HELP plz auto buying.

[Anonymous]

Hey guys!! I know it’s late but I need some advice ASAP! I will try to make this as short as possible. So I found a car that I want but it is 3 hours from me so I decided to take care of the process over the phone before having to drive all the way down there just in case I wasn’t approved.

Fast forward I was approved they sent me a purchase/buyers order and they said I have great credit. They said they would hold the car and We made plans for me to come to the dealership tomorrow (Saturday) to finish paperwork. I just got a call now at 11pm from the salesman saying that there are a lot of other buyers interested and that one of them wants to outbid me. Is this even a real thing, I feel like this is a huge red flag and I’m wondering if they can just sell the car to another buyer out from under me. I would be furious as they did a sh** ton of hard inquiries. And then he asked for a picture of my credit card so that he can tell / show the other salesmen that I already put down a deposit. I feel uneasy now. Sorry I tried making this short as possible hope I made sense lol.

[AllZero]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Hey guys!! I know it’s late but I need some advice ASAP! I will try to make this as short as possible. So I found a car that I want but it is 3 hours from me so I decided to take care of the process over the phone before having to drive all the way down there just in case I wasn’t approved.

Fast forward I was approved they sent me a purchase/buyers order and they said I have great credit. They said they would hold the car and We made plans for me to come to the dealership tomorrow (Saturday) to finish paperwork. I just got a call now at 11pm from the salesman saying that there are a lot of other buyers interested and that one of them wants to outbid me. Is this even a real thing, I feel like this is a huge red flag and I’m wondering if they can just sell the car to another buyer out from under me. I would be furious as they did a sh** ton of hard inquiries. And then he asked for a picture of my credit card so that he can tell / show the other salesmen that I already put down a deposit. I feel uneasy now. Sorry I tried making this short as possible hope I made sense lol.

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Follow your gut. 11pm telephone call on a Friday night... Sounds like a sales person tactic. Picture of a credit card? hmmm...

How committed are you on purchasing this vehicle?

I hope you got a good rate, APR?

[AllZero]

@Anonymous   Welcome to the forums. Hopefully, other members can chime in and give you their advice.

[Medic981]

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@Anonymous wrote:
 They said they would hold the car and We made plans for me to come to the dealership tomorrow (Saturday) to finish paperwork. 

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I am not an attorney, but that sounds like an oral contract to me. As for showing your credit card, that sounds fishy, but I have never purchased a vehicle long distance before.

[wa3more]

Find another dealer

[Fico82]

I would go with gut feeling and back out deal . Then call credit card company and cancel that card have them send you a new one with new numbers. Sorry you had to go through all this and all the hard pulls. Now you know to show up in person to a dealer the day that your ready to wheel and deal or get pre approved from your bank/credit union before going to a dealer in the future.

[Trudy]

Sounds like BS, never heard of that.  Is this a reputable dealer?  Used or new? What is your great credit score?

Definitely check your CC and take the necessary steps to protect yourself.  But I would find a higher up and explain the situation and see what they say.  I'd also threaten (whether true or not) that as a result of the tactic (11pm call???) and after a verbal agreement you will be taking your business elsewhere and letting everyone from BBB to Yelp know how they do business.  If you're sold on this car and get a sympathetic ear from someone else who has power, try to negotiate a better deal as a result of this customer service.

Now if this not a reputable company, well they likely won't care.  They have a target market that will still buy from them.  Which leads me to wonder what your scores are and if great then absolutely take your business elsewhere. Heck, even if not, this simply does not sound right but I've never experienced or heard of such a thing.  One thing great scores usully afford you is options.

[Anonymous]

Hey everyone thanks for all your input! I should have been more clear how ANNOYED I was that the dealership called to tell me they had someone trying to outbid me for the car! (like um okayyy don’t we already have a done deal, is that even legal for you to back out of our contract because someone wants to pay more to get the car).

As far as the credit card things goes he explained more clearly that because I didn’t put a deposit down on the car he was afraid that the manager and/or salesmen would sell the car to someone else. (Which again I thought we already had a verbal agreement/ oral contract). Anyways he just wanted to show that he had a credit card on file for me. He did apologize profusely when I got to the dealership last night. Not too worried about an older gentleman who’s been with the company 30+ years stealing from poor me LOL.

It was an 11pm phone call so I was completely thrown off. Yes this is a reputable dealer, a Lexus dealership in Miami. As far as finding this car somewhere else with the same exact features, trim, and colors I wanted (exterior&interior) nearly impossible. So no I didn’t want to back out and go elsewhere.

Now my credit score, it may not be great but hey the finance manager said it was and that I qualified in the top / 1st tier. I thought it was in the low 700 but it was a little over 740. To me it’s great because 2 years ago I had a 400!!!!

Anyways thanks again for everyone’s input and my new baby is sitting in my driveway! All blacked out with black and red guts Range Rover Evoque. He is beautiful LOL.

[Trudy]

Congrats.  Glad it all worked out.

[AllZero]

Congratulations on your car!