I need some serious help re:car dealership

[Spades95formula]

hey guys as you know my wife and i just bought a 2004 ford escape. its really nice. cost 30,000
My wife is the one who handles all our financial stuff. at the dealer i asked her if we could afford it and she said yes. yesterday i get home ,and my wife is upset because we would have problems making payments and paing insurance,so she asks me if i can return it in exchange for cheaper vehicle. the general manager at ford will be there later this afternoon. and im gonna go over there and see what they can do

ive had the car since saturday and i hope we dont loose that much money.
My question is , what do you guys think is gonna happen? anyone work at a car dealer? is it possible to exchange ?

please help guys

[KnightFire]

I highly doubt that they will give you any problems at the dealership. The last thing a dealer wants to do is repo a car because the customer go in a little over their head with the payments, they don't make any money that way and its bad business.

At least you see the problem now and are trying to rectify the situation. I'm certain that they will try to work with you and your family to meet your needs.

I'd be really surprised if they didn't...just from the dealers financial stand point, it makes sense for them to accomodate you.

Good Luck...


KnightFire

[Spades95formula]

thanks knightfire , if anyone else has info , itll be appreciated.

[Ruz]

I would have to take the opposite view from Knightfire. I would be surprised if the dealership would take the car back. My guess would be that they only thing they will be able to do is take it back on a trade-in, but are going to tell you that they cannot give you what you paid because they will have to sell the car as used since it has been titled.

Whatever happens, I wish you the best of luck!!

Ruz

[TrAnS Am 98]

i agree with ruz there might be problems because they cant sell the car as new anymore but best of luck

[Dave M]

I agree with Ruz. The car dealership won't be the one losing money if you can't make the payments, the bank will. The dealership already got the full amount for the car from the bank, so it doesn't care what happens to the car from this point or whether you can make payments. They'll be more than happy to take it back at "used" prices and sell you a new car, but I would be very surprised if they do any kind of exchange. In this case, exchanging is bad business because they're not losing out if you can't make the payments.

[Spades95formula]

Well guys everthing is done. First of all i wanna thank everyone who replied, i didnt know who to go to but you guys.

I went down there yesturday and explained my situation to the gen. manager. well just like you guys said. they didnt want to take the car back. but they did lower my payments a little. they kept on telling me that i would recieve a phone call on their service and to give them a satisfactory rating. it seemed to me that thats what they were concerned about the most.
well ill be ok now, i talked to my boss (my dad) and i will be working more hours starting monday
once again thanks for your help

[Dave M]

Glad it worked out for ya. Buying my WS6 is really stretching my budget as well.... just have to pick up a little more OT at work I guess. Just won't have any money for mods

[Ruz]

If you don't mind me asking, how did they lower your payment? Did they refinance the car for you??

Best of luck on the car. I get scared when I hear people say that they will just have to work more, etc. That puts a lot of pressure on you and your wife. I know a few people that were living off their overtime and when companies started slashing OT, they were in a world of hurt.

Ruz

[Dave M]

Fortunately, where I work, I have the ultimate in job security. I can not lose my job unless I screw up enough to get fired. And there's always OT available, sometimes not as much as I'd like, but other times there's barely a day off. It's basically at the point now where it's always there if you want it, and sometimes you even get forced to take it when you don't want it!

[TrAnS Am 98]

glad everything worked out

[TODD 2000 V6 CAMARO]

I used to work at a Chevy dealership in the used car department. This guy came in that I had talked to once because he wanted to trade in his late 90's model silverado pickup on a 97 Vette. He didn't buy from me because he was completely unrealistic about his trade in: He wanted more than blackbook value on his truck and wanted us to sell the Vette below our cost...in other words...not gonna happen. Anyway, he comes in a few months later and ends up buying a vette from this other salesman who I guess he respected more because the salesman was in his fifties and I was in my early twenties. So he takes the Vette home and the next day he and his wife were in there talking to the manager. The wife was basically telling the manager that their marriage hinged on whether or not we would take the Vette back because they couldn't afford the $1500/month payments. LOL So....basically the same thing happened...they found a way to lower the payments and I guess the wife didn't leave him or anything because the guy came back in a few months after that and I sold him a new Tahoe.
That is definitely one thing that alot of people don't understand...dealerships couldn't care less whether or not you make you payments. The second you sign the loan agreement and take delivery of the car...it's yours. If it breaks in half a mile down the road, you own both halves. I always just told people that they needed to make sure that they could live with the payments. I wasn't out to fleece anybody, but I definitely worked with some guys that were. I'm glad your situation worked out alright. If I were you I would pay on the truck for a year or so and get your principle balance paid down and the refinance it, at a lower interest rate if possible. Just my $0.02.

[TraceZ]

Originally posted by Ruz
I get scared when I hear people say that they will just have to work more, etc. That puts a lot of pressure on you and your wife. I know a few people that were living off their overtime and when companies started slashing OT, they were in a world of hurt.

Ruz

I'm not trying to sound like i'm critisizing your decisions, or trying to run your life here... These are just some suggestions and examples of how I handle finances.

I gotta agree with Ruz.. I would never work OT. My wife and my family need me, besides, I need my sanity. I would sell my Z if it came down to needing more money to pay the bills. Then again, I dont have any car loans or credit cards either so my bills are pretty minimal (except a few mortgages). I dont believe in borrowing $$ for a car. Houses, yes, cars no. Debt is becoming a crisis for too many in America today.

Did you look at used cars? I got my Blazer 3 years old for 16,000 on a mortgage refinance. I found my 1995 Buick with 50K on it for $3000 from a tax return. There are deals to be had that free you of car payments and allow you much more financial freedom.

$$ cant buy everything, but it can buy freedom to live life. Having a brand new car is not that important, IMO. I'd rather have something a bit older but nice and go on more vacations.

When life is over, people won't remember you always had a new car. They will remember what you did in life and how you spent your time. I dont want to be that workaholic guy that never really took time for himself and his family. Until I can afford to pay cash for a new car, I'll drive used ones.


I guess my point is instead of burdening yourselves with a stressful carloan you could had gotten something used. Then you'd have less stress to pay bills, you'd have some extra $$ to pay off other stuff or spend on fun stuff. An opportunity to relax a little. I love relaxing and being free minded. I enjoy life so much more this way.

[Dave M]

TraceZ,
Paying cash for a car is great and all that, and not having that payment may lower your stress about bills, but what about those of us who have the CAR because it lowers stress. IMHO, these cars are a great stress reliever, and nothing cures a bad day or a headache faster than a 30 minute blast in my WS6. Not to mention, some of us can't afford to pay for a used car in cash, let alone a new one. My tax return this year was a whopping $300 (and the wife got that!)... that wouldn't have bought much of an f-body.

Not trying to criticize your point, because you're absolutely right that family should always be first... but if I can spend 1 or 2 mor days a month at work and get $500 bucks for it, I'll do it.

[casey02ws6]

I work in the mortgage business and as a lender it is our responsibility to make sure a borrower can make the payments - I wish cars were treated the same way. It is just easier to repo a car than foreclose on a house. Debt is a huge problem in America right now - cannot tell you how many borrowers we turn down because their debt load is > 55% of their GROSS income. Yikes! It all comes down to sacrifices - I am willing to sacrifice an hour here or an hour there to drive what I want to drive.