I went to Team Dodge to buy one of their advertised used cars. Nothing appealed to me that was in my price range. Before I decided to leave, one of the workers drove a 00' Buick Regal around. We checked it out, it seemed ok so we sat down to discuss payments.
I made it perfectly clear to the sales person that I couldn't afford anything over $500 for a down payment. He left to see what he could work out. He came back and told me that we could work the deal for $500 down. At that time I went with the finance person to sign the contract. I paid the $500. We sat down and completed signing the contract.
Two or three days later the finance person called me and told me that the bank requiered $1000 down. I came back out to Team Dodge so we could deal with this new information. I told the finance person that the extra $500 would be a problem. Two or three employees including Sales Manager came over to "see what could be done". I stated again that I didn't have and couldn't come up with $500.
They presented me with three options: pay the $500, bring in a trade-in or purchase a new car with a big enough rebate to cover the down payment. None of these were acceptable because this is not what I wanted. I told the finance person that I could just give back the car, then he told me that it would look like a re-po on my credit if I did that. So I told him I'd try to find a car to trade-in. He then presented me with the new contract and I proceeded to sign it.
Later that week he called me again to inform me that I needed to give them a $500 check to hold for 30 days until I came up with the money or they would give the check back if I had a trade-in within the next few days. The due date for the check to be deposited is June 22. I've asked for an extension on the due date so I can continue to work on it. I'll find out on 6/17/04 how long the extension will be.
I was unable to find a car to trade-in and it's getting close to my dead line and I'm starting to get stressed out. I called the finance person to let him know I wanted to somehow get out of this deal and he told me that I should have read the contract where it states that nothing is final until everything clears the bank.
I've called and talked to the sales manager and their bottom line is it's out of their hands once everything is signed. I felt trapped and deceived when they called me and told me I owed more money when the first contract was already signed and I had the car.
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