I received a call from a dealer who informed me of a mistake in the contract regarding the taxes for the out-of-state car I purchased. They requested me to sign a new contract. After reviewing the new contract, I noticed that they had changed the contract date to a month ahead and increased the total monthly payment slightly. They mentioned that they couldn’t backdate the contract.
What would be the best course of action for me to take?
Sounds like you should run the numbers to understand what the total lease amount difference would be
in your favor at current → don’t resign
not in your favor at current → resign
You are welcome to post redacted before/after here for review. Is it a materian difference or a few bucks in tax?
If the contract was submitted on time and returned to correcr an errror, they typically recontract using the same date/approval/programs.
Best course of action…what do you want to happen?
If the monthly payment is more, ask them to fix it to reflect the monthly you agreed to. That’s reasonable.
Other than that, the deal hasn’t been funded. Your only other option would be to return the vehicle.
The main concern with the new contract is the change in contract date. When I initially signed the original contract, I paid for the first month and additional fees. However, the new contract is dated 20 days later than the original, which means I would lose out on 10 days of the current month that I have already paid for.
In addition to the aforementioned concerns, this new lease agreement would extend the lease term to approximately 37 months = 36 + 1 months instead of the originally agreed-upon 36 months.
I’m doubtful that they would accept the return of the car since it was a loaner and I have already driven approximately 800 miles on it.
Are they willing to give you some sort of credit for the month that you’ve paid? If so, and if you don’t object to the new monthly, I don’t see why extending the lease by a month would be a big deal (aside from registration fees?).
If you decide not to re-sign, I don’t think they have a choice. They just have to deal w/ it…
That’s a pretty interesting point about registration. That 37th month could be very expensive.
They didn’t offer any compensation. The representative simply informed me that they would send a new contract for me to sign. In response, I requested them to email me the contract first so that I can review its contents.
Additionally, I have a strong desire to address a prior issue. During my time at the dealership, I was kept waiting for over 4 hours, and in my tired state, I missed them sneaking in an additional $1000 in fees. I feel inclined to find a way to return the favor.
You could certainly ask if they can provide some sort of reimburse you for the additional month you would need to pay.
If they decline and if you think you can get an equally good deal elsewhere and were displeased w/ the experience you had w/ them, then maybe decline to sign the contract and return the car. It’s a win for you, IMHO.
Be also mindful that if the car has a 3 year warranty, you will be without coverage the 37th month.
Are they asking for another first month’s payment? I would think that the payment you’ve already made would be the first month that’s applied on the new contract.
That was exactly my point.
I would expect the new contract to still show a first month’s payment on it… you just wouldn’t hand over cash because you already did.
Exactly.
Now I’m considering requesting a $1000 “incentive” to sign the new contract if they agree to keep the original date intact.
Alternatively, I might propose revising the entire contract if they insist on changing the date.
What are your thoughts about “incentives”?
Have they specifically said they expect more money out of pocket or are you just interpretting the new contract that way?
If they are going to apply your 1st month payment that you already paid at delivery towards your next “DAS”, then you will have had the car for free for the first month that you drove the car. And so that could explain why your new monthly payment is slightly higher, if they are building that first month payment into the next 36 months.
The existing contract you signed is probably full of “errors and corrections” loopholes that will permit the dealer to modify the terms if it was rejected by the bank, otherwise non-funded or found to contain errors.
They will have the legal right to take the car back from you, so they will usually not negotiate.
You have the right to return the car, free of any cost of use before they discover the error.
They specifically requested the payment for the next month upon signing this new 36-month contract.
Whether you can expect any modification to this new deal depends on how much (if any) leverage you have over this dealer, which ultimately rooted in the language in the agreements and the economic impacts associated with various outcomes (e.g. fully unwinding vs correcting this deal, one party suing the other, etc.)
@jeisensc 's suggestion to post redacted versions of the agreement was a good one, it will get you the best advice. Otherwise we’re all just speculating on the strength of your position.
What was defective about the first contract? I think you need to ask them point blank why the terms and payment amount changed. And tell them you refuse to pay the 37th month.