Tricked by dealership (I'm a dumbass)

[Duo Maxwell]

**WARNING** Slight novel, but good read.

So, I've always considered myself a decently thrifty consumer when it comes to buying things. I peruse slickdeals.net and VERY VERY often get stuff way under retail. I also often buy cheap things on craigslist and then sell them and turn a profit (broken cars, motorcycles, etc.). I've made quite a bit of money this way and have also saved quite a bit of money. Now, I'm 19...and have a pretty good job. Recently I went into a dealership in VA and purchased a 2008 Mazdaspeed 3 GT (navi, etc.). KBB was close to 24k retail and private party was something like 20. I ended up getting it for 18.5k and the car is spotless with no problems on carfax, no redone seam welds, and no brands (Even has maintenance records).

Now, all was set for me to buy the car with my down payment and I went into the finance department where we discussed interest rate, term, etc. I had asked the gentleman what my monthly payment and interest would be for 60 months and 72 months and he told me that my monthly payment would be ~334 a month at 4.99% for 60 months. I said that sounds fine and he went to his computer and said "hold on, let me see if I can help you out with this payment at all." After a few minutes he told me that he found me a lower interest rate with a service contract which would increase my payment by about $20 a month. I asked what that would amount to after the loan term + interest and he said "about 1500". I said fine and did all the autographing etc. At this point, I think 354 a month for 60 months with total amount financed 1500 extra from what I had expected (because of the service contract).

Today I get home and pull the paper work out of a drawer to overlook everything and it says total amount financed around $23k. **** the WHAAAAT? Know how he tricked me? That $20 dollars extra a month wasn't just 20 a month. It was $20 a month additional IF we went with a 72 month term. In other words he was comparing a 60 month loan to a 72 month loan and saying it was only $20 extra.

Luckily, I bought the car last week and the dealership is an official Toyota dealership. I called and will be going this Friday to remove EVERY POS warranty they gave me. For $1,500 it was worth it, but not for $6,000 (what ends up being about $10,000 after interest). if anyone is curious, the warranty was through Toyota and entailed gap coverage, tire/rim (even curbing) warranty, key/remote loss, and 7yr/100k miles "bumper to bumper."

Never realized people were this dishonest, especially at a supposed prestigious dealership. The finance guy blatantly lied when he said it was a total difference of "1500" to cover the fact that I was actually signing up for 6000 extra. Of course, in the end, if I wasn't a dumbass and had went through the paperwork more thoroughly I would've noticed on the spot. I ****** up, and I've learned my lesson. Read all contracts LINE BY ******* LINE. This is common sense, but I guess I just got swept away in the buying process and feel like a retard.

Hope this helps someone, sorry for the novel.

-Duo

 

[chromal]

Yeah, it's probably in your own best interest to question anything anyone at a dealership tells you whether they are sales, finance, or service. Good luck, and hopefully this won't diminish the enjoyment of your MS3!

 

[carlinjohn]

That's really helpful for me because i tend to not to read the full contract and juts sign them.I too came to know how people trick us.

 

[EvilJen]

Gap insurance through a dealership is a frickin' joke. We got ours through our credit union and it ended up being like $375 or something compared to some ridiculous rate through the dealership. Can't recall specifics, it was 10:00 o'clock at night when we finished all the paperwork at the dealership. LOL!

Not sure about MD, but in FL, you can file a complaint with the state regarding the dealership. If they get enough complaints from consumers, the state will investigate them.

 

[jred321]

Never realized people were this dishonest, especially at a supposed prestigious dealership.

only douchebags work at car dealerships. keep that in mind and every car purchase will go as expected


for gap, check your auto insurance policy. they likely offer gap if you actually need it and it will be very cheap and included in your normal insurance payment. you said you had a down payment so depending on how much you put down gap could be pointless.

 

[TieNN89]

Oh Bad Luck
But at least you picked up on it

Is there no cooling off period where you can get it fixed

May I ask what GAP insurance is?

I don't recall hearing anything called GAP insurance over here

 

[jred321]

gap is when you finance more than a vehicle is worth. the insurance covers the difference in the event of a total loss so you don't end up owing more than you will get in an insurance payout. this is most common with new cars.

say you get a new car with a sticker price of $20,000 and put $0 down so you finance $20,000. if you get in an accident a month down the road the insurance company will pay what the used market is for your car, or say $15,000. since you probably haven't even made a payment yet you still owe the bank $20,000. Gap would cover that $5,000 difference between what the insurance company pays and what you owe the bank.