Topic: Cord's Believe It or Not.

[Cord]

When I order my truck I ask them if they want a deposit and they said no, this was with a GM dealer

As of today, we have two new F-150s on the lot. There is a severe inventory crunch and if someone was to order a truck right now I'm sure no one would care if there was deposit or not because it would easily be sold to someone else.

[Schmengie]

When I was car-shopping, I told the dealer I'd pay cash when I decided what vehicle I wanted. I took a few for test drives and made an offer on the Versa for MSRP minus $500, which he accepted. (There were no incentives at the time.) No deposit was asked for or offered.

[Julie]

Not really a shocking story this time, but it may give some idea about why dealers want deposits when vehicles are sold and why if you give one, you should be prepared to complete the purchase.

We had a guy do a deal on a used truck and he left a $500 deposit pending finance approval. A day later, he showed up and said he wants us to fix the front bumper (there was a small crack). We agree to fix it once he is approved and his finance contracts are signed (We didn't intend to fix it at the price we were asking so we wanted to make sure it was sold before spending the money on it). It took a few days to get him approved because he didn’t return our phone calls but we eventually get it done. When we tried to contact him to tell him he’s approved, he once again doesn’t answer our calls. Four days later, he showed up out of the blue and said, “How come my truck isn’t fixed yet?” He was reminded that we agreed to fix it once he has signed the finance contracts. He refused to sign anything and left. He then called the next day and said that unless we fix the bumper he’s not coming back in. *Sigh* The customer is always right, right? So the bumper got fixed. After three more days of saying he is coming in and then not showing up, he walked in out of the blue and said he doesn’t want the truck. He did want his deposit back but that wasn't going to happen. We explained the facts of life to him and he had a little temper tantrum threatening legal action. As usual, it was the last we saw or heard from him.

Oh my, what an arse.  Too bad he didn't lose more than $500.

My personal favourite happens when people total loss their car. What do you mean my 12 year old POS is only worth 3k. I still owe 10 K on it!  (just because you roll your previous loan into your next one does not make your 1999 Cavalier with 300K on it work 10 grand)

LOL. 

[mmret]

My personal favourite happens when people total loss their car. What do you mean my 12 year old POS is only worth 3k. I still owe 10 K on it!  (just because you roll your previous loan into your next one does not make your 1999 Cavalier with 300K on it work 10 grand)

The general populace has no concept of basic finance.

[johngenx]

There was a family on the news a while back complaining about being $70K in debt on a ford Expedition that was worth about $25K.

They blamed the dealerships!!  Okay, I know that people can be bamboozled by finance salespeople, but c'mon, if you don't understand that your old loan is being rolled into your new one, you're too stupid to live and instead of driving away in a new truck, you should be tossed into a bottomless pit never to be heard from again...

I think the real problem is people WANT that new truck SO BAD they don't listen, don't ask questions, and just try to ignore the fact that they're digging themselves a massive debt hole.

[rrocket]

I think the real problem is people WANT that new truck SO BAD they don't listen, don't ask questions, and just try to ignore the fact that they're digging themselves a massive debt hole.

+1000

[tpl]

I think the real problem is people WANT that new truck SO BAD they don't listen, don't ask questions, and just try to ignore the fact that they're digging themselves a massive debt hole.

+1000

And after all that they then take the new loan over 84 months to keep the payments down and the hole is then so deep they are inside the event horizon.   There's nowt so queer as folks.

[Julie]

There's also the attitude, "I want what I want, and I want it now.  And I deserve it." 

As well as, "If I'm in debt, it's [somebody else's] fault.  I deserve to live [way above my means].  [Other people] are standing in the way of what I deserve."

[mmret]

And when the great dim masses realize they can vote in leaders who are happy to enable them to feed from the ponzi trough that is public finance, we arrive inevitably at the end of Democracy.

[2latecrew]

I'll try not to take over the thread about new/used car stories but this one was so sad I had to post it.

The guy totals his 07 XXX. Insurance company offers him 11K. He accepts. Goes to the dealer and says I want to buy another 07 XXXX. Dealer says OH NO we have an 07 XXXX on the lot but its 17 K!! You need to go back to the insurance company and demand more money. Tell you what we'll give you a letter saying "Car costs 17 to replace you go get the 17 K and we'll sell you the car. We'll back you up because we want to sell you a car.

Guy goes to the insurance company and they say no effn way. They pay for a 3rd party valuation. Says 11K. Guy says dealer says I should get 17 K lets go to court. Goes to court. Judge says 17 k no way. Guy says but dealer said 17 K. Where is the dealer let's hear his testimony..ooppps no dealer in the courtroom. judge awards exact amount of 3rd party valuation..11K OOPPS guy also needs to pay court costs. Now  he gets 11K - 1 K costs for 10K.

Dealer doesn't sell him a car guy gets screwed out of 1000 and everyone loses well except the lawyers I guess.

[tenpenny]

Why anyone would believe what a used car dealer says about the value of a car is beyond me, especially one they have for sale.

And to show up in court without the dealer?  How stupid are people?

[mmret]

I'll try not to take over the thread about new/used car stories but this one was so sad I had to post it.

The guy totals his 07 XXX. Insurance company offers him 11K. He accepts. Goes to the dealer and says I want to buy another 07 XXXX. Dealer says OH NO we have an 07 XXXX on the lot but its 17 K!! You need to go back to the insurance company and demand more money. Tell you what we'll give you a letter saying "Car costs 17 to replace you go get the 17 K and we'll sell you the car. We'll back you up because we want to sell you a car.

Guy goes to the insurance company and they say no effn way. They pay for a 3rd party valuation. Says 11K. Guy says dealer says I should get 17 K lets go to court. Goes to court. Judge says 17 k no way. Guy says but dealer said 17 K. Where is the dealer let's hear his testimony..ooppps no dealer in the courtroom. judge awards exact amount of 3rd party valuation..11K OOPPS guy also needs to pay court costs. Now  he gets 11K - 1 K costs for 10K.

Dealer doesn't sell him a car guy gets screwed out of 1000 and everyone loses well except the lawyers I guess.

Free option for the dealer to try.

Guy is an idiot.

[2latecrew]

Why anyone would believe what a used car dealer says about the value of a car is beyond me, especially one they have for sale.

And to show up in court without the dealer?  How stupid are people?

For the same reason people think they "know what my car's worth" by picking the 3 highest ads of Autos trader and averaging them together. Same reason why people think that they are entitled to REPLACEMENT cost on an older car.

Its not that they are stupid(in most cases) its that they are ignorant or at least uneducated. They don't ready their policy. They don't read the documents that come when they get their policy that give the legal definitions of ACV or insurer requirements.

We are all guilty of it :Make assumptions based on what non experts tell us or in this case he assumed (and very wrongly so) that the dealer was an expert in Total Loss values.  Had the dealer actually shown up in court it would have made not one bit of difference. The vehicle that dealer offered for sale at 17 K actually had its advertisement factored into the 3rd party valuation. Because the sample size was so large (40 or more in this case) it reduced the effect of this one dealer overpricing his car. That's what the system is designed to do.

People aren't usually stupid they just don't know any better and don't look to the right place for advice.

[safristi]

...where do you rate "DEBTHOLES"   on the "ARSEHOLES to SH*THOLES" continuum...................folks wanna know.............

[Cord]

Check out this nifty legal maneuver:

A guy buys a $2000 beater Dodge SX 2.0. The Dodge is an “as is” vehicle – meaning it is inspected, but not repaired. He is shown everything about the vehicle's deficiencies which were many (none dangerous though or we wouldn't have sold it.) He describes himself as a “Neon expert” who has owned many in the past. He tells us that nothing on the inspection is beyond him to repair.

A few weeks later he shows up and claims that the car is unsafe, saying it has multiple problems that make it unsafe to drive. When asked how he came to this conclusion, he goes into full amateur-intimidation-mode and tells us that his “lawyer” had the car inspected at multiple garages and they all came up with the same result. Hmmm, never heard of that before but we go along. “So where were these inspections done and where is a copy of the results?” we ask. Now comes the good part.

The guy claims that his “lawyer” would not provide any results from the inspections until he was paid. Ooookaaaay. The guy is a terrible liar, fidgeting like crazy and sweating like a pig. After some more conversation, he lets it slip that one of the inspections was done by that famous automotive repair outlet known as “my friend.” From what I could gather, “his friend” determined that the car was unsafe because he saw an air bubble in the power steering fluid and since the brakes use the same fluid…. You get the picture. The guy seemed on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Out of pity more than anything, we offer to have the car towed in and re-inspected.

The next day, the new inspection (by a different technician) comes up with the same results as the original. By this time our mood had evolved from pity to something more direct. We tell the guy that since our inspections were done by journeyman techs with 20+ years experience we will stand by our inspection. After some “but…but…but,” he is told that without some evidence to the contrary we will do nothing further. As a last ditch attempt at something resembling saving face, he threatens to just leave the car with us (that will show us!). He is told to go ahead but that it won’t end in his favor. We offer to call a cab. He finally has expended all his nervous energy and visibly slumps as he turns and walks out. He goes and gets his car and drives off into the sunset. Probably to report the bad news to his lawyer.

[boz]

I'm actually surprised that you even bothered to get it towed back and inspected, after all, you're selling a $2000 as-is vehicle (read: pure junk) and these kind of buyers are only to be expected, right?

[airbalancer]

 

[Brigitte]

So, where was all this coming from?  Buyer's remorse?  Or he needed a car for a couple of weeks, and thought he could return when done with it, if he had cooked up a good enough reason?  That's the part I don't understand.

[mmret]

Why sell a $2k car? Why not just ship it off into the awful world of "Honest Jimbob's Smooth Rides"?

[Railton]

Why sell a $2k car? Why not just ship it off into the awful world of "Honest Jimbob's Smooth Rides"?

+1....or Or Bob's miracle cars - "If it's a good car, it's a miracle."
Railton