I have a relative who recently experienced going to a car dealership and signing all applicable paperwork to get financed for a vehicle, and then after a month of driving the vehicle the dealer asked that the car be returned because the financing could not be approved of course minus the one thousand dollar down payment.
This situation reminded me of a very bad experience I had with Ganley Nissan a number of years ago. I wish I had been so well informed then, as I am now. Things might have turned out a lot differently.
At the time I was 21 yrs. Old. I am currently 33. I had been in a serious car accident when I was 19 yrs. Old. At the time, I had no medical insurance, yet I needed medical care for injuries sustained in the accident. The final result of all of this is I filed for bankruptcy at the advice of an attorney.
So fast forward to the age of 21,1994. I was in a better situation by that time, having found good work that provided me with good pay and benefits. I had a desire at that time to begin work on improving my credit score.
I saw an advertisement for Ganley Nissan that said they would help someone in my situation get a car and improve my credit rating at the same time. So I was absolutely interested.
I went to Ganley Nissan and found a sales person to help me. That was the begginning of one of the longest days of my life. After many hours of trying to get financed for a used car that was 7 yrs. Old at the time of purchase. (I was not unrealistically expecting to get a brand new car or something expensive, I just wanted to begin reestablishing my credit.)
I was shown a 1987 Nissan Maxima and told that the car was going to be approx. $7000.
I felt the price was high, but the car had less than 50k miles. So I felt assured of its reliability and I liked the vehicle. I decided to purchase that car. It was approx. 12 o'clock in the afternoon at this time.
After much fast talk and even faster shuffling of paperwork. It was dark outside, and they had finally gotten me financed. 25% interest was my finance rate, over 4 years.By the time the financing had been secured, I was very weary from a long and stressful day.
I was assured that the interest rate was not unusual and that if I made regular ontime payments, the interest rate could be dropped after approx. A year.
Total amount financed for that car ended up being over $14000. The payments where $377.00 a month. This amount was a very very tight squeeze for me at the time, especially when I didnt fully take into account the cost of insuring a financed vehicle.
After about a month of driving the vehicles ac unit went bad causing the serpentine belt to break. This was a disaster for me in many ways, and Ganley Nissan refused to assist in any reasonable way. When I insisted, they decided to take me for even more. Cnnvincing me to trade in that car for another. Giving me $1000 for trade on the broken down Maxima.
The next car was again over priced and ready for meltdown. The front end of the car needed major repair after approximately 3 mos. Of driving. I found out soon afterwards that the vehicle had been in a major accident and while it was evident the body had been repaired. The foundation of the vehicle had been completely disregarded. For this vehicle I had to pay $340 a month.
In November 1996 things somewhat took a turn for the better when I applied for a vehicle loan with my credit union. The nissan by that time needed more work than it was worth and I still owed quite a bit of money on the car. I couldnt get ahead.
I financed a new Ford Ranger through my bank at 8.5% interest, a much better situation. The only unfortunate circumstance being I had to roll $7000 from the Ganley experience into the cost of this vehicle. Taking my new $12,000 truck to well over $19,000 and putting me back in the monthly payment range of the Nissan Maxima. The only saving grace at that time was the fact that the truck was new and reliable. Thank God.
I am still to this day recovering from the mess that made of my finances and my credit. It is not easy to maintain high payments and costly repairs. From this experience, I was able to see how vulnerable young people can be when in such a situation. I was also able to see how ruthless a car dealership can really be.
Looking back, I can now see many ways in which things I could have done to better protect myself. But I can also see that they where very experienced in their ways, and I sincerely believe the only way I could have protected myself from the flim flam that occurred in my dealings with them is to have avoided the dealership like the plague.
If this helps 1 person think twice about dealings with that company, I will have been rewarded handsomely.
Sincerely,
Greg
Massillon, Ohio
U.S.A.
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