Any time you buy something on Amazon with a credit card, you’re making a promise to repay.
I think you’re making a bigger issue out of this than it is. If you have good credit, it doesn’t apply to you. If you have marginal credit, make sure you get preapproved for financing on your own. That way, if the dealer finance is better, you drive off and they come back and say “um, we couldn’t get you approved like we thought,” you have a fallback.
You also have the option of handing back the keys and saying no thanks. You’re not locked in unless you resign the new promissory note.
I’m not trying to make a big deal out of this, I’m just sharing an article I saw on the news. I never knew that once you signed a deal the dealer could still back out. I think your average consumer is also unaware that such language exists in their contract.
Just trying to educate and understand that is all.
People should also take the time to read and understand what they are signing. The buyer is just as much at fault if they don’t comprehend what they are signing up for.
You repo a car that is not yours but you hold a note on it.
In this case they ‘loaned you a car’ with the intent of it becoming yours upon approval. If rejected, it’s their car and they can do whatever they want to get it back.
Just read the contracts before you sign. If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask a contract-law attorney. Most people don’t have the time and resources to do that last part, so they just pray they’re not going to get hosed.
Only way around a spot delivery is to take a car Monday to Friday before 5 pm. Avoid federal bank holidays.
You sign or don’t sign. There’s nothing to negotiate outside of the finance of the car. Trying to negotiate the written minutiae of a contract with a dealer will get you laughed out of the store. Nobody will negotiate contract language at a dealer level with a buyer outside of the price of the car and possibly interest if they’re trying to mark it up.
With the exception of bringing your own financing, how else could you ensure your new car deal won’t fall through 14 days after you buy it? Are there any other assurances (in writing) a dealer could give you at the time of signing?
buy during business hours when the captives and/or banks are open, and you are assured the car is funded, or ensure you can be financed by being preapproved from a bank yourself, and not rely on dealer financing. Buy after 5 pm, weekend or a holiday, or you don’t get preapproved on your own, you’re rolling the dice and approval is based on assumption by the finance manager’s experience and/or how shady they want to be.
Just went down that rabbit’s hole lol… Thanks, I can’t decide if I should feel better as I’m evidently more fiscally responsible than I thought, or if I should take a cold shower after that…
The only difference between a normal repo and this situation is that you can maybe call the police to have the owner arrested/have the cops return the car to you. Whether a repo or if my car was actually stolen, I can’t disturb the peace to get it back.
I’d guess the dealership wasn’t honest with the police. You explain what actually happened to the cops and they are gonna tell you to repo the car yourself.
Notice how the guy in question was only in jail two days? Probably because the cops realized this was not “GTA” or grand larceny. You commit those crimes and you can’t just give the car back to avoid jail. But of course those crimes both require taking the property without permission, not driving off the lot with the dealer’s permission after signing paperwork.
Edit - keeping the car is definitely still a crime. Just normally a less serious one than whatever the jurisdiction calls grand theft auto
Don’t confuse the dealer with the bank. The dealer isn’t backing out. They’d be happy to keep the deal if you can provide the money.
I kind of like this, though: In 2015, a new state law in Maryland went into effect. It says dealers have just four days to cancel a sale or it becomes final. And dealers are banned from selling trade-in vehicles until the sale is final. So if need be, the car buyer can get their trade-in back.
Seems like all states should have something similar.
