Mark Mitsubishi
Ripoff Auto Deale

On January 5, my son visited the Glendale, Mark Mitsubishi, dealer in response to the 0 down, no payments till 2003 advertisement. He was in his first semester at Arizona Automotive Institute in Glendale. He did not have a job yet, and he needed a car for transportation to and from work.

A dealer quickly promised my son that he could probably qualify to get a new car and drive away with it that day. The dealer called me at home that morning to tell me that there was a car that was just right for my son and that they were going to apply for a loan for him, but that I may have to cosign on it. He asked me about my credit. I told him, without hesitation, that I had a recent bankruptcy. He asked me how long I had been at my present job, and I told him that I was just starting a new job that day. He asked me how long I was at my previous job and I told him it was a temporary job of 3 months. That was all he asked me in regards to my income.

I already have a 20% APR auto loan on a 1998 Dodge Stratus. I owe more on this car than it is worth. I told the dealer I was very hesitant to agree to this because it was unnecessary for my son to have a new car. I asked him about his used cars, and he said that he couldn't get us a loan for a used car. He said that my son really needed some transportation, and he could help him out immediately.

He said that payments wouldn't even have to begin for several months. I felt very pressured by my son's enthusiasm and the dealer's seemingly supportive concern for my son. My son was supposed to get VA benefits (monthly income) for going to school full-time, although he had not received any of it yet.

To my surprise, they said that we qualified for the loan, and then later, said that the loan could only be in my name because my son did not have a job yet. I was nervous about it all and again stressed it to the dealer. I told him this was too much for my son and for my budget. Nevertheless, my son drove off the lot with this 2001 Mirage. I did not receive any paperwork on this car for over a week, although they told me that they sent it "overnight express". (They got my address wrong and that was the delay). When I did get the paperwork, I finally saw what the final price and features on the car were.

I was astonished at the price and the lack of features for that price. I called our local Mitsubishi dealership in California, where I live, and asked them what they thought of the price. The dealer said that I was overcharged. I called back to the dealer in Glendale and told them that I felt that the car was at least $1500 overpriced, and that if they couldn't come down on the price, that I would surrender the car back to them, as my son was living near the dealership and he was willing to do that.

The dealer talked with the General Manager and then the GM got on the phone with me and completely intimidated and humiliated me over the phone. He said that he was practically giving the car away to me, and that he would sue me for everything I had if I dared to surrender the car back to him. I told him that the price was ridiculous, and that since I had not signed anything yet, that it couldn't be binding; he very confidently and aggressively told me that was a lie, and that the verbal agreement could hold up in court. I was scared because I already had a bankruptcy and didn't want another bad mark on my credit.

I told him how concerned I was because my son is not the most responsible kid in the world. I was afraid that the payments of $379 a month, the total loan payment of $17,000 for a 2001 Mirage (the absolute cheapest car Mitsubishi makes) was ridiculous. He said he would put a radio in the car, as it didn't even have a radio, and that he would postpone the 1st payment for another 30 days because I told him that my son would not get his VA benefits for at least another month.

I believed him when he said that he could sue me for everything, like a fool, and because I was so intimidated, and didn't want to be an irresponsible person, I signed the papers and sent them. Since then, my son has returned home from Arizona discouraged that he could not find a job, and that his living expenses were out of reach. He therefore, is not entitled to his VA monthly benefits and so I am completely responsible for the car payment. Needless to say, this verbal purchase has become a nightmare. I have taken the car to our local Mitsubishi dealership to try and make a trade, but they told me that I am at least $8,000 too deep into that car, and it's too great a loss. I do not know what to do.

I feel extremely taken advantage of and exploited. The best scenario blue book on a 2001 Mirage is $9,000 selling it privately, and a dealer would give me $7,000 max. I owe $17,000 for the car, and it is only 3 months old. I do not feel that I should have to absorb all of this cost, as I was definitely overcharged for the car to begin with and made a sincere attempt to deal with it at the onset.

Also I'd like to know how the dealership legitimately obtained a loan for me. Aren't there certain requirements for loan approval? I know that I have been unable to get a credit card for more than $500 because of my bankruptcy, and certainly I should not have been approved a loan of that magnitude, especially already having a substantial auto loan with my income, without their being some falsifying of my financial status to the loan company.

I am willing to absorb the obvious depreciation of the car, but since the car was so badly overpriced to begin with, I don't feel that I should have to suffer an $8,000 balance if the car does end up in repossession. It is obvious to me that there is some sort of foul play or at least consumer exploitation that allowed this dilemma. The dealer merely has to repossess the car, sell it for an auction price and I have to pay the difference, which in this case would be at least $8,000. It seems highly unfair that they are free from this and the whole burden rests on me. I would be willing to trade if I could do so without such a great loss. Where is their liability anyway, if the consumer has to pay the difference between the auction price the dealer gets and the loan amount and the consumer also gets the repossession on their credit. Why do they ever worry about giving auto loans if they can't lose?

I am so sick of greedy auto vultures who make victims out of the consumer, especially anyone with previous credit problems. It scares me to deal with them at all... in contemplating whether to try to trade again, I'm completely paranoid. I feel that I can never get out of this hole because of the dilemna that they have put me in.

Jacquie
Petaluma, California

Company: Mark Mitsubishi
Country: USA
State: Arizona
City: Glendale
Address: 4434 W. Glendale Ave
Phone: 6029341111

  <     >