
Originally Posted by
tabfever1
I bought a new car on July 28, 09. When I bought this car the dealer asked if I could put money down. My answer was if I have to but don't want to. Nothing was said after that about the money and I was in the dealership for 6 hours. Two days later I had to go back in to drop of the extra key for the car I traded in and again no one said anything to me about money being put down.
On Sept. 11 I received a phone call from the sales person saying that he talked to my boyfriend a few weeks ago and he said he would bring the check right over. The thing is my HUSBAND is in Iraq and has been there since Feb. 09. He did come home on leave but left at 5:30 in the morning the same day I bought the car. So it is impossible for anyone to talk to him unless he calls them. The sales man did nothing but call me a liar and never really explained to me what was going on so I hung up on him and call the sales manager. I had told him what had just happened and then he explained to me that I signed a promissory note stating that I would pay them $1000.00 on the day I bought it. I told him that if I signed the note then I guess I have to pay it but that I did not have the money that day. We set up a day for me to pay it but then I wanted to see the note because I do not have it. I received a certified letter today 9-21-09 stating that I have to pay it. The date we came up with is the 15th of Oct. When I asked to have a copy of the note sent to me he said he would but after 2 hours of waiting for the fax I received another call from the Finance dept. saying that they have no note but I signed the Buyer's Order and that it states I have to pay it. The only thing that it states is that I paid $1000. For a down payment. I told the Finance dept that I was not paying it without the note and she in return said then they are going to take me to court.
I don't feel that I should have to pay this money when no one stated that I had to pay it until 46 days after the fact and there is no promissory note said that I would pay it.
This is the 5th car in 8 years that I have bought and I have never had any problems until now. Other dealers have put on the buyers order that I have put money down but never did.
My ? Is can they do this. Can they really take me to court for this and do I have to pay this money.
I assume when you say "Buyer's Order" that you're referring to the Purchase Contract. If the Purchase Contract states that you paid money down, then you need to pay the money.
When a dealer writes up a purchase contract, they need to deduct any down payment you made on the vehicle. This will give them the final balance which is being financed. I don't know what type of dealers you are frequenting that would write in a contract that you gave money down when you didn't because they would essentially be screwing themselves out of whatever money they said you paid but did not.
Another thing that concerns me about your post is that when the dealer contacted you about the down payment and said you signed a promissary note, you agreed to pay the down payment:
I told him that if I signed the note then I guess I have to pay it but that I did not have the money that day.
How do you not remember if you signed a note or not? Don't you have copies of what you signed at the time of purchase? If the purchase contract stated that you were going to put money down on the vehicle, then you didn't need to sign a promissary note because that would just be a duplicate of what you already agreed to pay on the contract.