wow, they are raising taxes so fast out there that their own government run web sites can’t keep up? How does that happen?
I wouldn’t waste another minute on this. The business manager said the tax was paid and I’m sure California is like every other state that won’t register a vehicle unless the sales tax is paid in full. If I was lucky enough to buy a car and the dealership forget to collect the sales tax, I’d do NOTHING, as in not answering their calls, mail, etc… They have no legal recourse once the contract is signed and the car registered. I’ll predict they’ll do their best to get some money back for a couple weeks and then move on.
Every time without memorable exception when we have bought a new car, the salesman delegates the closing of the deal to the dealer’s financial person who does that job every day and would instantly recognize the error or oversight. That makes me think that they knew exactly what they were doing when they put N/A on the tax entry blank. I like the idea of telling the dealer that you want to get in touch with your state’s Attorney General. Don’t promise this but just suggest it to see what happens and do it if the dealer does not back off and take no action with the dealer until you know more from the AG. Being polite to the dealer will be more likely to get him to back off rather than to get angry to make him want to dig in and fight you. He might back off.
It seems obvious that the dealer has paid the tax to CA or there would be no title issued. Is it possible that the salesman told you that tax was included with the selling price?
You could also suggest that you might want to get in touch with Toyota to arbitrate the situation. That could result in the dealer losing his franchise if Toyota is negative about that dealer. That also could get the dealer to back off from pursuing you for his obvious error.
Also, you can color me skeptical as I find it hard to believe that this really happened. Will you name the dealer?
“The only way TMC would ever yank a franchise would be if there is wholesale fraud going on with a lot of negative PR and things are being done which affect cars sales total numbers.”
+1
About 10 years ago (or slightly longer), the Honda dealership in Jersey City, NJ finally lost its franchise, after a huge number of consumer complaints over a period of several years. What eventually did them in was the discovery that the dealership was systematically “decontenting” new cars and substituting cheap aftermarket batteries, tires, & brake pads that they purchased at the nearby Pep Boys store. Naturally, the dealership was selling the OEM batteries, brake pads, & tires through their parts department, and reaping a very nice profit in the process.
Most people wouldn’t suspect that their new car would have anything other than the OEM equipment, but one very alert indy mechanic happened to notice that the battery on a customer’s nearly-new Accord was not the OEM battery. That led to an undercover investigation by the NJ AG’s office, and the dealership was forced to make restitution to the owners of a few hundred Hondas that had been purchased over the period when this scam was taking place.
The adverse publicity caused enough of a drop in sales for Honda of America to sit up & take notice, and they did finally strip these two larcenous brothers of their franchise.
Friend of mine in NY who owns a Nissan dealership - got it because Nissan corp yanked the franchise after the owners were charged with fraud by rolling the OD’s back on many of the used cars they sold.
In response to the laws cited from CA where the merchant is responsible for sales tax, here is how it goes in MA (and two other states I have lived in)-
"General Rules
Effective August 1, 2009, under Massachusetts sales and use tax provisions, the purchaser, transferee or user having title to or possession of a motor vehicle is directly responsible for the payment of the 6.25% sales or 6.25% use tax."
Figures CA would be different 
I should have taken the time to check out CA laws before responding…
VDC, were these guys indicted? That was a clear case of fraud.
Thanks to everyone on taking interest in this situation, I sincerely appreciate it. Today’s update.
Yesterday I called the Cust. Relations person at the dealership, and she didn’t call back until this morning. Instead of her talking to me, she had me on speakerphone and the salesman was the one who did all the screaming. He kept going on that I was such an awful, lousy, evil person and that he has no respect for me. I told them that everything they were threatening me with, (fines from the state, suspensions of my license etc.) were not true, they were going about this all wrong. If he had just sent me an official letter asking for the tax money that supposedly was not paid I would of probably decided to pay them. He just kept trying to bluff me, and in mid sentence screamed at me that he was done talking and hung up the phone.
I will call Toyota and tell them what happened. I did call the Calif. Board of Equalization and was connected with their expert on sales tax, and sure enough, I am not liable at all, the dealership is. The state would never of issued the title to me if the taxes hadn’t been paid. They are out the tax already, it isn’t still due. They want their money back. I can’t believe this has gone the way that it has, but it did, all because of them. I refuse to take any blame on this.
I told them to send me a registered letter with a request for the tax, and I would pay it, but he hung up on me… OH WELL!
After that update, even if they send you a letter, don’t even think about paying these jerks one dime.
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Congratulations; kind of figured this was all a giant load on the part of the dealership and you should file a complaint with Toyota anyway. Maybe if it becomes cumulative they will punish the dealer in some way.
So much for sales professionalism, huh?
Yes, it’s just not your turn to do anything. The tax is paid. If the dealer wants more, it’s their problem. You negotiated a price, they wrote up the papers wrong. You paid the negotiated price and they took care of the DMV and taxes. Would you have bought the car if the price was $2700 more? I doubt it. As a general rule, the person writing up the contract is responsible for errors like this, especially when you aren’t a professional writer and reader of contracts yourself.
I just called Toyota to document that I was contacted by the dealership, but as Murphys Law goes, Toyota’s system was down, so they listened to me and typed it up to put into the case file when it was back up. I am going to call again later though to make sure, hopefully its working by then.
I am still reeling at the tone/attitude they took with me, like I was the Devil himself and it is all my fault this is going like it is.
I really don’t want to pay them at all now either… I will see if they actually send me a request for the payment, anyone want to make any bets on that? He did hang up on me afterall…so professional…
I am a little paranoid I worry they might try to hurt me some other way…
They can’t legally try to hurt you in any way because the onus is entirely on them. If they illegally try to hurt you, then there are legal remedies you can take advantage of.
After this reaction, I guaran-damn-tee that this was an intentional scam. There is no way the finance manager missed the part about sales tax. Especially since they scrawled “NA” in the box. They read the line. THEY said NA. Then they lied and tried to intimidate you into giving them money you don’t owe them.
They were trying to get you to think you were paying a lower price for the car, and then scam you for more money later. It probably works a lot of the time and makes them a tidy bit of money from gullible people. Fortunately, it didn’t work with you.
I would file a complaint with the attorney general at this point - and also call local TV news stations - especially if one of them has one of those investigative units - they’re always looking for a business to shame. Not only because you’re not the only one this dealership is pulling this crap on, and they should be stopped, but also because now you have it on record that you complained about this attempted fraud, should the dealership try any more shady crap with you.
When an honest business makes a mistake, the business absorbs the cost. About 17 years ago, I was in charge of having a new boiler installed at the church I attend. The company that got the job realized after giving me a price, that we did not have three phase power in the building and the circulation pump on the boiler was a three phase motor. The company honored its bid and ate the cost of a phase converter.
@the same mountainbike–I honestly don’t recall seeing anything in the newspaper about them being indicted, but–clearly–they should have been. I just don’t know the answer to that question, although I suspect that they went to the slammer eventually.
I am basing that opinion on the fact that all of their dealerships (I think that they owned 3 or 4, in various parts of the state) are now owned by other people and have new names.
Congratulations.
It sounds like the tax is coming out of the salesperson’s pocket… as it should.
Perhaps someday he’ll wake up and realize that it’s expensive to be an A******!! Or, maybe not.
shadowfax, regarding the scam, that’s possible but it will not work every time; is too risky.
To the OP: I am going to be contrary; am still not convinced that the original post is not a troll post. Any salesperson and most other adults know that you can’t get what you want if you have to resort to browbeating someone over the phone. The salesman’s approach to rectifying the situation totally lacked a professional approach as described including lying about the title. Your story about contacting Toyota to find their computers not working adds to my doubt. You did not say that they will get back to you which then puts you under no obligation to report your feedback here.
No car dealer who wants to be successful in order to not only make a profit but to preserve the reputation and customer good will of the business and the money invested in it would permit a salesperson to treat a customer as has been described as the word will certainly get out to the public and the owner of the dealership. The OP has left the dealership unnamed and I remain doubtful that the OP’s story happened. It is simply too unlikely that a contract to sell a new car would get out of the door with N/A in the sales tax blank in a state that obviously has a sales tax with at least two people in the dealership, the salesman and the finance manager having a chance to review it.
Before we signed new car buy contracts, we went over them one line at a time to review the contract for errors in either the dealer’s or our favor. The salespeople or the finance person could breeze right on through the contract line by line. They know these contracts very well with complications including correct original price, factory rebate, dealer rebate, trade in value, title fee, documentation fee, financed amount if any, sales taxable amount and sales tax.
Why would I want to make this up? It is an ongoing dispute and I did not want to disclose the name of the dealership. I might after its resolved, if that is even possible now.
That was my exact question for the people that I finally spoke to about it at the dealership. How the hell did this get past them? I have not yet heard anything from their business manager. Nothing has appeared in any official, on paper, form yet.
As for the form, I was handed it and asked to look it over on my own and it all looked right, the total was right around what I had in my head as the price to pay. All I got before arriving in the business manager’s office was a copy of the invoice with the price on it (before tax, fees, etc.) were added in on the actual contract.
This should of been the most cut and dry sale imaginable. Full cash payment, no trade in, agreed upon price before I got there. And then over a month later this happens…
Also, btw, the part with Toyota, they came right out and said to me, that there really is nothing they can do other than keep track of disputes, they can’t step in between me and the dealership…I bet you didn’t know that…I sure didn’t.
I plan on calling them one more time soon to make sure my comments as to the proceedings were put into the case file.
The manufacturer is correct. They are a franchised dealer for Toyota but are responsible for their own sales. Again, as long as the state is satisfied, stand pat.