I, like others in the reports I have read here, was in a very challenging situation. The engine on my Nissan Pathfinder finally died after 130,000 miles. I am a father of 3 wonderful children... My family is dependent on me working and I needed to have transportation to get to/from work. I went into Drivetime on Van Nuys Blvd (now shut down) to see what kind of options they had. Their sales reps came out to try to get my wife & I into a car. They were showing us everything and anything they had. Their sales manager tried to get us to look at cars we had no interest in. The actual sales rep I dealt with was very nice... Like most salesmen are when your considering buying something. However, they were not clear at all. I informed them on what I was willing to pay monthly for a Ford that was already way OVERPRICED! I tried talking them down on the price of the car and they knocked off a few thousand from the price tag... Without telling me they increased the term of the agreement to compensate. I thought I was getting a better deal, when in actuality they were keeping the price the same. I then said they had to reduce the APR which was extremely high. I got very little movement for that request. I then went back to the monthly payments, which I needed to be at a certain rate. They lowered the payments for me... Without explaining that the payments would actually be bi-monthly. The final price got my monthly payments down to about $224... But it was to be paid 2X per month. I could get a BMW for $448/month.instead I got a used Ford with 50K miles and a TON of problems... Transmission, starter (I replaced after 5k miles), battery (they claimed as new), leaking head gasket, front end alignment, two poorly patched/plugged tires, missing parts on the dash (they said they would replace, but never did), and the windshield wiper fluid lines were disconnected. (did I mention I have three kids to drive around in this "safe" car?) I certainly did to the sales team. I had bad credit, and they literally said "There is nowhere else you can go. You have no choice. Nobody will allow you to buy a car with your credit. We are your only option if you need to get a car with your credit."
The worst part is, that I got to a situation where I got behind on a payment. They called, my cell, my work, my friends, my family... They completely harassed me, my co-workers, my family and friends, EVEN after I have spoken to them explaining when I could make my next payment. They'd call my wife an hour later asking for a payment.
I made that payment... And again a few months later I was a couple days late on a payment, while my 2 month old daughter was in intensive care at Cedars Sinai Hospital. She was not doing well at all. They called 12 times in one day while I was standing over my daughter who had I.V.'s, breathing tubes etc. Connected to her. They were only concerned about the late payment. (My daughter is perfectly fine now). However, they called my father on the other side of the country and convinced him to make the late payment for me, which he did (how embarrassing). My dad has to deal with something like that for his 33 year old son. Eventually it got to a point where they then threatened to REPO my car. One of their reps instructed me that if I didn't make the payment within 48 hours they were going to send our account to collections and REPO the car from me. At this point I have alrady paid over $9,000 for a car which Bluebook value was only $8500. Their rep actually told me the only option is to pay, have the car repo'ed, or turn the car in. They suggested just turning the car in to avoid having a repo on my record. I followed their advice, which I was very reluctent to do... And a few months later they had a collections company call me to collect over $8,000 from me. They said they had to auction the car and I was liable for the remaining balance of the loan. They said they only got $2000 for the car at auction. Hell, I would have paid that $2,000 and at least I'd have a car. I would have NEVER turned in the car if their reps were not consistently calling and suggesting me to do so, saying it will save my credit and keep from having a repo on my record.
I take full responsibility for not keeping my loan documents in hand 24/7 when they kept calling to read the details to see they were lying to me. I could have better protected myself. But if your a good person, you assume that others might be good people to. Why would people intentionally lie to you, while claiming they are trying to help you and your family? I am appalled at how were we treated. I am ashamed for what they put me through and all the details they gave about debts to my place of employment, my family, my in-laws, my friends... They hurt my reputation and took money from me, for which I have NOTHING to show for it. Thanks for nothing DRIVETIME! You should be ashamed of yourselves. You like all of us, will have to answer to a higher power in the end of things. I just don't know how you can sleep knowing all your company has done to hurt people in times of need.
To anyone else considering going to Drivetime to buy a car: THINK AGAIN! Read the fine-print! And Just walk out the door and find an honest car dealer to work with.
I currently drive a 2010 Toyota I bought from a Toyota dealership in Valencia who took VERY good care of me and treats me like I am part of the family. What a breath of fresh air. I will NEVER deal with DRIVETIME again. Drivetime is the worst used car dealership in the world.
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