I came to the Earnhardt Gilbert Dodge dealership in response to their newspaper ad and their radio ads to sell new Dodge Neons at or below invoice. The ad indicated that factory rebates from invoice were available to move the over supply of new cars.
I selected one, test drove it, signed a purchase order to buy it. After a short wait in the sales office, a person introduced to me as the Office Manager came out of another office with all of the documentation needed to finalize the trade transaction.
She, the Office Mgr., and I read the contract, and she required that I initial certain places in the contract to be certain of my understanding and accuracy; I did all that.
After all the documents were signed she took the time to explain the Chrysler Service Contract and when she was finished she asked whether I was interested in it. I was, and she informed me she would have to prepare a whole new contract and add the cost of the Service Contract to it. She further indicated that there would be a long wait because there were so many other contracts to get on the word processor before me. She suggested I sign a blank contract that we had just read and initialed together, she would then mail me my copy. I did and she did.
However, the copy that she mailed to me had the factory rebated deducted from the window sticker MLP and not from invoice; the number of months of the transaction were changed from 36 months to 72 months; the monthly payment was changed from $217 (-) per month to $350 per month; the interest on the finacned amount was changed from 6.5% (-) to 11%; the finacned amount was now nearly $10,000 higher than I contracted for.
After receiving the bogus purchase contract I called the Office Mgr. And asked her to send me a copy of the original contract. She said she would, if she could find it.
I have now paid the loan off after attempting to get a copy of the original purchase contract; even the Arizona Attorney General's Consumer Fraud couldn't help me (or wouldn't). But I will persist in getting restitution of the money I was compelled to pay or face a repo of a much needed vehicle. This is certainly a form of extortion.
Auto dealerships seem be be getting a "free pass' from law enforcement because they provide jobs for the community and they provide badly needed city and state sales taxes.
0 comments