Overhaulin'

Can you beleive this happened regarding a vehicle and getting ripped off this badly?

So someone sees a car for sale on a car lot, it says $3,500 So this person goes into the sales office, the next thing they know it says $8,500 on the loan paper work. But for whatever reason they still sign it. It's for a Chevy Cavalier 2001 z24. A few months later the engine and transmission both blow up on the freeway. The owner of the car calls the finance company, the finance company says you have to get the car fixed. So the owner spends $1,600 on a used engine to be put in, Stupidly the guy who put in the engine says after he gets the money ' oh it still won't run because it also needs a new transmission' He NEVER mentioned that. The owner then decides if they had knows that was the case they NEVER would have put in the engine, but just bought a brand new car. Then the finance company calls the house every day bugging the owner and their whole family, pretty soon they work a scheme up to trick the owner into bringing their car to a transmission repair shop, saying that the repairs will all be done for free via the finance company, when the bill for the transmission to be put in it comes to around $2,500 and the finance company and the transmission shop are both calling the owner saying that the owner has to pay it or they will impound the car and ruin their credit. Etc.....so the owner pays for that. Then a few weeks later the owner has no money by now to pay any of their bills and so the car is repossessed, finance company sends a letter saying they sold the car for $200 and that they also need the loan balance of $4,000 . Why didn't they jsut have the owner pay off their loan balance instead of wasting it on fixing the car? And what's worse is every friend, every relative that the owner asked for advice no one was smart enough to help in any way shape or form, or to figure it out?

Public Comments

1. I am sorry this happened, but unfortunately there are thousands of people this happens too. And the worst part of this is it is all legal. Far too many people rush into things, are persueded to sign paperwork and they don't know what they are signing, and end up in this kind of situation. Nothing in this world is free! And for those who think it is are not being smart. When buying anything, especially a car, you need to do a thorough job of doing your homework. Get the car checked out, check out the dealership, and be very diligent about what you are signing. And the last, but foremost thing is the ability to say NO, and walk out.
2. Th story made me cringe. Unfortunately everything they did was fully legal. Being in the business, I feel bad for you, but hope you learned to never trust anything unless it is in writing, and try to protect yourself in every way. A thorough check-out by a trusted mechanic prior to the sale might have alleviated this whole mess. Good luck.