I just had to share with all of you something that happened to me today. I got a call last week while I was out of town that when I purchased my car they forgot to have me sign something. Well, I went in today and found out that the terms of the GMAC loan were wrong because the dealer drew up paperwork and offered me a 60 month 0% interest loan when it really no longer existed. They wanted me to sign up for a new loan at 1.9%!!! I told them thanks but I would not be signing anything and that they could not change the terms of the sale after it was done. They told me the general manager would be in contact with me tomorrow (he was out of the office today). Has anyone ever heard of something like this?? Needless to say, I am ticked off!
Dealer Changes Interest Rate After Purchase??
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In court these things are always shaded toward the guy that owes the debt. I'd give the guy a chance to explain himself but I'd hold his feet to the fire if I could. Everybody makes mistakes and in this case you could always tell him that the deal is off and he can keep his car.
Go into Cadillac.com and check out the incentive's for your area (your zip code). I show the CTS has 0% for 48 months. The Escalade, DTS and XLR have the 0% 60 month financing. It's a regional thing.
Perhaps the dealer was thinking about another model with the 0% 60 month.
If they don't budge, you have a right to refuse the car. I'm sure you'll be able to hammer out a deal.. Good Luck.
Thanks for the advice. I am waiting to see what the general manager says. I will probably call Cadillac and register the issue with them tonight just so it is on record. They might put pressure on the dealer or have someone with the appropriate authority contact the dealer and take care of the issue. I told the finance guy they can drop the price equal to the interest portion of the agreed upon payment amount. He was visually uncomfortable but, of course, he doesn't have the authority to change anything.
A few questions immediately come to mind:
1. Did you take possession of the car?
2. What have you signed thus far?
3. Is the signed documentation also signed by a dealership representative?
4. Does the signed documentation make any reference to the original interest rate?
5. Do you have a co-signer or is the paperwork solely in your name?
It’s difficult to get a read on the situation without having all of the fact, but at first glance it appears as though the worse case scenario is that you will have no deal and can return the car (unless, of course, you succumb to the new rate). I, for one, would not allow my position to be adversely affected by the dealership’s mistake. Either they honor the original rate or discount the purchase price in such a way that is equal to the total price paid under the original terms.
Overall, it sucks that you have to deal with this before even really being able to enjoy a great car. Hopefully, it will be easily resolved and you can focus on enjoying your new ride.
Sorry but I have to end by saying that the information above is not meant to be legal advice and that I suggest that you confer with independent legal counsel before acting upon any of the information provided in this post. Good luck.
1. Did you take possession of the car?
2. What have you signed thus far?
3. Is the signed documentation also signed by a dealership representative?
4. Does the signed documentation make any reference to the original interest rate?
5. Do you have a co-signer or is the paperwork solely in your name?
It’s difficult to get a read on the situation without having all of the fact, but at first glance it appears as though the worse case scenario is that you will have no deal and can return the car (unless, of course, you succumb to the new rate). I, for one, would not allow my position to be adversely affected by the dealership’s mistake. Either they honor the original rate or discount the purchase price in such a way that is equal to the total price paid under the original terms.
Overall, it sucks that you have to deal with this before even really being able to enjoy a great car. Hopefully, it will be easily resolved and you can focus on enjoying your new ride.
Sorry but I have to end by saying that the information above is not meant to be legal advice and that I suggest that you confer with independent legal counsel before acting upon any of the information provided in this post. Good luck.
Sounds like stealership business to me... When it comes to these types of businesses, I always assume the most unethical explanation is the right one. I'd say they're trying to take advantage of the fact that you've already invested your time into this deal and have had the chance to own the car for a day or two. Whether or not they planned on this type of practice from the beginning is unknown and pretty much irrelevant, but once they realized that the 0% promised rate was not possible, they decided to turn it into a situation that benefits them and GM rather than do the right thing and make you not have to pay for their "mistake".
Definitely tell them to lower the price to offset the rate change... If you make it clear that this is not your responsibility, they will make it work.
Definitely tell them to lower the price to offset the rate change... If you make it clear that this is not your responsibility, they will make it work.
Thanks, everyone, for your ideas. They are helpful and, of course, this is just the informal sharing of thoughts and in no way official legal advice, in either direction, as a I am not a lawyer either.
Do you all think I should contact Cadillac customer service and register a complaint or just wait until the general manager contacts me tomorrow? Given that they tried to push this back on me, I am inclined to call and register the issue with them.
Do you all think I should contact Cadillac customer service and register a complaint or just wait until the general manager contacts me tomorrow? Given that they tried to push this back on me, I am inclined to call and register the issue with them.
I had a similar issue when I purchased my 2005 Ford Freestyle (a great car by the way). I had several incentives that I used together, including some $500 cash back offer that Ford had emailed me.
A week after I purchased the car, the dealership asked me to come back, stating there was "a problem", but they would not elaborate.:hmm:
When I went back, they told me that the $500 incentive was actually not valid with the other incentives I was also receiving and they litterally said "how will you pay for the $500 Check or credit card?" :cursin:
My response was: we had a deal, if you made a mistake it's not my fault, so I am not giving you a thing more - but I'd be happy to return the car and go elsewhere.
They then asked me to "leave the room for a few minutes so they could discuss things" They made me sit in the waiting room for about 15 minutes (which was somewhat intense as I was quite upset :gun
, then came out and told me that I could leave and not give them the $500 dollars.:thehand:
To this day, I don't know if it was a scam they were trying to pull on me or not, but the moral of the story is don't give them an inch. You had a deal, they need to suck it up. Good luck.
A week after I purchased the car, the dealership asked me to come back, stating there was "a problem", but they would not elaborate.:hmm:
When I went back, they told me that the $500 incentive was actually not valid with the other incentives I was also receiving and they litterally said "how will you pay for the $500 Check or credit card?" :cursin:
My response was: we had a deal, if you made a mistake it's not my fault, so I am not giving you a thing more - but I'd be happy to return the car and go elsewhere.
They then asked me to "leave the room for a few minutes so they could discuss things" They made me sit in the waiting room for about 15 minutes (which was somewhat intense as I was quite upset :gun
, then came out and told me that I could leave and not give them the $500 dollars.:thehand:To this day, I don't know if it was a scam they were trying to pull on me or not, but the moral of the story is don't give them an inch. You had a deal, they need to suck it up. Good luck.
04 CTS-V, 05 STS, 07 SRX- All sold :(
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Sounds like someone just wasn't paying attention and offered you something on behalf of GMAC that isn't actually available right now. I'd give the Dealer an opportunity to correct the mistake in a way that makes you happy before you fly off the handle.
I am not the type to fly off the handle as much as to be very firm in my stance. The dealer did initially make an offer: two free oil changes for my troubles. :hmm: When it comes to renegotiating a deal that was set, there is reason to be concerned. They pushed the issue back on me and did not suggest they would take care of it. But, of course, I'll let the dealer reduce the price to compensate for their error, which seems fair.
I had a similar issue when we purchased our car in Aug 08. We used a GMS code to get employee pricing and also got in on the 0% 60 month financing that was offered. I used $1000 GM card earnings as my down payment and the rest was to be paid over 60 months. A week later, I was contacted by the finance manager who apologized saying he should have known better than to use my earnings, but that GM card earnings are not accepted with a GMS sale and that I had to come up with $1000 cash. I politely spoke to the general manager and told them I'd be happy to return a one week old car with 300 miles on it but me coming up with $1000 was not going to happen. Strangely, a few days later GM began employee pricing for everyone and started accepting GM card earnings too (but 0% 60 month financing was not available too). I never heard back from the dealer and the $1000 was deducted from the earnings.
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/cadillac-cts-forum-2008-beyond/147659-what-should-i-do-car-purchased.html
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/cadillac-cts-forum-2008-beyond/147659-what-should-i-do-car-purchased.html
Just thought I would answer your questions in case it helps. I answered in caps below your questions.
Since you already have the car, the car is yours at 0%.
About 4 years ago my daughter had a 5 years loan from Nissan at 3.25% on a 2006 350Z convertible; a couple of weeks later the dealer called her and want to change the term of the loan because a mistake was made. The 3.25% was offered from Nissan on the remaining 2005 not 2006 model, we didn’t accept the change, so the dealer had to pay the difference.
The price of the car was about $41K out the door, I’m sure he made enough money from the deal to cover his mistake.
About 4 years ago my daughter had a 5 years loan from Nissan at 3.25% on a 2006 350Z convertible; a couple of weeks later the dealer called her and want to change the term of the loan because a mistake was made. The 3.25% was offered from Nissan on the remaining 2005 not 2006 model, we didn’t accept the change, so the dealer had to pay the difference.
The price of the car was about $41K out the door, I’m sure he made enough money from the deal to cover his mistake.
A contract is a contract. How accommodating do you think the dealer would be if you went in a week after you purchased the car and told them "you" made a mistake. Do you really think they would haul out all of the paperwork and start over? A mistake is a mistake but we all learn early on that we have to live with our mistakes.
These incentives and special rates are confusing more than 1 dealer. A lady a know had a similar problem with her 09 CTS purchase only she had not given them any money yet. She had some GM employee coupon that was given to her by a retired GM exec that entitled her to $4,000 off msrp. The dealer told here she also could get special GMAC financing with that and she agreed to buy the car. They had to dealer trade to get the color she wanted. When she came to pickup the car is when she found out she could not get the GMAC special but had to pay something like 7%+. She was little upset because the special financing it what sold he on the deal. But the dealer got her a credit union rate at less the 5% and she wanted the car so bad she still bought it.
This is about the closest to my situation. I just got off the phone with the general manager and he kindly reminded me that I signed an "error and omissions statement", assuming that I would then cave to pay the $2,400 more over the life of the loan for 1.9% interest. I reminded him that was not the deal we had and that it was not acceptable business practice to offer a deal and then change the terms, and that if I came back weeks after buying the car and said I had "new terms" they would laugh and send me on my way. Now he is having the owner call me!
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