when i first ordererd teh car oct 30.. its 17,265.. and then Anti-Theft window etch was 169 and. SO then total taxable amount is 17434. So now tax is 1046.04+ nj tire tax of 7.50+ inquiry fee of 25.00+ registration/title fee of 242+ documentary fee of 149= 18903.54.. Gap is 500. So i guess that plus gap is 19,403.54.. So now my down payment is 3k.. So now total is 16,403.54. But i also got the platinum warranty. price of 1000. So now its 17,304.54. So shouldnt that be my amount financed?? For some reason on teh last contract when i picked up my car on friday. It says amount financed is 18120.54. Thats more than $800 more. WHY??For some reason he has cash price of 19321.04 after 1163.04 of taxes and (accessories which i didnt add any).. But 17265+1163.04 is not 19321.04.. So my total price is 21090.30 plus 3k down payment so 24090.30.. WTF it should be a little lower. MY sis told me that i have 3 business days to back out of a contract. Well any contract really. Is this true? Im going to talk to the finance guy first thing monday anyway. But isnt this all weird. Did they put some tricky ____ in there?

Oh and another thing. It was supposed to be for 60 months. and he puts 66 and he says thats the way it is WTF??? so 60 gets overridden??? Also isnt there an option to choose to pay first payment 45 days from purchase instead of default 30? Thanks for any help guys.

 

On a related note, if your car gets totaled, stolen, sold, repoed, etc, in the next 36 months, which there is a pretty good possibility, you don't get your $1000 back. But you can wait till the day the warrenty expires to extend it, for the same $1000.

How is a number going to keep someone from stealing your windows?

WTF is an inquiry fee?

And most places the doc fee includes title.

Gap fee sounds like the sales person was on a roll, and just did his finishing move on your wallet. Never heard of that one.

I think that $800 was to see if you could add or not. They got away with it too. You got 'pure priced' 21k for a 16.5k car.

 

So you signed the contract already? This didn't occur to you at the time? If the numbers do not add up, go back to the dealership IMMEDIATELY and demand an explanation. Do not leave until they give you a satisfactory explanation of the numbers.

For future reference: the VIN-in-the-window thing, gap insurance, and extended warranty are all a waste of money.

 

You got screwed by the finance manager. I have people come in everyday who have gone through the same thing. I have seen people who owe $10k on a 2001 Neon!

If you can return the car, do it. If it's on order, find a way out of it. Always talk Out the Door prices from now on. Also write to Scion and don't be afraid to tell your dealership that your posting all this info on these forums.

The only two dealerships I know of that don't try to play finance games are Carmax and Mastro Subaru. You really have to be careful.

BTW- it's usually better to get the money through a credit union, nogotiate the "OTD" price, and then write a credit union check.

 

Actually the gap insurance is not a waste of money. I have it on my Xb and it will come in handy if my car were to ever get stolen or totaled.[/quote]

 

GAP insurance covers the difference between balance of your loan and what the insurance company will pay you if the car is totalled or stolen. So it's not a bad option to invest in if your accident prone or live in a area with a high number of stolen cars.

Don't know about that inquiry fee though.

I'm not sure if NJ has a "cooling off" period for car purchases. There isn't one in California, so once you drive off that lot, there's no going back. Always make sure you fix any contract problems while your still at the dealership.

From what I can understand of your post, the contract lists that your financing 18,120.54, that means the total out-the-door cost of your car is 21,120.54 and not 19,321.04. Not sure how he came up with 21,120.54 though.
Cost 17,265(base)+169(etch)+25(inquiry)+149(doc)+500(GAP)+1000(warranty)*1.06(tax)+7.5(tire tax/wheel)+242(registration)=$20,526.48.


You should look at your contract to see how that charges were allocated. It should be broken down for you. They charge tax on everything.

 

ok so what about that I should have 3 business to back out of a contract???? is that true???Also first payment being 30 days or 45 days.. my choice???

Also how is that extended warranty a waste. they cover PRACTICALLY EVERYTHING... its amazing how much they cover and cmon for only 1000???I think that warranty will come very much in handy.

 

Gap insurance is a total waste of money. The only way that it could ever be useful is if you're buying more car than you can currently afford...otherwise, it would never be possible for you to be "upside-down" in your car loan. Buy something you can afford, shorten the term, increase the down payment, and add that $500 to your down payment.

The reason I say the extended warranty is a waste is because I've had two prior Toyotas which have gone well beyond the period of the extended warranty (which I had on my last car) without any problems that would've been covered under warranty. Plus, even if you do have problems, chances are that they won't exceed the $1,000 you paid for the warranty. But despite what I said, if it gives you peace of mind, it probably is worth it for you.

As for the thing about having three days to back out of a contract, that's something you'd have to ask a NJ lawyer about. I've never heard of such a thing in this state, but NJ has some weird laws.

 

Ok so what about why the changed from 60 months to 66 month plan???? and the 30 day or 45 day first payment.

 

You need to go back to the dealership and ask them. That shouldn't happen.

 

Uh DUH...Gap insurance a waste of money? I don't think so. Even if you buy your Tc base and put $2000 down. Say your Tc get stolen within a month and you still owe $16,000. The car depreciates once you take it off the lot! So say it get stolen or totaled and your insurance company only gives you $11,000 for the car. Who pays the rest of the balance? GAP!

 

Were you trying to stay at a certain monthly payment? If so, they may have changed it from 60 mths to 66 mths to keep your monthly payment lower. They may have done this because they added all those extra charges in there which raised the loan amount. Regardless, you have the power to tell them you only want a 60 mth term. "It's just the way it is" is bullsh*t. You tell them what term you want, not the other way around.

As far as the 30 day or 45 day first payment, you work that out with the bank who financed the loan. This is typically worked out before you sign the contract, though.

Gap insurance and extended warranty could come in handy. You just never know, so peace of mind is what you've bought, and that's always a good thing.

As far as why your loan amount is higher than expected and these other problems, I'd go in and talk to the new car sales manager there. Don't rely on the finance manager or sales person to take care of you. If the sales manager doesn't answer all of your questions to your satisfaction, get Scion involved. I'm sorry you're going through this. Your buying experience should be a good one. From now on, don't sign anything until you're 100% comfortable. Don't feel rushed - it's their job to explain things to you. You are the customer and it's your money afterall! Don't think they won't check and double-check the contract before they buy a car!

 

Your dealer is trying to milk you.

Anti-Theft window etch. 169 rip-off. Not reqiured. Do-it-yourself kits cost 20
Documentation fee. 149 rip-off. Not required. My dealer charged me 50 so I let it slide.
Inquiry fee. 25 rip-off. wtf is this.
Platinum warranty. 1000 rip-off.
Gap insurance. This is legit but I would have tried getting this through your insurance agent and not the dealer.

 

I work for a financial insitution and you won't imagine how many people are upside down on their loans. The rule of thumb is to put down 25% of the total cost of the car for a down payment. That way you won't be upside down once you drive off the lot. Do people do this? No. People buy things they cant 'afford and dig themselves into a hole. Then after a few years. they trade in their upside -down car for another and dig themselves deeper into debt.

Litobird- To correct any problems with your contract, I recommend going back to the dealership ASAP and talking to them. That is the only way you are going to get solid answers to your questions. Like I said not sure if NJ has a cooling off period for car purchases. It differs from state to state.

 

I believe this is what they charge to pull your credit score, and if I'm not mistaken all dealers do this. That doesn't mean it's not a rip-off, though, lol. It's just another way that they can juice us out of our duckets.

 

"Documentation fee. 149 rip-off. Not required. My dealer charged me 50 so I let it slide. "

99.5% of dealers will NOT budge of this. Some states mandate a cap on this fee, so it may only be $45 or $50. Doesn't mean every other dealer who charges above this is ripping you off. Down south where all the dealers charge $600, now THAT's a freakin ripoff. $150 is not.

Whatever the case, it's pretty ridiculous that:

1)You signed the contract without understanding everything
2)You are asking the people on this board to break it down for you based on a written description when it's clear you can't even translate it correctly


Additionally, there is no "cooling off" period in NJ. And when I bought the car, TFS set the date of first payment 45 days from the purchase.

 

No, not all dealers charge an "Inquiry Fee". In fact, I've never heard of that one before.

I'm waiting for the "light fee" and the "breathing the air in our showroom fee".

In this case, it looks like they did a good job of hustling the new fish into signing the contract without understanding it. 3-card Monte is a snap compared to the stuff that some dealers pull. Live and learn!

George

 

I'm going tomorrow morning.

 

if you cant get the gap fee and the warranty crud removed and get the numbers to match up in 5 minutes of being there cancel and leave,

I would cancel regardless cause they are stupid thieves for the money and other Scion dealers are not croooked, but you do have to know what your doing,


btw,,, financing a one grand warranty on a car that you are statistically going to lose the money bet on is a bad idea. Ive seen worse but its some lame 2 year extension on the already 5 year covered powertrain.

do u plan on driving it like crap?, maybe maybe u could come out ahead but by the time u finance out a warranty your usually paying 30 to 70 percent more, hehe ive seen it all.
most people usually sell or wreck their car before it even begins.

I could go on and on, I worked with Toyota finance losers for a month, it was DISGUSTING! i couldnt take it

 

I'm a staff attorney for a local judge, and I see dozens of cases a month where people are being sued by their lender for defaulting on their loan (sometimes after an accident, sometimes just because they stopped paying), so I would believe how many people are upside-down in their loans. You are exactly right -- "People buy things they can't afford and dig themselves into a hole." If all people saw it that clearly and swallowed their pride, NO ONE would buy gap insurance...

Everything you said is true -- it's just sad. I just wish people would wait to buy things until they can afford them, and save themselves lots of unnecessary trouble and expense...