Can a car dealership keep making a consumer wait for a loan approval for 2 months?
Question Details: My husband and I "bought" a new truck 2 months ago. We do not have great credit, and we had an old car to trade in. The dealership approved us on the loan together with $3,000 down. I am a commission only contract worker and he makes an hourly wage. Now, literally two months later, we still do not have a loan finalized. We get about 2-3 notices per week from lenders saying we were denied, our credit has been hit with 27 hard inquiries, and the trade in car has never been paid off (and that lender keeps calling!). The dealership keeps coming up with excuses and asking me for paystubs, which I have never had and provided tax returns instead. Last week they said we had been approved (again) but that we needed to put down another $1500. Today they called asking for paystubs, again and when I told him I did not have paystubs, the dealership finance person hung up on me. We just want to know if we have any protection here? There is no loan, we paid $3,000 on it, we are paying insurance on it even though there is not a lien holder, and we don't know what to do. We feel like taking it back, but don't know if we can.
You need to carefully read the purchase and loan agreement for the vehicle that you and your husband "bought" in that their terms and conditions control the obligations owed to you by the dealersip concerning the vehicle and vice versa. If the purchase was contingent upon you getting a loan for the vehicle within a certain period of time and the time has passed, then possibly you can cancel your purchase of the vehicle.
In hindsight, you should never have taken possession of the vehicle until you had an approved loan. I recommend that you consult with an attorney who practices in the area of automobile law for him or her to review the documents in connection with the vehicle's purchase.
