Here is a brief synopsis of what happened with Towbin Dodge.
I was ripped off by Towbin Dodge in Las Vegas and would like to do something to prevent this from happening in the future to another customer.
I bought a brand new Dodge Grand Caravan in July. After spending hours haggling, a price was finally agreed upon. I went to sign papers with the finance manager and got screwed. I was talked into buying $2785 worth of extra add-ons.
This is what I THOUGHT I bought:
$1290 for a 3/36 service contract. The service contract gave me six FREE visits to Dodge... One for every 6,000 miles, plus free oil changes.
$1000 for a 7/70 extended warranty. The finance manager said if I bought the warranty, my interest rate would be reduced from 4.95% to 2.95% (which I have come to understand is a fraudulent statement). I thought the lower interest rate would save me around $500, so I thought it was a decent deal. I could have gotten to 2.95% without any extra warranty.
$495 for gap insurance.
TWO HOURS after I bought the van, on July 11, I decided against the extra add-ons. I called Frank Agresti, the finance manager who worked with me, and told him I wanted to cancel. He said it was impossible since the contracts were signed. I then went back home to Minnesota on vacation and came back in early August. I went to the dealership with 187 miles on the vehicle and brought my case to the top finance person, a lady whose name I do not know. After explaining my case, she said I COULD cancel the add-ons. She said she couldn't give me the money, but Towbin would put the $2785 towards the principal, thus taking 8 payments off the end of the loan. I left Towbin Dodge on that day with the belief that everything was taken care of. It wasn't.
In 2004 I moved to Minnesota and as a Wells Fargo banking customer, I checked my car loan in early 2006. To my dismay, I saw that Towbin HAD NOT paid Wells Fargo the $2785. They cancelled the gap insurance ($495) and also made a $450 payment... But that was it. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the cancellation papers, so when I called Dodge in 2006 they basically told me there was nothing I could do. They wouldn't even look for my contract.
I decided to take responsibility and figured there was nothing I could do. I didn't have the cancellation form and it was their word against mine. Well, the very next day I took my van into the local Dodge dealer. I would at least use ONE of the coupons for a 36,000 mile check up. I met a man named Darin Larson who is a regional consultant for Dodge. He said that Towbin Dodge committed fraud, lied to me, and misrepresented what was sold to me. He said that it's a fraudulent statement to tie interest rates to extended warranties. He said I COULD and SHOULD have been able to cancel the add-ons when I called Frank Agresti two hours after I signed the contract. He said that was a lie. And of course, Mr. Larson said the Protection Plus that was sold to me was a total misrepresentation since I knew nothing about it!
Well, a few weeks ago I found the DCSC Change Request Form that shows that the contract was indeed changed in August — 28 days and 187 miles after I bought the car. To my knowledge, I cancelled the extended warranty and service contract.
Fast forward to today. I called Towbin Dodge back and because I had the DCSC paper, they were willing to dig up my contract and take a look. Here's what they found. They said the $1000 payment was for BOTH the extended warranty AND the service contract. They said the $1290 was for something called else that even they could not identify. Protection Plus??? An anti-theft device??? A warranty on top of the other warranty??? I have absolutely ZERO IDEA what they are talking about. This is what current Towbin Zach Nagy told me. I asked, "Why would I buy a warranty on top of another warranty?" He said no one would. Yet, this is exactly what Towbin sold me! They misrepresented themselves!
Frank Agresti had me sign a paper for $1000 that I thought was the extended warranty. He had me sign a paper for $1290 that I thought was the service contract (which was for something else I have no paperwork on and know nothing about). I tried to cancel the additional coverage on whatever I signed up for TWO HOURS after I bought the vehicle. They said it was impossible. Later, they said I could cancel the additional add-ons, and I left the store. They didn't cancel them. They lied yet again.
Zach Nagy now says that the document I signed was for a service he can not identify. He only knows that it says that this service is NOT CANCELABLE. How convenient.
Do not buy a car at Towbin Dodge unless you want to be cheated, lied to, and RIPPED OFF!
Jeff
Shakopee, Minnesota
U.S.A.
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