Shady dealer?

[gus6464]

Sorry for the very long post but last night was a long one.

I have been trying to track down an EB PP auto in either white or ruby red for a while now. I finally find a local dealer that has a white one in their lot so I head over there. I told them I was going to bring in my wife's car so they can evaluate the trade-in. Guy off the bat was very insistent that my wife came with me right there and then but I said no as this is just a preliminary as we are financing through USAA.

Now some of this I guess could be my fault for not researching further how financing a car through the outside works as we have done Toyota and Honda financing for our cars since we got 0%.

So I get there and take the car out for a spin, come back and tell him to run the trade-in numbers for my wife's Accord and what they are offering for the Mustang. Comes back with trade-in and car offer and I give my counter offer. After some going back and forth we finally agree on a deal and I tell him great, white me up a paper with all the amounts with TTL for an OTD price and I will take this to USAA and be back in the morning. Now this is where things start to go wrong, very wrong.

He states that he can't give me the paper unless we do an option contract with finance and thus has to run my credit and my wife's. I told him I am not looking to finance through them so I will just be back with a USAA check or electronic transfer. Still keeps stating that I need to do an option contract. I ask for specifics and he states that basically we have 7 days to decide to buy the car and in that time it will be pulled to keep anyone from buying it. Then I ask what happens if financing falls through, and he says its fine you just walk away. On top of this he is trying to get to take the car tonight and that's when red flag starts to pop as I have not even called USAA at this point. Later on with the finance manager I find out what the option contract really entails and if I do not bring in my own financing within 7 days the dealer just gives us the best they can get. I tell her the story and she just tells me to not the drive the car off the lot as at that point it is mine no matter what.

The saving grace from getting royally screwed is that since my wife was not there and the car will be in both our names and she is primary she has not signed off on the trade-in for the Accord which is only in her name and they can't do anything without her signing the option contract. I also got them to put in writing that my wife will not be in there to sign anything and if I do not get the USAA financing I am not buying the car. I find out that there was no need for any of this after talking to USAA which is giving us the loan. At this point I am beyond pissed and feel like telling them to go F themselves and go find another Mustang somewhere else.

Should I report this to Ford?

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[bluebeastsrt]

Until you sign the actual bank note you owe them nothing! If they insist on you take the car home it's on them. Drive the car and run out their gas. But don't sign anything!

 

[16fiveO]

Dealers are stealers.... I am going to order a 16 and am not looking forward to going to deal with the liars and thiefs at the dealership. Last car I got, I went through a leasing company just to avoid it. Good luck

 

[15RaceRedPony]

it really wouldn't hurt. the fact they are trying to lock you into there financing. Will Ford back you up on that? No one really knows. I did all my work through USAA from the beginning. I didn't talk to a rep at the dealer the whole time I looked at my car because I didn't feel like listening to them blab on about some bs. But yeah you don't need to do anything with there financing except sign papers at the end of it all with your USAA check. but that's how I handled mine. sorry to hear about the rough experience. just looks like they are trying to make a quick sale and trap you. good luck though

 

[10splaya22]

You should have gone to USAA first. They can write you a "blank check" of sorts that will approve you to a certain amount. You go to the dealer with that check and fill it out for what you are paying for the car. Shouldn't be that difficult but I would talk with USAA first and see what they recommend. Don't sign anything at the dealer for sure.

 

[Chameleon]

Tell them your terms and walk out. They will catch up.

 

[JessV]

Sorry for the very long post but last night was a long one.

I have been trying to track down an EB PP auto in either white or ruby red for a while now. I finally find a local dealer that has a white one in their lot so I head over there. I told them I was going to bring in my wife's car so they can evaluate the trade-in. Guy off the bat was very insistent that my wife came with me right there and then but I said no as this is just a preliminary as we are financing through USAA.

Now some of this I guess could be my fault for not researching further how financing a car through the outside works as we have done Toyota and Honda financing for our cars since we got 0%.

So I get there and take the car out for a spin, come back and tell him to run the trade-in numbers for my wife's Accord and what they are offering for the Mustang. Comes back with trade-in and car offer and I give my counter offer. After some going back and forth we finally agree on a deal and I tell him great, white me up a paper with all the amounts with TTL for an OTD price and I will take this to USAA and be back in the morning. Now this is where things start to go wrong, very wrong.

He states that he can't give me the paper unless we do an option contract with finance and thus has to run my credit and my wife's. I told him I am not looking to finance through them so I will just be back with a USAA check or electronic transfer. Still keeps stating that I need to do an option contract. I ask for specifics and he states that basically we have 7 days to decide to buy the car and in that time it will be pulled to keep anyone from buying it. Then I ask what happens if financing falls through, and he says its fine you just walk away. On top of this he is trying to get to take the car tonight and that's when red flag starts to pop as I have not even called USAA at this point. Later on with the finance manager I find out what the option contract really entails and if I do not bring in my own financing within 7 days the dealer just gives us the best they can get. I tell her the story and she just tells me to not the drive the car off the lot as at that point it is mine no matter what.

The saving grace from getting royally screwed is that since my wife was not there and the car will be in both our names and she is primary she has not signed off on the trade-in for the Accord which is only in her name and they can't do anything without her signing the option contract. I also got them to put in writing that my wife will not be in there to sign anything and if I do not get the USAA financing I am not buying the car. I find out that there was no need for any of this after talking to USAA which is giving us the loan. At this point I am beyond pissed and feel like telling them to go F themselves and go find another Mustang somewhere else.

Should I report this to Ford?

No, no, no. I don't understand what it is with these dealerships wants to run your credit for some reason. I guess they make profit from the banks off of it, but regardless, it pisses me off. There is no need for you to put in a credit application with them. Go ahead and get an approved loan from USAA and walk to that dealership with it in your hand. Just make sure the dealership is supported by the loan. When I got my 'Stang, I went ahead and got an approved loan from Bank of America at 2.9% with my mother as primary and me joint. The Bank of America website said that the dealership I went to in Central Florida was a "preferred" dealership. So off I go, select the car from the lady I have been talking to for the past few days, and the finance manager comes out and says that our bank is not supported at the dealership. My mom is sleeping at this point, but I did a lot of research about car financing. I laughed and told them to call Bank of America immediately because I won't be financing through anyone else. They tried so hard to get me to apply through Ford Credit and I kept saying "NO!" until they finally caught on it was either that loan I had brought in my hand or the car stays at the dealership with no sale. Consequently, we stayed at that dealership that day for almost 7 hours waiting for BoA to fax over the documents as proof just to let us leave. I then wrote a check for $20,900 and it was posted in my checking account in two days. You have to be very aware of dealerships, especially financing through THEM because they are known to jack up the APR a little bit to increase their margin and profit.

 

[Beetlespin]

They want you to buy the car that day because 99.99999% of the time you will not be back.

Always do you research up front and do not go to the dealer until you are ready to purchase.

You want to know what you want for your trade and what you want to pay for the car. It's that simple. I have purchased many cars and have walked out of many dealerships. It is incredible how at one dealer you are not even close and others you can make a deal on the first try.

 

[paullyd210]

I personally wouldnt take the time to report it to Ford, every dealer is different my dealer allowed me to leave my trade with them take my new car and return with the USAA check. But in this case since your wife wasn't present and you didn't have the USAA check the only option for them was the options contract if you wanted to take the vehicle home that night. Sounds like what he was trying to do was finalize the sale right away AND have an APR ready for you by the time you return with the USAA check to counter and try to convince you finance with one of their "preferred lenders". The process is always easier if you bring the Dealer Electronic Check as others have mentioned and all parties involved, in this case your wife, are present.

 

[Alloye]

You have to be very aware of dealerships, especially financing through THEM because they are known to jack up the APR a little bit to increase their margin and profit.

This is definitely true in my experience. However, it may still be possible to get a lower rate than the one you walked in the door with. In my case, I came in with 3.49 from my credit union and left with 1.9 from Chase. The finance guy actually got a bidding war going between them.

The trick is to shop around and make it clear that you won't accept a worse deal than the one you already found.

 

[gus6464]

I personally wouldnt take the time to report it to Ford, every dealer is different my dealer allowed me to leave my trade with them take my new car and return with the USAA check. But in this case since your wife wasn't present and you didn't have the USAA check the only option for them was the options contract if you wanted to take the vehicle home that night. Sounds like what he was trying to do was finalize the sale right away AND have an APR ready for you by the time you return with the USAA check to counter and try to convince you finance with one of their "preferred lenders". The process is always easier if you bring the Dealer Electronic Check as others have mentioned and all parties involved, in this case your wife, are present.

That's the thing, I never once mentioned I wanted to take the car last night. In fact they were very insistent about it. I had to stop them asking by just telling them that unless I walk in here with a check from USAA, I am not getting into that car.

 

[Charles147]

The dealer may have been able to get you a better rate. Thought I had a great offer through my research, showed the dealer and they asked if I was willing to run my credit through them...At first I hesitated but I asked can you do better than (x)...The dealer shaved down the interest rate, deal was almost same as cash. Signed papers and happy as a clam.

 

[Charles147]

This is definitely true in my experience. However, it may still be possible to get a lower rate than the one you walked in the door with. In my case, I came in with 3.49 from my credit union and left with 1.9 from Chase. The finance guy actually got a bidding war going between them.

The trick is to shop around and make it clear that you won't accept a worse deal than the one you already found.

^^ this ^^

 

[Roman]

Lots of good info here. How does this process work if you are ordering a car rather than buying off the lot? Would I go in with financing when I order, or does all of that happen when the car is ready? I've never ordered a car before.

 

[StangMan04]

Lots of good info here. How does this process work if you are ordering a car rather than buying off the lot? Would I go in with financing when I order, or does all of that happen when the car is ready? I've never ordered a car before.

You do not pay or sign papers until the car is delivered. You will most likely have to put down a deposit when you order though. Typically $500.

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