.
I figured I should go to a closer dealership & Bruce Titus Tacoma Nissan featured 2 trucks that I might be interested in. I arove at the car lot at about 2:30 PM. I met with Abby Collins & she could not locate the one I was most interested in. After consulting with other personel, she informed me that this truck was in their Olympia car lot, which is a 45 minutes drive. Abby suggested that I should apply for a loan through them, as she thought that I could get a lower rate than what I qualified for through Road Loans. I really didn't want any more access to my credit report, but she was sure hers would be lower & after all, we had time to wait for the truck to arrive from Olympia. Turns out, her loan was at the same rate. The truck should be here any minute, so we start dealing. And she got an estimate on the 1994 Dodge Ram pick-up I was trading in.
Abby presented a deal to me that was quite different than I'd imagined. I figured that I would be under $300 / month & her figures came to over $350 / month. She went round & round trying to satisfy me & I even submitted to writing a check for a $1500 down payment that would be cashed 1/4th now & the ballance in 1 month.
It is now 4:30 & I had not slept for 36 hours. The truck was still "On it's way" from a destination of 30-40 miles away. I had given her my final offer of which was $40 / month more than anticipated. With extra cash up front that I could not really afford she could lower my payment to $340 / month. I said I would go no higher than $320. So they brought in a high pressure salesman who eventually began to intimidate me after coertion didn't work. I was tired, confused & starting to get sick. I told this irate salesman that the dealing was over, please give me back my paperwork, I need to get to leave. I had a bad feeling now about thus deal.
The high pressure salesman finally complied with my offer & I submitted to signing papers. Keep in mind that this was still alot more than I origionally was about to spend. There was a few other dealings we had to go through & finally, at 7PM the truck showed up. I had no time to test drive it as I had to be at work soon & I figured that this 2002 Nissan Frontier with less than 15,000 miles would be substantial.
The drive to work proved otherwise. There were several things wrong with this vehicle. So I went to Tacoma Nissan after I got off work. The loan manager was brought to me. She told me that this deal was final. I told her that I would seek legal help & she advised me to go ahead, but there is nothing in reality that I could do. I figured that she was right - I had signed all the documents & in Washington State there is no 3 day return policy on used vehicles.
OK, I'm stuck. I hate this truck, but I bought it. But it needs repair so I checked it in to their service dept. They gave me a loaner. It was the other truck that I had some interest in, a 2002 Ford Ranger. And while driving it home, I got to liking this truck better than the Nissan. So I went back to see if this could be an alternative somehow.
An hour & a half later, I drove off the lot with the Ford Ranger & a monthly payment of $389. And they still had my check for $1500. And I still hadn't slept.
I wish I was in my right mind those 2 days. I wish I had just gotten up & drove away without my paperwork. I wish I could void out the contract, get my 1994 Dodge back & find a truck elsewhere.
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