Need some advice (dealership error)
 

Good morning everyone,

I purchased my FR-S 15 days ago with a finance term of 72 months. It allowed me for the most flexibility since I am a recent college grad (and thus got the rebate).

Fast forward to today, the dealer calls and leaves a message:

"Hello, this is ** at ********* Toyota/Scion, just letting you know that there has been a minor oversight on your contract. We mistakenly gave you a 72-month finance term; (Toyota Financial called us and) the maximum term for those who take part in the college grad program is 60 months. Please call me at your convenience so that we can schedule you to come in and redo the contract."

I don't know if I consider this a minor oversight. I felt comfortable with my 72-month term and was content with the monthly payment. To go down to 60 months, while it isn't crippling by any means, would be somewhat annoying to me.

Do I have any recourse? Can I ask for a lower APR? Can I ask for another discount?

Thanks ahead of time.

Well considering that it is a mistake on their part and they pretty much put you in a position to pay more money you can probably bargain for a reduced apr while they are "redoing" your contract.

What is your APR on the 72 month loan? Also check your paperwork, you may have signed a contract stating that if your loan is not funded you would be responsible to get another means of financing the car.

I personally would never get anything over a 60 month loan. I prefer 24-48.

I would also call Toyota Financial and confirm that you do not qualify for the 72 month loan. I never trust a dealership.

The APR is 3.49%. I don't see anything about the "loan is not funded" part.

Did you do the math to see if the $1000 was worth financing with TFS as opposed to a credit union with a lower APR? I've seen financing under 2% with good credit. What are your terms?

This is assuming that the rate is tied to TFS financing, which I believe it isn't unless the dealership tried to screw you. I know people that bought cars outright with the graduation rebate.

Scion does state that if you use the graduate rebate and go through their (Toyota) financing, the term is a 60mo maximum.

Now, since they did not mention this to you, you may be able to get a lower rate on a 60mo. Hopefully you wont be in too much of a financial crunch!

Why not find a good credit union in your area and see what they can do? Although it does sound like it was their error and they should do whatever they can to accomodate you.

I'm thirding the suggestion to shop around and try to find a lower rate, with credit unions (assuming you have solid credit and will get into one) you're guaranteed to find something in the 2% ballpark. If you can negotiate with the dealership to get APR down under 3% then that might just be more convenient, either way you should buy a little bit of time.

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you purchased on a weekend or after business hours. Contracting flaws happen then because the bank open to refuse the contract immediately, the dealer basically lets you take the car as a courtesy. So many people get F-d that way either by "pre-approved" loans for Sunday purchases0(then they don't qualify) or just plain oversight like yours. Unfortuantely they can't offer you terms that aren't available.

Have they confirmed the apr to you yet? Usually 72 months increases the apr over 60 so that may actually come down depending what they offered you. Your best bet would be to take the terms (the dealer can't dictate the bank) and negotiate the dealer giving you installed accessories, swag or something else that is entirely paid for by the dealer.

Note to all future readers of this thread...if you're shopping for a car, need a loan, and have special circumstances (bad credit, taking specialty rebates, etc.) only shop during business hours.

YO-YO FINANCING
http://www.negativeequityauto.com/yo...ncing-trap.php

My dealer did it too, but I went for it because they offered me a check and I had planned on paying it off early so the increased interest was not going to affect me. Got a letter form Toyota financial that I was staying at the initial (lower) interest rate, check never showed up as promised.

My advice is don't do it, you have a contract and your interest rate isn't that terrible, just ride it out.

I don't know how it works on that side of the world, but around here,t his would put you into a strong bartering position:

Papers have been signed and witnessed. Contracts were made.
The fault lies on their side, and you're not obliged to "adjust" the contract.
As such, you're helping them by re-signing. Titt for Tatt and such would mean that you COULD press them for perks/extras.
Now, around here they wouldn't be able to press for a better interest rate, since that's determined by the banks (2% WOW... try 9.75% here), but... well... extras.
Around here, they'd be weighing up options now: Get you to resign and take the hit for an extra or two, or take whatever penalty there is for pushing your contract through regardless.

Note: That's in NAMIBIA... as I said, I don't know what it looks like over there.

Thank you to everyone who contributed!

I called TFS and they confirmed that, one, my loan had been cancelled, and two, the maximum term associated with the grad program is 60 months.

I then called the dealer. Told the finance guy that I signed the contract I did because it worked with my budget and that I wouldn't sign a new one unless the monthly payment was the same or less than the old one. He told me that he would do work on his end and call me back (I could tell that he was happy that I was willing to work with him peacefully / he was probably sweating bullets). He calls back within 5 minutes, saying that he lowered the APR and my monthly payment will be $2 less (term kept at 72 months).

At this point, I was also wishing that I had put a little more down, so I told him that I was going to throw another $1000 into the new contract.

In the end, with the new APR and extra $1000 factored in, my payment went down $18 a month.

Worked out for the better in the end!

You handled that well, nicely done. Everyone is happy :)