Attorney General warns of car dealer 'yo-yo' sales scam

[CarDealerCheck]

SEATTLE - When Tim Petersen finally figured out a plan that would allow him to buy a Ford pickup truck, he was thrilled. But things soon fell apart.

His dealership said they couldn't get him the deal they originally quoted, and that his monthly payments would be another $60 a month.

"I told him I'm not going to be able to afford this. Maybe I should take my truck back and find something that will work for me. And they told me they had already sold my vehicle, so I felt obligated to sell the contract since they had already sold my vehicle," said Petersen.

"They're stuck. Their trade's been sold, they have no wheels. What are they going to do? They're going to sign another contract. That's bushing," said Mary Dobdell of the Attorney General's Office.

And it's against state law, but it happens to plenty of drivers, some of them getting slammed with astronomical interest rates - as high as 30 percent.

"What the dealer is supposed to do is within four working days, if they cannot get financing for the consumer, they're supposed to go back to the consumer, I've got to unwind the deal, here's your trade-in back, here's your money back," said Lobdell.

And then, do another deal if you want.

Lobdell offers the following tips:

- Do your homework and know the current interest rates before heading into the dealership.

- If you can, get pre-approved financing.

- You have the right to walk away after four days if things aren't working out. Don't feel pressured to sign that contract.

- Take your business elsewhere if you don't like the dealer's tactics.

- And if bushing is going on, make sure to file a complaint with Attorney General's Office.

"It's not cool. It costs people a lot of money, and someone who doesn't know about it can be taken advantage of," said Petersen.

The Attorney General's office says dealerships will often sell trade-ins within 24 hours. So, in order to undo a deal, the dealer must give the buyer the trade-in value of the car, in cash

Source: www.king5.com