My husband totalled his vehicle and our credit was pretty shotty so we had to go through dealers that specialize in that kind of credit, so we were at their mercy. We applied and were told we were approved for a specific loan with specific criteria, but when my husband called they gave him a different amount and different criteria.
When I called they said we could look for a vehicle anywhere and they would buy it from that dealer or wherever. When we finally found a vehicle (for less than we thought we would pay), the dealer who had the truck said they would work with Avenue Auto and make the deal go through.
The Ohio dealer lowered the price by another $900, then Avenue Auto tacked on another $2600 to that price and tried to sell it to us. I guess they didn't realize we had been talking to the dealer in Ohio the whole time. Avenue Auto said they had to make more than $500 on the deal. I thought that any sale was better than no sale.
We tried to get them to come down in price, but they wouldn't. They said the bank set the terms and that this is what it would be. I contacted the bank (Westlake Financial) and they indicated that they don't set any terms, that the dealer is in complete control of the terms and the amounts and can change them to whatever they want in order to increase their profit! They just "buy the contract" from the dealer and collect on it.
When I told this to the dealer, he didn't know what to say and couldn't beleive I contacted the bank. We didn't take the deal and found a great dealer in Madison Heights who was completeley honest and open from the start and got us financed (with an actual bank with no preset limits or stipulations) and in a bigger and better vehicle for the same amount of money.
Avenue Auto and Westlake Financial should review their practices.
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