I know times are tough and everyone needs to get a piece of the action, but for the finance guy to try to pull something was really unbelievable.

So here it goes...

I picked up my MR the day before for what was agreed to be 32,000 after the 2k rebate and my trade in. It was a silver MR with tech package retailing 41,500. So I return the next day to give the rest of my down payment which was 10,000 total and so the financing (24k+TTL) could be recalculated. All in all I chose the rebate and was hoping for 2.9% over 60 months, but my credit score didn't fall into tier 1 so I was going to get something like 5 or 6%. So when I talked to the finance guy the next day he said he was going to 'lie' a little to try to get something good for me. So he said I was better off with the 0% for 60 months and I agreed given my situation and I gave back the 2k rebate putting me at 34k. So he blew through the paperwork and told me my monthly payments were going to about 600/month and I was financing about 35k. This really didn't sound right to me, but he pushed me out of his office making me everything was going to be all right. So I left the dealership when I started thinking that something wasn't right, it didn't dawn on me that the finance guy would try to pull a smooth one. So I turned the car around and went back and went to the guy's office. Every time I wanted a clarification about what I was being charged for he gave me the runaround saying that taxes and fees were what drove the price up. I kept asking him where my downpayment went. How could a car that was 32k before taxes become 35k after 10k down even after TTL? Looking at the paperwork, he listed the car as 45k (sticker 41.5k) then took the deduction for the trade-in and re-added the rebate (which he kept insisting was 2500). By my calculation with TTL after my 10k downpayment I owed 27k and that's what I was financing. He was trying to get me for 8,000. He knew what he was doing and admitted it without saying it and finally I got it down to 27k after a heated debate and my payments are now around $450. Of course he didn't want anyone else in the office (like the salesman) to counter anything he had said. On top of that his face turned red when he got caught. Really, really fckin shady.

Anybody else have this experience?
Should I report this?

 

I'm sure things like this happen all the time but someone people just "let it go". I would have turned it around on him and forced his hand to give me an even better deal than the original offer or I would threaten to turn him in.

 

return the car or fix the loan....TTL cost only about 10% of the loan amount.

 

Another reason I don't like to finance cars. Not only do I not like my personal financial situation given to a stranger, I don't like the fact that so many try and hustle the deal faster than most buyers can realistically comprehend it.

 

Wow that really sucks man. That's just how dealerships are though.

Smart move on choosing the 0%. It'll save you around $6k over the life of the loan vs. $2k now.

 

You should definitely report that man. BBB, his boss, mitsu corporate...

 

The finance department is a profit center at all dealerships. You have to watch them closely. Another common tactic is that they will add a couple percent to the loan amount that they tell you that they got you approved for, because the bank gives them a commission on every extra point that they get you to agree to.

 

report him. If he did it to you, then there is no reason he wont do it to someone else.

 

eh, this is a common practice....
most people don't understand numbers, percentages, or how
the whole concept of finance works.

im a finance major so when my buddies buy cars, i
usually go with them so that they don't get raped, in the
negotiations and the finance department.

so im like literally there with the finance guy doing math
in my own paper pad, and our numbers better match,
and they all have to be explicable.

obviously since were young they try and pull fast ones, but
they catch the drift pretty fast....

regardless everyone could benefit from learning the basics of
financing, cars, mortgages, etc.....

 

This is where you made your mistake. I have an idea of what he actually did but you NEVER want to enter into collusion with a loan officer to defraud an banking institution to get a promotional rate, when you don't actually have the credit score/history to obtain it. That could end up VERY badly for both you and him, if the bank looks into it a bit. Mitsu is black and white with the 0% right now....either you have the score to get it or you don't, pure and simple. And if you don't have it then you will be going with another bank for the financing, which means that you WILL qualify for the additional 2k rebate. Since you say that your score is not tier 1 [or tier 2?], then what most likely happened is that the finance guy used the 2k rebate and some of your down payment to "buy-down" your interest rate to 0%. Which just means that instead of paying your interest over the length of the loan, you paid it to the bank up front and then they lowered your rate to give you the "illusion" that you were getting 0%, when in fact you were not. [Don't EVER refinance this loan btw, or you will have paid TWICE the interest]

Wait...aren't you the guy who did this:
Ok dude, you got a bad deal ALL AROUND on this car. Let me break it down on how it SHOULD have gone.

34,000 Silver MR Tech [Invoice price of the CAR minus 2k Dealer Cash/holdback/dealer discount/etc...]
-4,500 Your trade-in [Estimated, since you did not list what it was exactly so I have no idea of the true value of it]
-10,000 Cash Down Payment

19,500 Final price of the car
~3,000 Approx. TTL fees, assuming you purchased this in Chicago @8.5% sales tax.

22,500 OTD price, Financing this amount at 0% would give you a payment of $375/mth for 60mths.

Honestly, the fact that you give no REAL numbers makes it difficult to analyze your deal and find out exactly where they were making money on you besides on the initial price of the car. Overall, if they really gave you the Mitsu 0% rate, then they made probably 6k off of you on this deal AND stole your trade. If they just bought down the rate with another finance company, then my may have made up to 10k off of you AND stole your trade. I don't blame the finance guy in the slightest, you overpaid for the car already by thousands and he was trying to hit you up for more with the "confusion close". My finance guy didn't try **** except try to get me to buy GAP from him for a lower cost than my credit union, but I just said "nah", wrote him out a check for the car and walked out. Then again, I stripped out my deal to hell and back, before I even set foot in the dealership. I think they were just happy to get rid of the thing to be honest.

 

Thanks for the input guys, really appreciate the feedback. I realize the finance part is the dealerships last chance to make money, but usually they try to sell you a warranty or some protection stuff. I don't know if this guy was thinking he could get away with this.

Anyways, here is what went down numbers-wise:

Sticker price MR + tech: $41,500
Invoice of MR+ tech: $39,600
Price quoted after trade in and 2k rebate: $32,000
Down payment: $10,000
Taxes (8.5%): $2,900
Fees (incl new plates, GAP): $900

Finance guy states that after everything I'm financing $35,500, coming out to $600/month (0% for 60 months)

What I calculated after giving back the 2k rebate for the financing is:
$34,000 (32k+2k rebate)
-$10,000 (down payment)
=$24,000 + $2900 (taxes) + $900 (fees) = $27,800 to be financed, comes out to $460/month for 60 months

I know I probably could have done better on the deal, but I don't think you can find anyone out there that will sell an MR+tech for 32k.

 

That is bullsh*t. There is ALWAYS some dealer out there that will take a loss to get another unit out. You definitely could have done better. Tell me how much is 5k worth to you? I called every dealer within 1k miles of me and got the deal that I wanted. I maybe only saved about $500 net cost [plus not having to deal with a front bumper plate], but that was worth a day of my time for sure. How many dealer's did you call who had Silver MR Tech? I see TONS of Silver MR on dealer lots on Cars.com and Autotrader.com, and you are telling me that none of those wanted to deal? Did you even know that there is $2000 of DEALER CASH, as well as the $2000 customer rebate, on all '08 Evo's right now? That is more money for you to negotiate off the sheer price of the car before anything man. If the deal is done, then just take this as a lesson. Next time, use you resources, do more research before you buy and don't be another victim of car buying ignorance.

 

I think they're more willing to work with the GSRs than they are with the MRs. The dealerships in the chicago area all have about 10 GSRs and 2-3 MRs on their lots. I chose to go with the MR cuz my wife can't drive a manual and I wanted something more civilized and I don't plan to do any mods. I agree that a GSR can be had for much less than invoice given the 2k rebate and 2k in dealer cash for financing. I disagree that you can get an new MR+tech for 7k+ below invoice even with the 4k in incentives at this point in time, unless of course the dealership is closing and holding a fire sale.

Anyways, that's beside the point...I've bought many cars before but this was really the first time that the finance guy tried something this blatant. I think it might be the culture of corruption in Chicago, everyone and their mom thinks they're Al Capone.

 

I got rid off for $550!!!at Anaheim Mitsubishi....they told me I was paying for destation charges...I then realize it was for some stupid paint proctation!! they f'ing lied straight to my FACE!! so always be aware!