posted on February 14, 2001 08:01:58 PM
I am kind of venting, nothing about AW or ebay. But with all the knowledgeable people I have encountered on these boards, I thought I would throw this out and see what kind of advice I might get. OK here goes. On 2-12-01 my 18 year old son went to a car dealership and applied for a loan to purchase a truck. He was approved for a 2001 truck $0 down and 7.9%apr. He signed the contract for the purchase and took delivery of the truck. Remember this we actually drove the truck home and parked it at our home. Prior to leaving the dealership my son went back inside to see about his appointment for the accessories to be put on, and a manager told him, oops we made a mistake. You are only approved for a used vehicle not a new one. But we will try real hard to keep you in this truck. The next day my son called down there and they said go ahead and get your insurance you will more than likely be keeping that truck. Later that afternoon he had to go to the dealership to pick up a tire for the truck and he was stopped inside and told he could not leave with the truck. Now he needed either $1000.00 down or a co-signer. They took the signed contract from him and took the truck. I feel like this is really wrong. The deal was closed, papers signed, and delivery was taken of the vehicle. Does anyone have any knowledge on this subject, and any advice on what we should do? If the shoe was on the other foot, and we said oops we made a mistake, they would say oh well, you signed a binding contract. I am looking foreward to any and all replys. My son has contacted the 3 local tv stations in our area, and contacted several lawyers via email, we are still waiting for their responses. Hopefully we will hear something soon. Thanks in advance. Fluffy
posted on February 14, 2001 08:10:11 PM
Get a lawyer and get one now. Not thru email, in real life and have them write up a letter threatening to sue for breech of contract.
posted on February 14, 2001 08:48:51 PM
Yep, yep, yep...you need a lawyer. There is a 72-hour rescinding rule, but I think that applies to the buyer, not the seller.
In this case, unless your son couldn't find a truck anywhere else, I would walk away and find another dealership to work with. And he may want to establish a line of credit with a bank or credit union before he even looks at another vehicle. It's very possible he may need a co-signer, especially at age 18, but at least he would know that going in.
posted on February 14, 2001 09:19:18 PM
The interst rate he got is almost unheard of for an 18 year old buying on his own. The dealership may have found an error in giving it, but they found it too late. Pocono is right, I think they stole the vehicle from him.
Get a lawyer. The first visit is often free by the way.
posted on February 14, 2001 09:59:26 PM
It's unfortunate your son surrendered the contract; I would guess this will be a big obstacle in pursuing your case. It's unlikely the dealership is going to provide a copy if you report them to the police or take them to court. If you have any other documentation that he actually took possession of the vehicle - any of the paperwork, a photo of the proud new owner with the truck in the driveway, a statement from a friend who went on a roadtrip with him that night - hang onto it. Like others have said, a free consultation with an attorney to see if you have a case is probably worth it. But unless it's "open-and-shut," suing them may be more expense than it's worth.
I wonder if you'd be able to bluff them by implying that you'd made a copy of the contract before your son went back to the dealership. Again, attorney.
Could see it piquing the interest of local TV stations if you're able to get the police to make an arrest as Pocono suggested.
posted on February 15, 2001 06:23:29 AM
It is a little late at 18 but you really need to teach the kid not to have this herd mentality that if someone tells you to do something you have to go along. They should not have been able to take away that copy of the contract without assaulting him so hard that either he or they needed medical treatment. Did he have a cell phone? He should have called the police from the dealership and had them there before leaving.
The theft of the contract is much more serious than the theft of the truck.
After you pursue all the legal avenues I would never allow this company to do business in my town again. There is a town down in Ohio where a local Mercury dealer failed to make a retired customer happy and he bought plastic lemons - glued them all over the car and would park it in front of the dealership
on the public street every day. They tried towing it away against his wishes and intimidating him. Every time thay touched the car or got in his face, they ended up in court and eventually lost employees who would no longer follow orders to mess with the car knowing they would be fined and jailed.
The TV stations came and the dealer tried to strong arm them which backfired. Eventually the business was just ruined because the owners thought they could do anything and get away with it. They did not try harming the gentleman - from his manner I don't think that would have worked either. Yhey would have had a couple dead hit men to explain away.
Your insurance agent is an excellant source to prove you had possesion if you started the insurance with him. He should have the VIN and all other needed info.
If you seek testimony from the company who was to provide thw loan they will probably not put their fanny on the line to protect the dealership. They may have turned down the loan but they are probably not party to the theft.
[ edited by gravid on Feb 15, 2001 06:28 AM ]
posted on February 15, 2001 07:05:59 AM
I'm with Pocono on this one. I'm pretty sure that if you call your local police, the car was stolen from him. If it's insured to him and registration is pending, doesn't the dealership have possession of a stolen vehicle? I could be wrong, but it seems to make sense to me. IMHO, the law doesn't always fit within the guidelines of common sense though!
Best of Luck to you and your son!
posted on February 16, 2001 07:18:12 AM
Thanks for all your advice, but the dealership has now changed their story. Now they say he was never approved for the loan, they let him sign the sales contract and take the truck home in hopes that the deal would go thru the next day. Does anyone believe this any more than I do. I have never heard of a dealership letting a 18 yr old kid take possession of a 2001 truck in the hopes that the financing would go thru the next day. I am really frusterated, my son called some lawyers offices yesterday for a free consult, and all he got was told to write a letter to the attorney general consumer affairs dept. I just do not understand how they can get away with doing this? Thanks Ruth
posted on February 16, 2001 01:46:14 PM
The same thing happened to my husband and I about 15 years ago. Bought a new car. Given an interest rate. Take the car home on a Saturday. On Monday we get a phone call, sorry interest rate we can't give you. Has to higher or return the car. So we returned the car. The best part was we took it back with about 150 miles on it. Because we drove all over town on Sunday. Tried to do something back then and was told there was nothing we could do.
posted on February 16, 2001 04:25:23 PM
in this age of "spot" deliveries of vehicles, it is not uncommon for dealerships to deliver vehicles to take home pending completion of the paperwork. however it is a very bad practice. you said your son signed the "contract". did you see whether or not it was the retail loan agreement? he may have signed other motor vehicle papers or an invoice. if he did not get a signed copy of the loan agreement, technically there is no lien on the car and contrary to what others have said here he had a car that was not his! there are numerous similar stories of dealerships taking cars back and/or baiting and switching higher rated loans to people who are now "attached" to the vehicle.
posted on February 16, 2001 04:47:20 PM
It is common practice for dealers to send cars out "on approval". The hope is you will be approved but if not, they hope you are attached enough to the car that you will come up with the extra money or agree to the extra interest. If you do not return the car, you are subject to arrest. In the competitive automobile market of today, dealers will try anything to ghet you in one of their cars, rather than one from another dealer.
That said, if he had a valid finance contract instead of one on approval, you need an attorney. I twould not hurt to speak to one either way.
