A few weeks ago a dear friend of mine referred me to what she described as a "really nice guy", friend, and customer of hers, who would take care of me in the purchase of a badly needed automobile. I had been going through some difficult financial times and I needed some help from someone I thought would walk me through this tedious process. Little did I know that I was walking directly into a trap.
I was soon introduced to Mr. Arnie Talisman who located just the right vehicle and soon had me on my way "down the hall" to the finance office. I had told Mr. Talisman that I needed to keep my payments around $300 to $400 range and informed him of all the gorey details surrounding my recent financial misfortunes. He assured me everything was going to be just fine and he would take care of me and quickly introduced me to "Big Mike" the finance guy.
After signing what seemed to be twenty or so pieces of paper, and a bunch of "automobile finance" nonesense, I thought I should at least look at what my payments were for my new vehicle. They had decided to finance the note themselves and the payment turned out to be $523.66 for 36 months and a interest rate of 20.47%. My little $14000.00 jeep which I had agreed to put $5000.00 down on a deferred basis had somehow been pumped up with a "mandatory" in-house Service Contract at $1795.00 something called "Vin Etch" at $295.00, credit life insurance at $206.61, disability insurance at $629.64, and $4851.26 in interest. None of which had I agreed to or been informed about during this process.
I might add at this point that it turns out that a "deferred" downpayment plan is not Kosher and "voids" the contract. After voicing my opinions about the aforementioned items, I was informed by "Big Mike" the finance guy, that all of these additional expenses were required if I wanted to be financed by Talisman and was there standard procedure in all "in-house" three year contracts. He went on to explain that he could work out a two contract, but the payments would be much higher. I, of course had little choice and reluctantly drove out of the car lot in my very expensive little Jeep.
After a couple days, I finally realized that I had been misled and/or pressured into agreeing to all these ridiculous terms and conditions and call "Big Mike" and told him of my dissatisfaction. I informed him during this call that I wanted the paperwork re-worked to reflect a typical contract without all the extras. When new finance documention was not forthcoming, I call Mr. Talisman and suggested that I return the Jeep and resend the financal arrangements and I even suggested that I should pay him some form of compensation in the form of rental for the time I had the jeep. We made an appointment for that evening and upon arriving at the dealership, I discovered that Mr Talisman had already departed for home. I was ushered into "Big Mike's" office where he informed me that my original deposit of $2000.00 would be retained by the company, unless I wanted to take a lowered priced automobile. I voiced my objection and told him that I would talk to "my new friend" Mr Talisman tomorrow and left the dealership. Little did I know of the plan they had in store for me that next day.
Having worked all night that same evening, I woke late and called Mr. Talisman around 2PM and was quickly informed that they had "repossed" my Jeep and there was no need for any further discussions. This repossesion was certainly unnecessay as Mr. Talisman was a friend of my friend and I wouldn't embarrass my friend, and all he had to do was ask me to return the vehicle. Yet he repossessed my jeep without proper notice of acceleration of the note or even the courtesy of a telephone call. I have tried on several occasions to reason with Mr. Talisman, but to no avail. Talisman Motors keep my $2000.00 deposit, repossessed my car without any notice, forced unnecessary expenses in their financial contract, and totally misrepresented the overall purchase and subsequent financing agreement. Todate my friend is still in shock and disbelief at what she thought would be a "care taker" for me turned out to be just a TAKER of what little funds I had left. I hope this information will be of some help to anyone dealing with Talisman Motor Company or any dealership for that matter. The lesson learned here is that you MUST carefully read all documentation and seek advice from someone knowledgeable in the business before selecting and committing to any dealership.
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