Refusing dealership financing - can I lose my car/down payment?..

[recordaras]

Hopefully this is the right subforum for my question, and apologies in advance for such a lengthy post! 

I am currently purchasing a 2015 Honda Fit through USAA's Car Buying program. Saturday night we went to one dealership to purchase, filled out all their paperwork aaaand turned out the car we had come to buy was not on the lot and had most likely sold earlier that day. That was quite disappointing, but we had a really good offer through another USAA partner, so we went straight to them. The VIN I was interested in was supposed to come in the next couple of days, and we decided to go through with the purchase to "secure" the car. I wrote a check for $6K and they ran my credit card for another $2K as the down payment, which left me with about $9K to finance.

Everything was fine, and then we got to the finance guy. They ran my EX (or was it EQ?) auto score which came back as 721, and told me that while "it didn't qualify for top tier since it wasn't over 730" they would be able to get "within half of a percentage point of USAA's offer", which was 2.24%. Now, this is my first time buying a car, so I took that as 0.5% LOWER than USAA, which seemed like a good deal. Then we get to the guy's office and after the whole Simoniz spiel he starts handing me stacks of papers to sign and keeps pointing right to the dotted line, however I take the time to read what is actually on them and notice that he is getting me to sign a 60 month loan (when I was going to do 36 months) with a local CU at 2.99%. When I point that out it quickly turns into 2.74% - "within 0.5% of 2.24", however I still refuse to sign anything because why should I pay them even a penny over what I can with USAA?? We leave after signing just the bill of sale (I refused to sign an empty car loan form, and yes, they actually offered that), and then everyone including the sales guy is clearly upset and frustrated with me because "I thought we had an agreement".

This is a major Honda dealership in MA. Is there any way they can actually refuse to deliver the car as agreed and keep my down payment? If I hadn't written a check I would be much less concerned, but they didn't allow credit card payments over $2K. I'm probably overthinking this, but overall it has been such a stressful experience that I'm expecting the worst. 

Also, is the finance part always such a nightmare? I had done plenty of research, but nothing to prepare me for the finance guy turning red and almost throwing paperwork at my face...

[sccredit]

Find another dealership.  The Tier 1 line with a 730 score is BS

[recordaras]

If I had any idea that the finance part would be like that I would have been out of there in a heartbeat... But now that they have my down payment I don't think I can just walk out on them? 

[sccredit]

You have not taken delivery of the car?  You have not signed a purchase contract?  

If thats the case you have not bought a car.  You can call them and tell them to refund your credit card and give you your check back.  If they claim they have already deposited your check tell them you will place a "stop payment" on it and dispute with your credit card.  

[recordaras]

Thanks for your replies, sccredit. I have not taken delivery since the car is not on their lot yet, but have signed a bill of sale which I assume equates to a purchase contract? 

I am normally so careful about these things, so it's even more frustrating to be in this situation. Our biggest mistake was to go to dealer #2 right after dealer #1 with the false sense of urgency that just missing out on the car you were just going to buy creates. Lesson learned here, but [insert smiley banging head against wall].

[sccredit]

Bill of Sale means nothing without the RISA and delivery of the car.  Call them and tell them to refund your money.

Always be patient when purchasing a car, the dealer wants you to feel urgency.

[Hoya08]

If you like the car and feel you have a good deal, finance through USAA instead of the dealer.

[ojefferyo]

Bill of sale means nothing, it's when you actually take posession of the car and sign the final paper with all the terms on it will it be official. Get your money back from those scumbags.

[recordaras]

Thanks again for all your advice. On the one hand if I can just stick with USAA financing and never see those people again I think I'd prefer to keep the car - the price is quite good, and with the hassle we've been through (we've been trying to buy a car since early November) I'd really like to get this over with. Not to mention that I'm probably the most unconfrontational person you'll ever meet, so anything that requires dealing with angry high pressure people terrifies me. At the same time I can now see even clearer just how sleazy they have been, and that they definitely do not deserve our business. 

They did confirm that if the car did not get there in a reasonable amount of time I could get my down payment back. I think I will give them till the end of the week, and if it's still not there I will use that as an excuse to get a refund and continue the search. They will probably be relieved to be able to sell the incoming car to an easier client anyway...

[sccredit]

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@recordaras wrote:

Thanks again for all your advice. On the one hand if I can just stick with USAA financing and never see those people again I think I'd prefer to keep the car - the price is quite good, and with the hassle we've been through (we've been trying to buy a car since early November) I'd really like to get this over with. Not to mention that I'm probably the most unconfrontational person you'll ever meet, so anything that requires dealing with angry high pressure people terrifies me. At the same time I can now see even clearer just how sleazy they have been, and that they definitely do not deserve our business. 

They did confirm that if the car did not get there in a reasonable amount of time I could get my down payment back. I think I will give them till the end of the week, and if it's still not there I will use that as an excuse to get a refund and continue the search. They will probably be relieved to be able to sell the incoming car to an easier client anyway...

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If you are comfortable waiting a few days for the car and being done with them, do wht works for you.  Sounds like you got a good deal on the car!  Good luck!!