Advising a friend.
 

So there's this girl at my job who is currently having a Hell of a time with her car dealership. It's one of those "buy here, pay here" lots. Her last car was repo'd after she missed a couple payments so she's been scrambling to find reliable transportation. Turns out that she moved a bit too quickly and took a flyer on a 2002 Ford that has upwards of 100K miles on it. A car that also brings with it a financial responsibility of right around $10,000. Obviously she's going to come out on the losing end of the deal. In all likelihood...the car will shoot craps long before she sees the light at the end of that contract.

So she tells me she's going to ask the dealership to refund both her first few payments and the initial down payment she remitted when she bought the car. Getting that money back is her end game.

I'm trying to talk some sense into her and help her realize that getting that money back at the expense of having this reported as another repo on your credit isn't a fair trade-off.

Am I wrong to suggest to her that the dealership is under NO legal responsibility to let her out of that contract?

She swears that she's going to get another car with an even LESS reputable lot. I tell her that they're going to see the open car loan and tell her to hit the bricks.

She's one of those people who talks her way out of everything with customer service personnel. But those are significantly smaller battles. Removal of NSF fees, refunds on hotel stays, etc. She's convinced she's going to win this fight. I think she's in BIG trouble.

Am I off-base here?

You're spot on, IMO.

I'm no attorney, but I'm pretty damn sure that her contract has an "as is" disclaimer that ultimately protects the interests of the dealership FIRST.

I 2nd that.

Also, in with the first "A GM with 100K miles? That car may go tits up before the end of the year, much less the end of the contract" joke.

It's the NFL equivalent of a 30-year old RB.
Generally nothing good happens after you reach that mark.

Heh, they're going to tell her to pound sand...

I'm not an attorney, either.

But common sense tells me that a contract from a "buy here, pay here" dealership is going to be full of provisions that protects the dealership, and have none that are in the interests of the buyer.

LOL She has no ****ing idea what she's doing. I'm sorry to laugh Mic but there's not a damn thing she can do. She's not getting her money back, and it's stupid to even think you can. She signed the papers, the deal is done. They'll take the car when she doesn't pay and keep her money. Then they'll sue her for the balance after "selling the car at auction" for about $500.

She's ****ed way worse than she knows if she goes down this road. Mark my words, she goes through with it, this will be the most expensive lesson she's learned to this point of her life.

She INSISTS that they're going to give her the money back.
I seriously doubt that even that happens, but it wouldn't matter in the long run. They're going to report that as a repossession.

And she'll wind up with two in less than 6 months.

EXACTLY.

Otherwise people would pull this kind of shit with dealerships all the time.
The dealership isn't in the business of doing the buyer any favors.

Just don't offer to cosign.

I agree totally. That's why I'm trying to talk her out of it before she gets in any deeper. I hate to see her going through this, but this is a situation that can be avoided if she heeds sound advice.

Well, I've worked in credit for over a decade and I know that industry inside and out. No way she's getting her money back unless she has dirt on the owner. If that's the case, she better still get it in writing. Otherwise, she's going to get ****ed hard core by these guys. They're smoother than she is, I promise.

I've been biting my tongue, but he's right. She ****ed up huge by buying from one of these places, and she's about to make it worse.

Then again, so does anyone else who buys from these lots.

I have a friend who used to work for one of these places, and finally grew a conscience and quit.

They'll keep every dime she's given them, and when she misses a payment, they'll take the car - and legally, there's nothing she can do.

Then they'll turn around and put that car back on their lot and sell it to the next sucker that walks in. These places make money hand over fist selling cars to begin with, and make even more money because in some cases, they sell the same car several times.