You did everything you were supposed to do. You put your best deal on the table and they accepted it. Now you move to the Finance Office. You think all you need to do is to sign the paperwork and drive home. Not so fast. The Finance office is the biggest profit center in the car dealership. That nice person behind the computer is a fraudulent salesperson. Reviewing the deal and seeing where he can squeeze more profit out of you is his job.
Do not be in a hurry to sign and get out or you will be very sorry. A good finance salesperson will cheat you for $3,000 – $4,000 more dollars and hide it in your contract if you are not watchful enough. First of all, learn to say “no” to anything they try to upsell you on. You must read the contract very carefully and make sure the numbers are exactly what you agreed upon. There are many little scams that occur in the finance office. One of them is the Subject to financing car scam.
Once you sign, you are stuck. Too many people sign the contracts without reading them thoroughly to get home as soon as possible. They get home, looking through the paperwork and find items they didn’t want or loan rates that are higher, or that the length of the loan has been extended etc.. Once you sign the contracts, you are stuck. You already signed a form that stated that you read and understood all the items in the contract. No court is going to hear your case. Take your time and read everything. If you are not good at reading contracts bring someone with you who is competent enough in that field.
The Subject to Financing clause scam. This is a very common tactic finance salespeople use. If you see this on the contract do not sign and above all, do not drive the car home. Another common term is Subject To Loan Approval. Several days after you drive home with your car, you receive a phone call from the salesperson that your loan fell through and you need to come back in and resign through another lender for more money. They may say we have great news, we got you a lower payment, and all they have done is increased the length of your loan. They do this more often with bad credit or subprime buyers who are usually more cooperative. This occurs mainly on weekends when the lenders are closed. Just tell the finance salesperson that you will come back on Monday after we have a confirmed approval.
If they don’t have your loan approved, stand up and tell him that you will come back and sign when you have an approved loan with a payment book. Never sign a contract without knowing your lender, length of loan, interest rate and monthly payment. Once you sign and drive home with your new car you are at their mercy and you will end up paying more.
