A DRIVER who financed a car at a dealership is confused when she has to return the vehicle and struggles to recover the down payment.
O Georgia resident got a new one car after hers was stolen and initially found that everything worked fine in regards to the paperwork and process before driving leave with the new car.
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Lilli Lawson purchased a vehicle from Olympic Auto Sales in DeKalb County before returning it a few days later.
“I financed everything. Boom, boom, boom,” the driver told local ABC News affiliate WSBTV.
“I signed all my paperwork. Everything seemed normal,” Lawson said.
The bank through which she financed the vehicle called her two days later explaining that they were unable to complete the car loan, even though she had already confidently removed it from the lot.
“I’m driving the car. It’s Monday. I’ve had it two days,” Lawson said.
“What are you talking?”
Before taking the vehicle back to the dealership, she first tried to finance the vehicle herself, without success.
So she relented and took the automobile back and the salesman unexpectedly told Lawson that the $500 down payment she paid was nonrefundable.
Despite receiving this surprising news, the dealer offered to put the driver’s $500 toward the purchase of another car on the lot.
The type of situation Lawson faced is not uncommon as it is known as “spot delivery.”
Cash delivery is when a vehicle is more or less “delivered” to a buyer before financing the vehicle is complete.
A lawyer has urged motorists not to abandon the car park until funding is secured.
“You need to make sure the financing is approved and not listen to the dealer,” Michael Flynn told WSBTV.
“Make sure you talk to the bank.”
How does ‘Cash delivery’ work?
Cash delivery is a method that allows a dealership to sell a vehicle and take it home even when banks are closed.
Since the Georgia car buyer in this scenario had to return the car and kiss the $500 she paid goodbye after supposedly reaping the benefits of cash delivery, many people who have had similar experiences may think the system is More of a fraud than a convenient one.
- Although things can go very wrong, on-time delivery can be a good thing.
- When done correctly, dealers can close the sale on a car immediately and drivers win because they don’t have to make a second trip to purchase.
- This is permitted even if financing is not yet final, because the buyer is required to sign a contract specifying the loan amount, interest rate and number of payments, leaving the dealer financing office confident in the agreed terms.
How to avoid unexpectedly returning a newly purchased car:
- Experts say car buyers should secure their own financing, aside from anything the dealership offers.
- It is not in the driver’s best interest to treat a car dealership as a
“one stop shop.” - Legal professionals also advise car buyers not to wait too long before financing is secured for the vehicle being purchased.
SOURCE: WSBTV & Nerd Wallet.
Olympic Auto Sales said it “does not make ‘on-time deliveries’ because all of our customers leave the lot with a financing agreement in place,” the dealership told WSBTV.
Drivers who finance a car at a dealership in Georgia must sign a bond agreement.
The agreement signed by Lawson noted that the sale of the vehicle was contingent on Olympic Auto Sales being able to secure financing for the buyer.
The bond agreement is something a local official says drivers should look out for when buying a car.
While Shawn Conroy of the Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division said buyers should be cautious about this, dealers have a responsibility to make it clear to buyers what they are signing up for.
“It’s imperative that dealers are transparent about what’s going on,” Conroy said.
“And misrepresentations about what’s going on could potentially be a violation of the law that our office enforces the Fair Business Practices Act.”
‘ASKING FOR PROBLEMS’
Having her car stolen, getting a new one that she was supposed to return soon, and not having her down payment refunded weren’t the only impacts on Lawson’s financial situation, she shared.
The driver confessed that the entire ordeal cost her dozens of points on her credit score.
“Well, when I initially passed, it was 695, and now it’s like 620,” she said.
“They got it right nine times.”
Ultimately, one expert consumer advisor says car buyers should secure their own financing, outside of anything the dealership offers.
“If you allow this to be a one-stop shop where you get the vehicle and finance it, you are asking for trouble,” emphasized WCBTV consultant Clark Howard.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
