My wife and I went to look at a car a 2000 Cadillac Catera that was advertised on the internet. The price was $14,500.00. We discussed the price and the trade in allowed for our 1997 Old Aurora. We told him we want $3,500.00 for our trade - basically the balance we owed. We wanted to finance the Catera for 36 months. The salesman gave us a work sheet made to confirm the deal. We signed it as a statement that this would be the deal. $14,500.00 price less $3500.00 trade in, less $2000.00 in cash. He said he had to to get it approved. He went back and came back with the intialed work sheet indicating we had a deal.
Our next stop was the finance manager. Naturally his thing was to get us to take the extended warranty, which I did not want to do. We discussed the payment and the payment seemed in line with term of financing. When I looked at the truth in lending agreement it was definitely in line with the deal we had struck. I signed and my wife signed. Then he explained that he had errored and I signed in the wrong place and my wife has signed in the wrong place.
We had to sign a new form. We shook hands, handed over keys and headed home. At home I was looking at the deal and saw that the price had been inflated $5000.00 up to $19,900.00. The trade in was no longer $3500 but $1700.00 and the term was no longer 36 months but 60 months.
I immediately called and tried to reach the finance manager - he was not in. Tried to call the salesman he was not in and I told them I was returning the car immediately and they said they were closing in ten minutes. This was on a Saturday. Monday morning I appeared at their door. I was told too bad a deal was a deal and that I needed to get out before they called the police. I tried to speak with a sales manager but he had several salesmen physically escort me fro the property. Several calls to the General Manager and the owner (Jim Rathmann) went unanswered.
Another friend of mine a doctor went to by a truck from the same dealer on father's day. They pulled the exact same thing on him but he caught the second truth in lending trick and called them on it.instead of trying to smooth it out they told him they already owned his trade in and he could buy it back for $2500.00 more than they gave him for it. They then called him and his wife nasty names telling them that the saleman and finance manager could have been home on father's day but instead they were sitting their arguing with an uncaring, ricg "F&ing doctor". The friend finally agree to split the difference - a rip off of nearly $2000. How do these people get a way with this?
0 comments