So I bought a new truck a couple weeks ago (posted about it here) and on Friday I get a call from the dealer saying they gave me the wrong plates so I need to come in. The call just seemed weird, so I had a feeling something was up.

I go into the dealer yesterday and the finance guy says there is actually something else he needs to talk to me about. They submitted the truck as a 16 and not the 17 I bought, so if I want to keep my truck the payment is $250 more, or they can try to get me into a 16 for the around the same payment. My last option would be to give it back. I traded in a lease I had and they have already paid off the lease, my account shows zero and the car was given back to another dealer already. When I mention this the guy says "oh, we already stopped payment on the check". Well, that is bullshit because I'm showing a zero balance, so Acura already cashed your check and it cleared.

I told them I'm not doing shit when I was there yesterday cause I didn't have time. Was told to come back in tomorrow. I'll be calling tomorrow to tell them they can either keep the payment I signed for or take the truck back and figure out how to recoup their money they paid on my lease.

Sorry for the long story, but I've been pissed all weekend.

UPDATE - 2/21


Okay, here is my latest update. I have switched from try to just make it go away and leave with a 16 truck to fuck this I'm going scorched earth on them.

Talked to the finance guy to see where we were with this 16 and couldn't get him to agree that I'm not coming in until the loan was final and I know I'm not driving away with another "loaner". His response was "well we can't tell you where we are at for sure until you come in and sign the paperwork". Also tried to get him to confirm if the check was stopped or not. He is still trying to say it was. Told him if the payment was stopped it will end up throwing a 30 day late on my credit and fees and his response was you should just make the payment and it will get credited back to you.

Tried to explain to him that they were in the wrong here and needed to make it right. That if I wanted to just say no to any deal they had to return deposits and my trade which was impossible to do. The response I got was "well technically it wasn't a trade". My next response was that the law is clear and this is what my attorney has already adviced. As soon as I said the A word he quickly switched to "if we've reached this level then you should give me your lawyers contact information so I can give it to Marco and have our attorneys deal with it.

Of course after not being in the office today Marco was already gone for the day. I'm scanning all of the paperwork tonight to send to an attorney I talked to today that is going to review it. I will wait for him to advise on my next move, but it will 100% not be buying anything from these assholes. I'm in this shit for the long haul now. I tried to make this shit right to be done with it, but now they can fuck off.

Dang. Tell em to foad.

What does the paperwork they gave you when you bought it say?

I have no idea but I would start with the Attorney Generals office.

Does this qualify as bait and switch?

Smells like BS.

Sounds like they fucked up. Make sure you copy every piece of paper they gave you and stop talking to them other then to say you signed the papers and have a nice day.

If you signed a contract for the original price, tell them to pound sand. Not your problem they messed up.

Took two weeks for the dealer to realize his mistake?    

I realize it takes awhile to process paperwork but two weeks seems a bit much.

Consult a lawyer in the morning.

Found a pic of OP:

So, here's the thing. I have the long form that shows my payment and interest rate along with the correct vehicle. However, I also have a rider that basically says the car is a loan until financing is in place. I didn't read that and it also wasn't explained as that, so yes that part is my fault. But, they have already registered the car in my name and paid off my old lease and turned it back in to another dealer as an end of lease.

They are full of shit. Tell them to pound sand or bring your old car back when they come to get the truck.

Sounds like they're going to need to hire an attorney to get the truck back.

Did you finance through the dealership? If so, they are probably going to find a way to kill the deal. If you used another bank, wait until it goes through.

This, the contract is the contract. If you signed it and they fucked something up after, that's on them.

They're trying to fuck you. $250 a month on a 48 month term is $12,000. No one fucked up with an interest rate between a 16/17 (assuming there would even be a difference if both are not used vehicles) by that much. The only thing I can think of is that they were banking on more dealer incentives for moving the car and realized after that they weren't getting them. Regardless, not your problem.

The fact they called you in with a bullshit reason is sign #1. Wanting you to change something to give them more money than what it says on your contract is sign #2.

Call corporate. What they are doing is the car dealership equivalent of those people that send you bills in the mail for shit you don't owe to see if you're dumb enough to send them a check.

It is through the dealer. Supposed to be GM financial.

The salesman sold you the truck for less than they wanted.  Sales manager was probably off that day and shit a brick when he/she got back.  Happened to my friend with a '16 Camero.  They called him and said "The VIN on the paperwork was wrong, so we sold it for $8K less than it should have went for, so if you can just write us a check for $8K, that would be great, thanks."  The VIN story was a lie, the sales manager was pissed that they undersold the car while he was away.  They harassed my friend for a week with every pressure and sob story in the book.  In the end, it was just their loss.

16 vs 17 makes zero difference, it's the amount financed that makes a difference in amount of your payment.

Does the plate you have not match the Vin number? I see zero reason to even continue talking with them if it does but you need to read every letter of all paperwork. Have the smartest financial friend or family member you know also look it all over.

I'm guessing someone isn't understanding what's really going on. Might be you, might be dealer dude?

Fuck all that.

Is the vehicle serial number on the paperwork? If so, tell them you will be contacting the state atty general office. Believe it or not, many of them really do love stuff like this because it makes them look damn good to the public.

Then take all your loan info to your credit union or bank and see if they can finance the vehicle for the amount you originally agreed on minus the lease and any other money down.

$250 more monthly is a SCAM, we're not talking $25-$50 a month here.

I would consult an attorney, and check your states definition of *bushing*. In the state of Washington, a car dealer has 72 hours to have a deal approved by a lender, or you can return the car without penalty - no matter what you may be told. Two weeks? The fuck up is on their end....

This is a fairly common scam at dealerships. Google around for tons of similar stories and what the outcome was for them.

I would venture to guess the dealership has a way out - sadly, these things rarely end well for the consumer.

Does the contract match the vehicle you have?  Does the VIN on the contract match the VIN on the vehicle? 

ETA:  The fact they lied to you to get you to come into the dealership is suspicious.  If it was on the up and up they would have been honest about why they needed to talk to you. 

What does your contract say where you signed?

Also do you have a constable or justice of the peace? They normally can handle somthing like this before you get an attorney involved.

VIN matches what is on the paperwork.

Common dealership scam. Read every single line of every single document they put in front of you to sign next time, otherwise shit like this happens. The finance guy will huff and puff about "other customers",  and "we're not out to rip you off", but that's exactly what they're out to do and it works a lot more often than you'd think when people walk in the dealership with only a monthly payment number in mind.

Does the vin on the invoice match the truck you bought?

I agree. If there doesn't appear to be a contract error they have no case. However,. If there was an error, typically the dealer wins.

Then they are fucked.  Stand firm.  IMHO.

QFT, I had a buddy that had the same thing happen on an 86 Grand National he bought off a lot. They tried like hell and even threatened to repo the car lol. Their story kept changing as well to try and get him in the door.

this.... there is some loophole verbiage  in the paperwork you signed for sure giving all the marbles to the lot.... I would consult with the Attorney or state attorney.... you may be able to play hardball with the dealer with some help due to time elapsed .... you defiantly wont win on your own... worked at the dealer as a lot lizard that crap happened at least once a month.... buyer always took it with no lube.

Seems like there was a similar thread a few months ago. How's your credit op?

After reading all the paperwork again and understanding the rider about loaner only until financing is approved it actually makes less sense to me how they could kill the deal.

They paid off my lease and don't have the car in their  possession, so if I told them to FO how could they even proceed to take the truck back? There is no possible way for them to give me my old car back, or get the money back that they paid off on it. I feel like I have all the power here, but I could be completely wrong.

Does the year and VIN on the contract match the one on the truck?

Sounds like they worked the deal with the incentives for a 16 by mistake

Yep, the ONLY thing number wise I give a shit about when I walk in the door is how much is it OTD. No loan payments, no leasing schemes, no trade in's, nothing. Fvck with me and I'll walk out and go elsewhere. I already know down to a couple hundred bucks at best what I should be paying so don't waste my time and I won't waste yours.

In California automotive dealers have to be bonded by the State.  If they pull something like this you can all the DMV and talk with an investigator.  I'm not sure how it works in your State but you might want to find out who licenses auto dealers and contact them.  Good luck with this, I hate dealing with car dealers. 

This.

Knows about going in with no lube. States he was a lot lizard.

Yep.  Fuck 'em.

One thing about all this Im sure you already know but don't believe a word they tell you regarding the legality of the contract. Start making calls and in the meantime tell them to pound sand, don't speak to anyone besides a floor manager at the dealership and tell him straight up you are going to verify every single thing he tells you with the state AG or DMV and if need be an attorney.

I would park overnight in a garage for a few days as well. Wouldn't put it past them to try and repo the thing to get out of their screw up.

In the end, my buddy got the sales manager to actually congratulate him on getting a screaming deal. There wasn't a thing they could do besides lie their asses off to try and get him to willingly give back the vehicle. 

This is what probably happened. They will have to eat the difference. Were you looking at both 16 &17's? Or the salesperson told the manager
You were on a 16 and they missed it.

Did they also tell you that you can't refi the loan until 180 days or something?  They're likely getting a kickback through GM finance.  I was told that I couldn't refi the GM loan, but I did anyway a week later to get a better rate through USAA, got a nasty call from the finance guy a few days after that.

I'd call GM finance and check the status of the loan, I thought they were approved almost same day, two weeks sounds really suspicious.

Next, look into refi'ing at a lower rate with a credit union or bank (if there's no pre-payment penalty).  If they're trying to fuck you on payments, they probably already did on the rates or other terms of your loan to get more kickback out of GM finance.

Lot lizard, huh?

i'd call a lawyer acquaintance and run it past him

Contact one of those consumer advocates that do segments
with your local news networks. A bait and switch like this
couldn't be good publicity.

". They submitted the truck as a 16 and not the 17".

If so that's just a typo. Easy enough to correct at the DMV. The problem you might have is the DMV send the plate and registration to the dealer for you pick up and they might hold it hostage.  Your loan was already approved and you will be hearing from the bank by mail.

if they got him a plate, all the paperwork was processed.
I think they're full of shit, but with the lease car involved, i'd at least ask a lawyer about it. It may be a scam he's familiar with and can help settle for a little money.

I'd start here.

They fucked up. Don't sign anything. Enjoy your truck.