My gut instinct is saying this is probably one of those financing scams some dealerships will try on unsuspecting customers. I took the car home on March 23rd(for reference today is April 4th) after putting money down and filling out all the needed paperwork. My credit score is REALLY good, so I don’t see why they’d try to go after me, except that I got them down to a low out the door price($36k OTD if you count my down payment when the sticker was over $37k)
Just got a voicemail from the dealership I bought my Mustang from stating that I- or a close relative- have to work, live, or worship in the county(Franklin) or a neighboring county(Union) I bought the car in to be eligible to go through the bank(a credit union) they chose for me. I live in Marion county, which is an hour drive away from the dealership.
I know it was a stupid move to let them finance through the dealership, and I will be taking my paperwork with me to a couple banks here in Marion to see what I can get- which is what I should have done in the first place.
I don’t know if it makes any difference, but they chose a credit union, instead of a normal bank, but I highly doubt such a requirement exists. The F&I guy from the dealership said they require PROOF of myself or a close relative working, worshiping or living in Franklin or Union county.
@bscar2 Well a Google search shows that credit unions have restrictions that banks do not. They can only be for employees or a certain area and require family members so apparently the call was correct. Such as a teachers credit union is for teachers and immediate relatives only.
Yeah, I dunno, a credit union is for members and there are restrictions on who can be a member. They don’t loan to non-members. My credit union has offices all over the state though so doesn’t matter, plus my wife is included through me. They probably just picked the best rate in the area and went from there but they do need their money one way or another. If the financing fell through, which it sounds like it did, you need to come up with the financing or a friend, relative, etc. in their area. In my case I used the credit union rate as a competing rate to get a lower rate from Acura. Didn’t matter to me as long it is was direct deposit.
People that say you got the car and it’s their problem are a little incorrect. Somewhere in all that fine print will be embedded something to the effect of approved financing. But if there is no money provided to them, there is no “consideration” given for the contract and it is null and void with no “consideration”. It’s an essential part of a binding contract. Offer, acceptance, and consideration equals a contract. One of them missing and you have no contract.
I don’t know why it would take 2 weeks for them to find this out, though.
The F&I guy said we could try going through another bank, which means I’ll be taking the paperwork to my local bank and seeing if they can match/beat the rates the dealership got me.
One of the papers I found says they(we?) have 21 days to find financing or I have to return the vehicle.
Oh well, chalk this up to a learning experience I guess. I do want to keep the car and I’m sure they’d probably try and charge me an arm and a leg for any perceived wear and tear or “damage” occurred during my possession of it even though I’ve only put about 70 miles on it since I bought it.
A credit union will have better rates than a bank because they are member owned like a coop. Do you not belong to a credit union? If not, can you not qualify for membership in one? Some of them like the federal credit unions are not so restrictive so maybe check around first. All you need is a relative that is a teacher, government employee, postal worker or something and pay your initial membership share price. Mine was $40.
I know a lot of people at work who use a local credit union, but I have never joined. I already belong to 2 different banks in the area as it is- one for savings and one for checking.
Time to expand. I use two banks and a credit union. Four checking accounts, three debit cards, three investment accounts, etc. Different ones for different purposes.
That doesn’t seem like a “scam” to me. Just a mix-up. If you got a written, signed contract with the dealership stating the terms of the loan, they’ll have to give it to you somehow or another. If you have no contract for the terms of the loan, then it’s just a minor mix-up. You’ll have to secure financing elsewhere is all.
Possibly, but the wording on the recording is consistent with credit union rules. The OP is not eligible for a loan from that C.U. and the finance person may have just grabbed one of the lenders without knowing credit union rules. Also considering the turn over rate of personnel at some dealerships the person may only have a little experience.
The finance lender knows everything about every loan they apply for. They do it over and over, day in and day out. They certainly know to check the customer’s eligibility before saying the loan is approved. This was absolutely intentional. It’s a very, very common scam.