Advising a friend.

[Micjones]

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?

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

We're cut from the same cloth. I have serious issues with new auto purchases. I got my ass kicked on my first car purchase. Newly married (22), two kids, driving a 75 VW Bug. They had me and they knew it.

Since then, I've read everything I could on the subject and followed that up with actual practice trips into a dealer ( I was 29) so I could learn to look them in the eye and say "Nope, no thanks". Sounds kinda weird but it really worked.
Now I have neices and nephews that ask me to go with them to the dealer, cause I fuck with them all the time. Especially when they use the "I'll need to talk to the GM about this".
My usual answer to that is : "Oh, does he keep the crystal ball in there? May I tag along? I've always wondered where you kept the all the secrets". Or "Oh, you can't make that decision on your own? Next time just take me right to his office, and we'll skip the formalities".

It's fun to bend their minds a bit.

I helped a friend buy a car that he was in love with about 7 years ago. The GM at the dealership all but took a swing at me. He wound up getting an incredible deal on the car, but he was literally willing to pay about 25-30% more than what he did.

[soopamanluva]

seems like your friend is a dumbass or needs a man to go with her to get a car because they just took all kinds of advantage of hetr

[Micjones]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

I see.

I guess we'll just forget everything else you said after the first part of the first post, about the idea she has to get her money back on a loan she's purposefully going to default.

Much like Iowanian's NEVER made a bad financial decision of his own, been desperate, or done something he later regretted himself.

She has to be stupid to take the wrong path to securing reliable transportation for herself. Got it.

I feel much better having been in your presence Yahweh.
Perhaps you can now tell us all the meaning of life and how we've all been much too stupid to realize it was worshipping Captain Badass all along.

[Iowanian]

You essentially called her a dumbass in the thread starter, I merely agree with you.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

I helped a friend buy a car that he was in love with about 7 years ago. The GM at the dealership all but took a swing at me. He wound up getting an incredible deal on the car, but he was literally willing to pay about 25-30% more than what he did.

God damn, that's hilarious.

"Sir, you can't go back there". (to the GM's office)

"I can't? Is there some kind of violation for going back there. Is it a HIPAA violation"?

"A what"?

"HIPAA. It's a .. forget it. I'd like to go back with you while you talk to the GM".

"We don't allow that".

"What? Why? Is there a dead body back there or is that where you bury the truth"?

[Micjones]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

You essentially called her a dumbass in the thread starter, I merely agree with you.

I did no such thing, but carry on.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

We're cut from the same cloth. I have serious issues with new auto purchases. I got my ass kicked on my first car purchase. Newly married (22), two kids, driving a 75 VW Bug. They had me and they knew it.

Since then, I've read everything I could on the subject and followed that up with actual practice trips into a dealer ( I was 29) so I could learn to look them in the eye and say "Nope, no thanks". Sounds kinda weird but it really worked.
Now I have neices and nephews that ask me to go with them to the dealer, cause I fuck with them all the time. Especially when they use the "I'll need to talk to the GM about this".
My usual answer to that is : "Oh, does he keep the crystal ball in there? May I tag along? I've always wondered where you kept the all the secrets". Or "Oh, you can't make that decision on your own? Next time just take me right to his office, and we'll skip the formalities".

It's fun to bend their minds a bit.

It seems to me like there's a business opportunity for someone to be a professional car negotiator. I'd pay a commission to someone if I could trust them to get me the best price, because I'm pretty sure that I'd save money over negotiating myself, even with the commission included. Buying a car is one of the most unpleasant experiences a person can have outside a Turkish prison.