My wife & I had an older car and wanted to get into something newer and more dependable, but not very expensive. So we spent weeks using the Carmax internet site, found several cars in the range we were willing to pay (up to $15,000.00), and eliminated them until we singled out a very nice looking 2000 Buick Le Sabre Limited (pewter color w/tan interior and 38K miles according to their listing).
So, since this car was in Lithia Springs, GA (and the wonderful inspection report we would receive and terms Carmax showed on their site), made us feel very satisfied to move forward and so we did. We decided to pay the $150.00 transfer fee for and request this vehicle to be brought to the nearest Carmax dealership to us, and that was Greenville, SC. We live in Asheville, NC so the next closer Carmax lot would have been nearly 4 hours away as opposed to just 1 hour this way.
After I initially spoke to the salesman long distance, he told me he requested a 125 point Carmax report from Lithia Springs and when it came in he was very satisifed and everything checked out, so he placed order for that car to be delivered to the Greenville, SC location, saying it could take up to 7 days to arrive. He said do not do anything more until he contacts me again.
About a week later, he called me on July 6th, said vehicle came in and was very nice and in excellent condition and sharp! He said he wanted to process the paperwork for financing right away and so I proceeded to supply him everything he asked for from my self employment plus my wife's employment, plus told him we had a cash downpayment as well as were trading in our old car. This car from Carmax was for sale at $13,998.00. Since we know what the true Blue Book valuation was for thsi car, and Carmax had a "no haggle" policy, we expected there would be a profit locked into this retail price and were acceptable to that.
Well, first he called me back within the hour and said "we have you approved", and had a question for me about our household income, and would call me right back wiht some other details he needed for their lender. When he did call back, he said "I am sorry, our lender does not like to see self employment, and I will have to run this by our other lender".
Well, not happy, I knew my credit score and situation from a divorce 8 years ago and a bankruptcy then (discharged 6 1/2 years ago), but was open from the start with these people about and our current finances and knowing my credit report score being approx. 600 as I had just recently contacted each of the 3 majors to rectify discrepancies on my report before I decided to finance this car. (Last thing me or my wife wanted was someone to shop this loan and have our credit report hit repeatedly). We were assured this was not case with Carmax.
Anyway, this salesman called back about an hour later and yelled "We have your loan approved, though the interest is a little higher than what you were expecting because of your bankruptcy and self employment, and everything is ready & in place! When do you want to come down to do the paperwork?". So of course, since they are open late, my wife & I went down that night after her work ended, and we took everything they told us we needed additionally.
In the time we spent there that night, it was about 8:30pm when we rolled into the dealership. They took our older car for an "inspection" and readied all the other paperwork. When that was done, we all went into salesman's office where he pulled up the Carmax computer screen, showed us the trade-in they were giving us, and proceeded to factor in the transfer cost of $150.00 we spent a week before (dealer documentation prep. Fee was $149.00 so basically canceled that figure out), and added our downpayment). It was already late and with an anxious 4 year old we wnated to just get inot the new car and rid of our old car.
Everything went fine it seemed, and my wife called insurance company who then spoke with Carmax salesman to run the VIN #'s and then issue new insurance rider, etc. All by the book. Everything was done, and we went to another office to meet the finance woman who had us sign & initial many documents such as Agreement to provide Physical Damage Insurance, Buyer's Order, Carmax Out-of-State Titling & Registration Procedures, Vehicle Purchase Agreement, Retail Installment Contract, and last but not least, given a Carmax financing sheet showing our first scheduled payment was to be on 8/20/05 in amount of $349.36 to a Americredit Financial Services, Inc. Out of Arlington, Texas (lender).
We had to also give them a second check written to NCDMV for taxes & registrtaion for the car to be registered in NC where we lived, so that was like another $500.00. It was about 9:45pm at night by this time, everyone shook our hands & gave us our new keys, and we got a temp. Tag on that car and their prep room people washed the outside of the car and had it running by time we went to get inot it, and since it was raining and thundering we got in car, buckled up, and started back for long drive home. This was all on July 6th.
About 3 weeks later, over a weekend, we received several voice messages from a sales manager and then another person from that Carmax dealer, leaving very nice, yet weird messages to the effect "we need to ask you a couple things and need to go over some information about your financng".. We didn't understand what was going on, as by this time, we had already received the new NC registration card for this car.
I also had to have it inspected as well as pass emissions test for NC and stickered for same. We also had our permanent plates installed, and we had paid our new insurnace premium for the increased insurance on that car. So I called on Monday to speak to that sales manager (who was not the salesman who sold us the car). She started to say there was a minor glitch ro somethign with my icome stated and she asked me to fax her some documents.
So I faxed 14 pages from bank statements to 1040's to other documents, and didn't hear back from her. ABout 3-4 days later, she called again later and left mesages, so I called the enxt day. All of a sudden, she started to act "weird" in how she was talkig to me, and it seemed the topic was still related to our financning and I said to her, "We signed all closing documents over 3 weeks ago and have this car registered & insured in NC now and we do not know what you are trying to say?". She then came out and told me, "technically, you really do not have any financnign on that vehicle".
This outraged me to even hear such statement! She then said, "not to worry, we are working with your documents you faxed and all will be fine. Sorry for inconvenience"
So I immediately called the Lender (whom by way I spoke to on 7/12/05 and was told all was verified and enjoy my new purchase from Carmax". The date now was 7/28/05 and when I spoke to lender, they mentioned Carmax told them Iw as on SSI or retired receiving a monthly income of $600.00 as additional income.
This was a lie of course when I heard this and corrected lender. I verified what that $600.00 was and they seemed OK, and told me to send some documents to Carmax, whom in turn would contact them, and correct this little misunderstanding. What did strike me weird then, was lender's statement said the following: "when you drove that car off a Carmax lot, you were technically still in a pre-approval state of financing, and the financing really is not in place, and we have not paid out to Carmax for the car you drove off their lot". Now, I ask, what kind of a stupid, lame brain statement is that to hear from a lender or any professional?
NOBODY in the world (and I have financed 17 vehicles in my lifetime) would ever give you or let you drive away with a new vehicle is financing was not already in place 100% and everything verified, right? So this now really is getting my blood to boil, as we have ahd this car legally registered in State of NC, put on about 800 miles, and are now hearing "technically, there is no lona yet"?? What is going on my wife and I started to scream!
I contacted Martindale-Hubbell legal information site as well as a Class Action America legal resource site and am told we are being used as victims of a scam called "spot delivery scam" and is VERY illegal by any dealership to pull and one of the top 10 scams being orchestrated by dealerships today.
Now so everyone understands, weeks ago, our check to NCDMV for the NC resgitration & taxes has already cleared our bank. The Carmax downpayment check has already cleared. The care in every conceivable way is legally titled and registered in mine & my wife's names and 100% legal. Now we are told "technically there really is no financing in place?" This is nearly 30 days after-the-fact of date we signed all loan and financing documents and given keys to drive away!
I am trying to find anyone who has had similar circumstances pulled on them, as I am awaiting Class Action lawyer to call us back to this, as we are told this has happened before many times, and people, this CANNOT be allowed to occur. Oh yeah, this week alone, my wife & I have now received 25 reject letters from banks & finance companies all related back to that car purchase on July 6th, and so it was evident to us now, Carmax and/or its inside sales & finance people misrepsresented our facts, and situation and lied and shopped our materials so much, that that amount of hits on our credit reports will most certainly drop our scores further!!!
From the lender's statement even it is apparent they lied about our household income and have me as "retired, receiving SSI payments" when I am 20 years too young to retire! I was advsied to watch they do not try to hire someone to try to pick up the car late at night (legally steal the lawyer called it) as part of the scam, and looking at their "Buyer's Orders" documents, state Buyer could be liable for. 20/mile accumulated mileage if financing does not go through and car not returned within 5 days!!!
Not only that, but since it was very bad weather the night we left the dealership (July 6th), when we got back home around midnight, we realized the headlamp switch did not turn off. If not for all the sensors on this car, the lights would not have turned off!
The next morning I called the salesman at Carmax, he told me if I could get a replacement switch locally and save driving back down to Greenville, send them the invoice and they would repay that as part of theit 30 day "all inclusive" warranty. So we bought the broken switch at a local Buick dealer for $86.00.installed it very easily, and mailed out copies of the receipt as asked to Carmax.
That was on July 8th, and today, July 30th, after all the recent troubels I am describing about regarding the loan, we still not have been compensated back for having to purchase the switch, as it was apparent, the older switch was basically jammed in so hard it broke internally, and ahd it not been for the rain and late at night, I would have caught that at the delaership before we ever left.
I am so outraged at what has happened now dealing to Carmax, and that we are now out another $86.00 even (which I will sue them for if I have to in small claims court), and am finding out we are victims of some scam that is illegal for any dealership to pull like is apparent right now to us.
I don't know what Carmax and their people did and/or if even that lender is part of something unethiccal, underhanded or illegal, but I will be damn if we are going to return this car after all we paid and went through to make this legal, only to be called over 3 weeks later "technically there is no loan".
Whatever the problem is and they are now caught with their pants down, that should NOT be any matter to me or my wife, as we did everything right, and either Carmax is going to have to take a hit and/or work out something with this lender to get this off our back and the weird messages left on our phone to cease! We did nothing wrong, and it is very evident, something bad has happened and they are trying to weasle out of it, but it will ot happen to me!
I am contacting both SC & NC State Attorney General's offices to this as well as waiting for attorney to get back Monday, as this cannot be allowed to go on and good people get screwed over, taken advantage of, and be forced to pay 21.5% interest rates on car loan because they say I have a bankruptcy on my report or our credit scores are lower than what they really wanted to see. IT IS A SCAM PEOPLE & VERY ILLEGAL!
Contact me by using the rebuttal box below, as I want to know if anyone else has experienced such behavior with Carmax as we have.
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