Expensive errors by car dealership. How to handle? (long)

[wildcat03]

I bought a used car from a car dealership about 2 years ago. The transaction was easy, and they transferred the registration from my old car to my new (to me) car. In the process, however, an extra number was added to my street address. Unfortunately, I didn't catch this. In many states this wouldn't be a big problem, but my state has auto excise tax. Being new to the state, though, I didn't know this. Thus, my car tax went unpaid until it was 6 months overdue. My car was towed off the street on a REALLY cold January night. I didn't have enough cash to pay my car tax and the towing fee. I was due at work before city hall opened the next day and was working 30 hours straight, so my car sat in impound and accrued a significant storage fee. All told, in late fees and towing fees, this cost me $200. I was tempted to call the car dealership and complain, but honestly I put it off so long that I just decided to drop the issue.

In the mean time, auto interest rates have dropped enough that I figured I should check into refinancing. The best rate when I bought the car was available through a credit union that the dealership had a relationship with. I took out the loan and the dealership did ALL the paperwork. Today, I called to check into the payoff value and they couldn't find my account. It took a few minutes to find out that they had my social security number wrong. I am livid. This is now the second major paperwork error they have made, despite the fact that I paid a $300 "documentation fee." Should I bring this to the dealership's attention? Should I ask for some kind of compensation? What should I ask for?

 

[amc80]

Re: Expensive errors by car dealership. How to handle? (long

Did you read over the documents before you signed them? It seems like both of these errors would have been on the docs you signed...in which case I'm guessing the dealership won't accept any liability.

 

[wildcat03]

Re: Expensive errors by car dealership. How to handle? (long

The documents have my correct address on them. They do not have my social security number on them anywhere. I'm a lawyer's daughter, so I read everything I sign and I definitely remember reading these documents.

 

[amc80]

Re: Expensive errors by car dealership. How to handle? (long

The documents have my correct address on them. They do not have my social security number on them anywhere. I'm a lawyer's daughter, so I read everything I sign and I definitely remember reading these documents.

Then all I can say is yikes. Have you talked to your (lawyer) parent to get their opinion?

 

[wildcat03]

Re: Expensive errors by car dealership. How to handle? (long

The documents have my correct address on them. They do not have my social security number on them anywhere. I'm a lawyer's daughter, so I read everything I sign and I definitely remember reading these documents.

Then all I can say is yikes. Have you talked to your (lawyer) parent to get their opinion?

I haven't. He is recovering from a mild heart attack and we have had a lot of (extended) family stress lately. I don't want to stress him any further (he actually doesn't know about my car being towed/impounded either, I felt so embarrassed by it and like it would make me seem irresponsible).

 

[yssie]

Re: Expensive errors by car dealership. How to handle? (long

Edited - I just read your earlier response, I hope he recovers quickly wildcat! That must be very stressful

 

[HollyS]

Re: Expensive errors by car dealership. How to handle? (long

Did you read over the documents before you signed them? It seems like both of these errors would have been on the docs you signed...in which case I'm guessing the dealership won't accept any liability.

I hate to say that this is true - - being in the car business - - but it IS up to the purchaser to make sure all information is correct. Was the dealership at fault? Yes. I'm not sure, now, since you obviously signed a contract, a buyer's order, and a title application, that you would have a legal leg to stand on, at least from a license and tax standpoint. You could easily have noted any errors at the time of signing. AND, when you first received your registration, you had another opportunity to see that the address was incorrect. Within a very small window, that would still have been fixable.

BUT, it has become passe (for privacy reasons) to put a SSN on the lender's contract. So, you might not have had any opportunity to see that error. However, I don't know if that would be any help to you now in having the dealer take any responsibility.

 

[radiantquest]

Re: Expensive errors by car dealership. How to handle? (long

I know that in MD if you purchase a car and finance it the tax should have been sent away for you.

If you live in PA, but buy in MD. They print out a check for you to take to the tag and title service.

Either way I have to say it was the dealerships fault. As far as the address goes if your documentation has the correct one, but it somehow got messed up that isn't your fault either.

I would be throwing a fit! I would demand that they rectify the situation. I have worked the car business for a while and it would be a huge deal if that happened at a dealership while I was working there. They would have bent over backwards to fix it because it is their responsibility to file the paperwork correctly.

It is the finance managers responsibility to make sure that information is correct, procedure requires that everything be checked and then double checked.

 

[wildcat03]

Re: Expensive errors by car dealership. How to handle? (long

I know that in MD if you purchase a car and finance it the tax should have been sent away for you.

If you live in PA, but buy in MD. They print out a check for you to take to the tag and title service.

Either way I have to say it was the dealerships fault. As far as the address goes if your documentation has the correct one, but it somehow got messed up that isn't your fault either.

I would be throwing a fit! I would demand that they rectify the situation. I have worked the car business for a while and it would be a huge deal if that happened at a dealership while I was working there. They would have bent over backwards to fix it because it is their responsibility to file the paperwork correctly.

It is the finance managers responsibility to make sure that information is correct, procedure requires that everything be checked and then double checked.

Thanks, this makes me feel better. To be clear, the dealership did include the sales tax in the price paid and (presumably) paid it to the state. However, in my state, each town/city has a yearly auto excise tax. You pay a certain percentage of the value of your car yearly in addition to sales tax at the time of purchase. Because the address was wrong, I never received my excise tax bill. Because I had JUST moved here, and because most of my friends kept their cars registered elsewhere I never realized that there was an additional tax to be paid.

I think I may write a letter to the GM of the dealership detailing the problems I've encountered and asking for a follow up phone call.