Deal Gone Bad....

[SmokeDaT]

So the title says it all. My friend ends up buying a coupe on Saturday. Shes at the dealer and she says she wants a 39 month lease with 15k and premium package. They price it out for her and they come back and tell her $409 a month with 2k down. After the fees and everything she paid about $2500 out of pocket. She goes home and looks at the agreement and sees they have 54 months. My question is what are her options here. Can she go back into the dealer and re-negotiate something for the 39 month lease or is she stuck with the 54 month lease? Don't you have 3 days after the fact to go back in even though you signed the lease agreement?

[nogears909]

if she signed it she might stuck with it, i always read over what im signing to make sure they dont have mistakes like that. i might be wrong, hopefully for ur friend i am, someone on this forum will know forsure

[JAFO]

She should definitely go back to the dealer and let them know she only wanted to do a 39 month lease. If it was an honest mistake by the dealer, they will fix it with no problem.

However, if the dealership was trying to ream her, then she will be stuck with her terms. As stated, caveat emptor and she wasn't careful enough when reading the lease paperwork. I found errors on my paperwork (they had my car listed as a Nissan Almera...whatever that is!) and made them correct it right then and there.

[mpbclutch33]

I actaully saw a news article on tv last week or so about it. Try searching news articles. I believe someone invetigated it and said what the options were. Not much help I know.

[PHENOMenalVinyl]

that sucks she mine as well just bought it bc that comes out to 25000 dollars n thats just dumb

[SmokeDaT]

Thats what I said. So she told me she called the dealership and told them they made a mistake on the documents, that it should be for 39 months NOT 54. The finance manager said its actually for 52 months. At 52 months she can do early termination without having to pay the fee as long as she goes into another Nissan car so she said that was not what she was told and that she rather have the 39 month lease. So the finance guy told her she would pay a little bit more a month which she said thats fine, she doesn't want a lease for 54 months, lol. So she said she wants the 39 month lease and he told her alright come in and sign new documents.

So I don't understand the whole early termination thing when he said the 54 month lease means at 52 months you can end the lease. So that means a 39 month lease is really a 41 month lease ?

[audtatious]

Sounds like they did the bait and switch on her. My wife knows a couple of people a local toyota dealership has done this with car purchases, they took them to court about it and won.

Always look at the bottom line again before you sign as some dealerships will come back in and do a "ok, we need this other copy signed as well" and it's this other document that they actually process.

[Stumpjumper]

In Georgia there is a 13 day grace period where you can void your contract. I'd check up on your state's contract laws or contact a lawyer to find your options.

[dangeris]

all the more reason why I out right buy my cars.. Damn dealerships. Hope it works out for your friend!

[Carcass]

I'd report them to the State Consumer Affairs Board for fraud. It's amazing what effect one little phone call from a Gov't agency can have on a car dealership.

Either that or just convert to an outright purchase loan. Sounds like there's too much funny business on this lease. Probably a lot more surprises on the back end too.

$400/mo sounds like a purchase payment, not a lease payment.
Modified by Carcass at 10:57 PM 8/11/2008

[SmokeDaT]

I'll see what she says when she goes back into the dealership tonight after re-signing new papers for her 42 month lease, which is really a 39 month lease. I never knew that. You can turn it in 3 months early and not have to deal with early termination fees as long as you get into another car fro their dealership.

Hopefully it all works out in her favor, if not i'll let her know to report them like you said.

[JAFO]

At least they are willing to work with her. Tell her to watch out for the "early termination". They will probably tack the last three payments of the lease onto the new lease/purchase that she makes.

[hopetriumphs]

its a great thin theyre being cool with her. the same thing almost happened to my gf. she had never gotten in the car though. so we just tore up the papers and walked away. then they stopped us and lowered the price. its a good thing we negotiated with "0" down. otherwise they probably wouldve threatened with us "losing our deposit" but then we can just stop payment.

losers...dont let dealers push you around. buying a car is a big deal. if you dont feel 100 percent comfortable and happy its not worth it.

[rocko76]

its a great thin theyre being cool with her. the same thing almost happened to my gf. she had never gotten in the car though. so we just tore up the papers and walked away. then they stopped us and lowered the price. its a good thing we negotiated with "0" down. otherwise they probably wouldve threatened with us "losing our deposit" but then we can just stop payment.

losers...dont let dealers push you around. buying a car is a big deal. if you dont feel 100 percent comfortable and happy its not worth it.

They are absolutely not "being cool with her". I wouldn't be surprised if they knew exactly what they were doing, the verbal agreement was for $x for 39 months, and then they drew up the paperwork for the longer term at the same monthly payment. It's fairly obvious, as the payment is kinda in line (although IMHO still high if it is a 2.5) for a 39 month lease, but absolutely silly for the term in the paperwork - who the hell ever leases for that long anyway?

She screwed up and didn't read what she was signing, and now the dealership is basically extorting her to pay $x+y (more than the verbal agreement) for the original term. Frankly, now that I've thought it over again, even the original verbal terms is an awful deal. I bought my 3.5 w/ 4500 down including cash + trade, and I'm only paying $365 on a 60 month loan.

I'd take the above advice and check to see if there might be any legal recourse here. Trust me, the dealership ain't playing the "good guys" here.

[Stumpjumper]

The dealership is out to get your friends money, thats why they sell things, and the way they're working it out is gonna get them even more money. Ya'll should go ahead and nip this in the bud.

[SmokeDaT]

So she went back last night into the dealership and they were indeed pulling a fast one on her. They were caught in the act and basically re-negotiated a new deal. She got 12k miles a year on a 39 month lease $2,500 out of pocket @ $413 a month. A hell of a lot better than 54 months @ $409 a month, lol.

[hopetriumphs]

They are absolutely not "being cool with her". I wouldn't be surprised if they knew exactly what they were doing, the verbal agreement was for $x for 39 months, and then they drew up the paperwork for the longer term at the same monthly payment. It's fairly obvious, as the payment is kinda in line (although IMHO still high if it is a 2.5) for a 39 month lease, but absolutely silly for the term in the paperwork - who the hell ever leases for that long anyway?

She screwed up and didn't read what she was signing, and now the dealership is basically extorting her to pay $x+y (more than the verbal agreement) for the original term. Frankly, now that I've thought it over again, even the original verbal terms is an awful deal. I bought my 3.5 w/ 4500 down including cash + trade, and I'm only paying $365 on a 60 month loan.

I'd take the above advice and check to see if there might be any legal recourse here. Trust me, the dealership ain't playing the "good guys" here.

the question is...how much is your trade in worth. big difference between 5k in equity and 1k in enquity. and even larger if the car is still upside down on payments.

[rocko76]

the question is...how much is your trade in worth. big difference between 5k in equity and 1k in enquity. and even larger if the car is still upside down on payments.

They gave me $2.8k on an 01 Galant ES with 110k and some minor body damage. A couple of hundred more than the various trade in value sources I checked, actually - I was kinda surprised. So while that is typically the place the dealer can make up some in the negotiations, not really the case here, as I made to negotiate that after the OTD price on the car as well as the finance rate. I've no doubt they will make some money on the trade, but that's what they are in the business for, and my price for the convenience. I got a decent deal by going in armed with knowledge and being willing to walk away.
Modified by rocko76 at 6:42 PM 8/13/2008