Q about dealer practices -- re 2004 VUE purchase

My wife & I just purchased a 2004 VUE AWD V6. Nice car -- we went
around and looked at lots of the competition, and given our needs, the
VUE suits us best. It's also our third Saturn -- first was a 1997
that died in a crash (drunk driver hit us from behind doing 70) and
saved our lives, and the '99 that replaced it.

In any case, we got the VUE on 11/20. The car is quite good.

However, a couple of days after we got the car, the dealer called and
said we had to redo the contract as they'd placed the wrong VIN on the
contract. I checked, and that *was* the case; they had indeed used
the incorrect VIN. After *very* carefully perusing both contracts and
ensuring that they were the same but for the VIN, we signed off on it.
We were concerned about carelessness, and said as much, but let it
ride - mistakes happen, and the cost, payments, term, charges,
incentives, taxes, license fee, etc, remained the same.

Then, a week later, the dealership discovered that the initial
financing (72 months, 1.9%, 90-day deferment of payments) which we had
been offered "wouldn't work." So we had to go and do the contract
again. I was quite annoyed at this, and as a result wound up
refinancing at 60 months for 0% with the 90-day payment deferment.
Before we left, both my wife and myself repeatedly asked "Are you
*certain* that this is the last time we'll need to get involved in
this nonsense?" and were told "yes." Because we generally don't need
to be greedy, we didn't press for more than the 0%; that saved us a
good chunk of change to begin with.

But today, about four days after that LAST contract, they called
again; more trouble with the financing. Now, we have *sterling*
credit -- we're not credit risks in any fashion. We've paid off every
car we have ever purchased ahead of schedule, and house payments are
likewise always on time. But apparently, the contract as executed
"won't go through." That was the explanation -- and a rather sorry
one it was.

Since the car is less than 1500 miles and less than 30 days out, I'm
very seriously considering invoking the 30 day/1500 mile return
clause, just because I'm finding the dealer either incompetent --
itself frightening for a Saturn dealer -- or dishonest. I'm feeling
as if they're waiting -- playing the clock out until past the 30/1500
marks. My instinct is to tell them that if they want to redo the
contract again, I'll exercise my option to return the vehicle.

Any thoughts on this? I have had two positive buying experiences with
Saturn before; this *seems* to be an anomaly -- but OTOH it just
doesn't smell right.

TIA for any advice.

mh

 

Matt:

One question: Did you purchase your other two Saturns from the same dealer?
Same associate? If so it could be just plain old bad luck this time around.
I'll add this: A signed contract is ...well....a signed contract. In my
opinion you'd win any legal dispute unless there are riders relating to the
securing of final stage financing.

Also, I believe that you have the right to use the return policy. Your
situation qualifies as good enough reason in my mind. Good luck and keep us
in the loop on what you decide.

Cheers!

Glomis

 

Get yourself a lawyer ..I did when they tried to pack my car and did
not tell me about the 0%finanic too.. It cost me$300.00. But came out
ahead .I got the 0%0 for sixty month ..they took off the packing and
gave me some frebies off the car... Once u sign the contract they
have to honor it.....That was their mistakes... I repeat don't resign a
new contract......Robert

 

Even if you do return it you can't get money back on a 2004 - you can only
exchange it for another Saturn.

Ken

 

yes, something sounds strange.
but, remember, as of 2004 saturn no longer has a 30 day return policy.
it's now a exchange policy.

 

I would see a lawyer. A letter, a couple of phone calls and they are
going to likely fold. Never had a problem with cars but a trade in on
a single wide when I replaced it with a double wide went sour.

The lawyer told me that suing wasn't worth it so I asked him about
writing a strongly worded letter and being point of contact as in take
a telephone call or two and convice them that I was mad dog enough to
push this to the hilt.

That was 1988 and it was the best 200 bucks I ever spent.

Wes

 

As one of the others said, "a signed contract is a signed contract."
Both parties agreed, understood and are now bound by the document.

If this "no longer works" for the dealer, then that is their tough luck.
They do sales day in and day out, and if they screwed up, then that's
there problem and they will have to live with it. It appears that you
have been much more than reasonable so far, and it's time to put your
foot down.

Maybe a lawyer is a good idea. It has been my expereince when a large
purchase has several problems in quick succession, there tends to more
trouble down the road, which perhaps could be avoided if more drastic
action were taken earlier on.

Good luck!


=================================

" ..... I ain't no bandleader!!"

 

Read the contract to see if there's any wording about "pending approval." If
not, then the contract is ironclad and they can't get out of it. If you tell
them you won't sign another contract, that you're happy with the one you
already signed, what will they do?

If the contract is no good then you don't own the car anyway, so there's no
"return policy" to worry about. If they won't accept the contract they
already signed, then there's no contract.

If you don't want to deal with the headaches, give the car back (but not
without a check for any money you put down). If it doesn't look like it's
going to be easy, then tell them you're going to get a lawyer. If they don't
change their tone immediately, get the lawyer.

-Alan L.

 

It "doesn't smell right"?! It's completely unacceptable!
Absolutely you should return the Vue! More than that, you
should write a detailed letter to GM complete with a
timeline and the names of the morons who repeatedly
screwed up your contract. These folks have no business
being in business.

Buy a Vue from a dealer in a neighboring city, if necessary.

Best of luck,

Brian

P.S. I really like my Vue! My dealer has been painless to
work with, too.

 

A couple weeks ago, one of my employee's daughter had taken delivery
of an Ion and had the dealer call back. Her training program didn't
qualify her for the student discount after all and they wanted the
money ($750?) back. My employee was co-owner/co-signer so he got
involved. I strongly encouraged him to tell them, " No F___ing Way,"
which he did. They backed down pretty quick.

The dealer was the expert and had plenty of opportunity to ensure that
the buyer qualified for the discount. Besides, it isn't like the Ion
is a hot seller that they were letting go at invoice price. They are
lucky to be selling any of these, let alone getting full list price on
every one. (They did give her a very generous trade-in allowance on
her old Saturn.)

 

My goodness. You Sir, have the patience of a saint. I think I've done a
wonderful job with my
anger management over the past few years, but I would have told these people
exactly what
they could do with their problems, and would have used a lot of 4 letter
words in the process.

Personally, I would just ignore them at this point. What are they going to
do? You have the car, it is
registered in your name, you have the sales contract and the bill of sale.
If they want to call the contract invalid
and never send you the payment book, so much the better.

They have already proved themselves to be idiots, so I would not even think
of going there for service.

-David

 

Now I'm getting worried.
The same thing that happened to you happened to me almost 6 months ago. Please tell me you are not on the OKC area !! I called the headquaters and complained about the whole situation and they promised to follow up with the delearship. They try to re-do the 1.9% per 72 months financing but I gave them my lawyers cell number. They stop calling and the fix the paperwork with the right VIN Number.

 

<snip>

The elimination of the 30 day money-back guarantee has given dealers carte
blanche to pull the old trick of jacking up the interest rate after you've
taken the vehicle home. They're trying to increase their kick-back on
financing which goes up as the interest rate rises. Lot's of dealers try
this, but Saturn dealers _used_ to have to worry about irate customers
taking advantage of the the 30 day return. The elimination of the return
policy changed all this.

There is no other Saturn worth buying, and no other one that costs as much
as a Vue, so trading it in on another Saturn is not a viable option.

You can tell the dealer that if you can't qualify for the financing that
they'll have to take the vehicle back. But you'll likely lose any down
payment that you made. Read your contract carefully. There is probably a
clause in there that lets the dealer do this sort of thing.

Do you know your FICO score? If you have to get a lawyer to fight the
dealer, knowing your FICO score will help determine if your credit is as
good as you believe. If you have a FICO score of 720 or more then you should
absolutely qualify for the best financing. You can get your credit reports
for free. Just call up the three credit reporting agencies and tell them you
've been turned down for credit based on information they provided. You don'
t have to pay to get this data, even though there are on-line services that
will charge you for it. With the on-line services you can get the reports
right away, which may be worth it since you're time-constrained.

http://www.myfico.com/ ($39)

It's a shame what's happened to Saturn. The vehicles have never been
spectacular, but at least they had the money back guarantee, the polymer
panels, and the great dealers. Now the money back guarantee is gone, the
polymer panels first disappeared from the fenders on the L series, now they'
re gone completely on the upcoming minivan. And the dealers have become like
any other dealer. At least they're no longer sticking to selling at MSRP!