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So my sister calls me today letting me she know she picked up her new car yesterday. I was excited for her since this is a big deal. She has not bought a new car in about 6 yrs. So as she is telling me about the car and the deal I became concerned and this is why.
She has had past credit problems. No she did not live beyond her means or was irresponsible she just had a bought of bad luck. A job loss that extended a long time. She made some car payments late and had a credit card go to collections which has been paid. She has been on the right track for the past 2 1/2 yrs. But still has a low FICO score of 630. The dealer went over everything and announced she was approved through a local credit union BUT nothing is completely finalized. The finance manager told her she was definitely approved for the payment she needed however he wants to get a better rate for her. The guy told her to take the car home, enjoy and return the next day (today) to sign everything.
She called the dealer letting them know she would be in a few hours. The finance manager then suggested she come in Monday instead because he is still working on getting that better rate. I am deeply concerned. I would love to think that this finance manager is a great guy that wants to get my sister the best deal but I just find it hard to believe. Why so nice, if she is approved for the payment and rate she wants, why not ink the deal and be done? She traded in her old car and I have heard of the "spot delivery scams" where the buyer shows up to sign paper work and then told the rate is much higher and so is the payment. Then buyer then feels they need to complete deal because of emotion and/or embarrassment. She is pretty damn excited about this car but is now concerned. She called the finance manager again and told him of her concerns. He told her not to worry she is definitely approved and if she decided not to walk back into the dealer the car is still hers. Everything is already set. Well how can it be if she did not sign a contract on what her payment is and interest rate? She did sign a purchase agreement I guess that shows what the car costs and the trade in amount. But I do not think this is the proper sales contract. I mean how could it be if payments and terms are not spelled out?
It is a very large dealership and the credit union they said she was approved through is also well known. The finance manager assured her that they are not in the business of letting people drive off in new cars without making sure the deal is good. I dunno. Any thoughts? I think having the car another couple days without actually knowing for sure what her rate and payment is is a bad idea. I have been trying to find a lot of information on line and a lot of websites say that most dealers will not do a spot delivery unless they are pretty damn sure its a done deal. But then there are plenty of people online complaining they were victims of this scam. Anyone here do a spot delivery before? I personally have not so I am not sure about any of this stuff. Comments please!
Fore thought is good, paranoia on the other hand...
My guess is that you are more worried than you need to be. A 630 FICO is not stellar, but for car dealers this is not a worrisome number. Odds are there is a rumor of some incentive financing that starts in August and the dealer is trying to delay the deal till then.
If sis was smart she would have gone to CU on her own, got her numbers lined up from the in house car finance guy at the CU for rate and trade and if the dealer could not match then done a cash sale at the dealer. That added effort also lets the dealer's people know this is not a lamb ripe for shearing...
If the dealer tries any funny business sis can have the State's Attorney Consumer Fraud division ( or equiv) on speed dial on her cell phone. Practice saying "if I don't get my keys back I will swear out a warrant for arrest right now because the State's Attorney is on the phone ...". Of course if there is no fraud then sis runs the risk of sounding like an unstable lunatic, but that is risk that is probably worth taking...
My guess is that you are more worried than you need to be. A 630 FICO is not stellar, but for car dealers this is not a worrisome number. Odds are there is a rumor of some incentive financing that starts in August and the dealer is trying to delay the deal till then.
If sis was smart she would have gone to CU on her own, got her numbers lined up from the in house car finance guy at the CU for rate and trade and if the dealer could not match then done a cash sale at the dealer. That added effort also lets the dealer's people know this is not a lamb ripe for shearing...
If the dealer tries any funny business sis can have the State's Attorney Consumer Fraud division ( or equiv) on speed dial on her cell phone. Practice saying "if I don't get my keys back I will swear out a warrant for arrest right now because the State's Attorney is on the phone ...". Of course if there is no fraud then sis runs the risk of sounding like an unstable lunatic, but that is risk that is probably worth taking...
Thanks for your quick reply. Well she did go lunatic on the finance guy. lol. I guess I kind of pushed her but well it seemed shady to me. It bothered me she had no real idea what her payment would be nor the interest rate but driving the car. I agree, I prefer getting financing before hand too. It takes a little longer but you know what the terms are before ever walking into a dealership.
Well the finance guy apologized over and over and showed her the approval, what the interest rate is right now, what the payment would be right now if she signed today. Actually both figures are better than the ballpark he quoted her and what she agreed to, so it does seem like the guy is working for her. He explained he can get it lower if she prefers. He promised her everything is legit and even quoted how she could seek legal action if he were doing something shady. She fells better seeing something on paper and is going to see what he comes up with on Monday. She said he seemed sincere and scared. LOL. So I told her well you know for sure he is not gonna screw up your deal now if he thinks you go from nice to crazy person within a few hours.
Next door neighbor owned a Buick store. Lots of little old lady type buyers. One time one comes in and wants to a the "fastest car you sell and I don't care what it costs". Sales guy is not sure what do, this was in the rare period when Buick really did have a some very fast turbo V6 cars. So he goes to see the sales manager. Manager sees that she is trading in a very sedate Park Avenue. He decides to go check with owner. Owner is in a little bit of a dilemma, as on the one hand the reason Buick is making these high power cars is specifically so little old ladys are not there only client. Suggests that the sales guy take her for a ride and do a some too quick starts and maybe she decide that it is just too much power. Well the sales guys jumps on the throttle a little too hard, the tires break loose and the car waggles a bit. Woman is livid. She gets back to the dealership and starts hollering. "I wanted the DEAL to go quickly, what need do I have for some rocket powered thing! I remember when my husband bought our last care he spent six hours in here and only shaved a few dollars off the price... I thought I could buy a car and get my hair done afterward."
Next door neighbor owned a Buick store. Lots of little old lady type buyers. One time one comes in and wants to a the "fastest car you sell and I don't care what it costs". Sales guy is not sure what do, this was in the rare period when Buick really did have a some very fast turbo V6 cars. So he goes to see the sales manager. Manager sees that she is trading in a very sedate Park Avenue. He decides to go check with owner. Owner is in a little bit of a dilemma, as on the one hand the reason Buick is making these high power cars is specifically so little old ladys are not there only client. Suggests that the sales guy take her for a ride and do a some too quick starts and maybe she decide that it is just too much power. Well the sales guys jumps on the throttle a little too hard, the tires break loose and the car waggles a bit. Woman is livid. She gets back to the dealership and starts hollering. "I wanted the DEAL to go quickly, what need do I have for some rocket powered thing! I remember when my husband bought our last care he spent six hours in here and only shaved a few dollars off the price... I thought I could buy a car and get my hair done afterward."
LOL!
ha ha. Talk about break down in communication huh? I hate buying cars myself. I hate the whole process. blah.
Looks to me like the only thing she signed and committed to is buying the car at a specified price, and she might not be able to get out of that. She should, if she is concerned, see if she can arrange financing on her own, and fall back on that if the dealer's lender comes back with a higher payment plan. Does she have her own bank that she can go to for financing? Even if she does agree to buy it at a higher rate than she has been told, she still retains the option of refinancing it at later date at better terms if she can find them.
I would guess if they were lowballing her, they would have already notified her about the higher rate.
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Fore thought is good, paranoia on the other hand...
