Please explain/help with car buying situation.

[Kwan*Yin]

Stats:trading in a car that is worth $5000 but I owe $7800 on still. Wanting to buy a 2005 Toyota Sienna with 8 seats, 58k miles and in good condition and it's listed at $15,995. The dealership offered to give me the $5000 for a trade in and then they would add in $2800 to the loan. Which comes out to be around $18000 total for a loan. I also have $3000 for a downpayment. So this brings it down to a $15,000 loan. THey gave me the car said everything looked great and they would have the contracts ready on Monday.  On Monday they said the bank wouldn't finance it but they were still shopping for another bank. They said they were looking for a $20,000 loan and since the car was older the banks weren't interested. I asked where the $20,000 was coming from and I got weird answers.Today they tell me that I am approved for a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan listed at $20,000 and I was going to get a 2.9%apr. I haven't even seen the Dodge. What am I missing? Why would I be approved for a new Dodge for the same price as a 2005 Toyota that I can't be approved for. Help, advice, insight?? I'm just a single mom so they prey upon me. I need some good advice as to how to approach this! BTW I really need the 8 seats over a newer Dodge.

[TiredX2]

Well, it is possible to qualify for a new car loan over a used because they are going with a different lender.  That said, just because you are qualified does not mean you need to take the loan. 

Is there some reason that you would not qualify?  If you want/need the 8 passenger vehicle, then simply tell them you are interested in that, and only that, vehicle.

[thriftyqueen]

I say walk away, scratch that run away from that situation.  If they can't give you a straight up answer as to why you would need to finance $20,000 for the Toyota when you have it figured out at $15,000 something is not right.  Find another dealership that is more trustworthy.

[Drummer's Wife]

That stinks!  I would definitely want the '05 Sienna over the '10 grand caravan.  It sounds like the bank doesn't think it's worth it to finance the Toyota, but will do 20K for the Dodge?  I'm not sure, but are they giving you the option to back out since it's not what you left the dealership with? Since you have a down that is equal to the difference in the trade-in value and what you owe on your loan, it seems odd that they wouldn't finance you. 

[Kwan*Yin]

Thanks, i'm feeling pretty confused here. Used being the operative word. Sienna's are hard to come by here where I live and there is not one single available used Sienna in a 5 hour radius. Ridiculous. I really would prefer a Toyota and I really need an 8 seater. At this point giving back the Sienna and getting back my old car and waiting around for another Sienna but at a different dealer sounds best. But the dealership already took my other car as a trade in and have it torn apart fixing and cleaning it. Ugh. I feel a bit stuck.

[Chamomile Girl]

Well that they have cleaned up your old car is not your problem, its theirs. Do NOT let them strong arm you into getting a car you do not want! The whole situation is ridiculous. I'll bet if you walk in there and say "give me my car back, there is no way I want a Dodge over a Toyota" they would find some way to make it work out.

[crazyms]

Yep that is ridiculous. I guess they will finance a new vehicle but not a used or at least not a used over a certain age so that could be why. If there is another vehicle you would be okay with then I'd look around if not then just tell them no and get back your car. It's their problem that they can't get the agreed upon deal. You have no obligation to do something else. I agree with the pp that if you just go in and tell them NO then they'll probably try to find a way to make it work. Another thought though is this through the dealership? Is there maybe a finance company or something in the area that you can get financed through and just buy the Sienna anyways? If they are saying you approve for a $20000 loan at 2.9% then you should definitely be able to get financing somewhere else. A finance company may be more reasonable about financing a used car since they will go by the value of the vehicle anyways. I'd call around and see.

[crazyms]

Oh another thing... I know you said that there are no other Sienna's near you but I'd call a couple of the dealers in the area (new and used) and ask specifically for that vehicle. You'd be surprised what these morons can come up with if they think it's the only way they'll make a sell. When I bought my first car I actually found a vehicle in my price range with about 12K on it, checked at another dealership to see what they had in my range. They brought out about 4-5 cars one being the same year make model even color as the car at the first dealership only it had 30K miles on it. I said okay that I'd just get that car at the other lot because it was the same car, same price less miles. They assumed then that I only wanted low mileage so they 'found' another car they could 'work into my range' with only 6K miles on it! So yeah they just wanted to make a sell but no way would they have let me get that car at that price if I hadn't been walking off their lot. Always worth a shot!

[zebra15]

For your financing issues banks are funny right now about lending money.  Car loans have limits and variables to play with.  An 'older' car, which a 2005 model is to a finance company, may not be able to finance for the 15-18k that you need plus the negative equity rolled over, even if you bring the 3k to the table.(thats really zero down)   When buying a car its ALWAYS better to walk in with your own financing.  Get financing from your own bank, credit union etc.

There is really no way for the dealer to know you are a single mom unless you tell them.  You could be married and buying on your own, your DH could be living out of town, etc.   The last time I did a car deal I turned into a real witch.  Yeah that means I ran the show and the guy at the dealer looked like a fool but I really didnt care.(maybe I looked like a fool)    Now most dealers also have websites and you can do things via email etc.  My last deal went something like "don't call me until you have xyz at $xx,xxx.  I dont care how you get to that number but DO NOT call me until you are there.  That number is the total I am paying".  Word must have gotten out because it took 2 dealers until I got what I wanted.

The fact that the dealer has your car cleaner and repaired isnt your problem, they can give it back to you.  They should not have started to work on your car until the deal was complete.

In retrospect, as a single mom, I'm not sure I would want a car payment that huge!  I know its a Toyota but 18k on a 6 yr old car is a lot of money. If you take a 3 yr loan the car will be 9 years old when you are done paying for it.(plus the payments are $500 before interest)

[velochic]

It was their responsibility to make sure the financing was guaranteed before they started taking your car apart.  That is NOT your problem.  They CAN finance your Toyota.  They are being dishonest.  Tell them you want to the Toyota or you want your car back.  Be strong.  Don't let them tell you they can't do that.  If they they push you, tell them you'll have your lawyer contact them to iron it out.  Don't accept a vehicle that you neither want nor meets your needs.

[Kwan*Yin]

So my personal bank would only finance me for $13000. It's the local credit union that I'm not a member of that will give me the 2.9%APR. And my personal bank is the one that I just finished paying off a 4 year car loan with. Weird, huh? It sounds like financing a newer car would be better in the sense that the interest rate would be lower and in 5 years when the loan is done the care isn't so old. I'm going to call the local dealerships and see if any Sienna's are around. If I drive 5 hours away I could get one. Not an easy task for me though with all my kids. I was looking at the the dealerships website and they have a 2010 VW minivan. I forget the model name but is VW still a real good vehicle? It's the same price as the dodge but only 32k on it.

[Kwan*Yin]

http://www.vw.com/en/models/routan.html

[tinuviel_k]

Wait.. so they took your car, took it apart, and had you drive off with the car you were wanting to buy BEFORE the contracts were signed?! And now that the financing isn't going to work out they want you to buy a more expensive new car? Um... this is beyond shady. There is NO way I'd buy that Dodge or any other car that they suggest.

What exactly are they going to do if you don't buy a car through them (at this point I sure wouldn't!). They say they can't give you your old car back: are they going to pony up $5,000 in cash? You can play hard-ball: if they won't give you cash and they can't get the financing that they promised you they can lower the price of the Sienna so that the financing is approved. It is their fault that they dismantled your old car before they actually owned it!

[Kwan*Yin]

I got the Sienna :)

[Chamomile Girl]

Congrats!!

What went down?

[Kwan*Yin]

They got me financing for the Sienna but after seeing the contract details I was very disappointed. 8.49 apr and an additional $1000 down was wanted and then with $399/mo payments. On a 2005??!! No way. If I get the 2009 VW minivan with 30,000 miles and still under factory warranty i get a 2.5 apr and only $300 payments. I don't want the VW though. They just got a Honda Odyssey in  and it's still under warranty with 40k on it. I think I might shoot for that. Either way I'm giving back the Sienna because as much as I love it I don't not want that huge of a car payment on such an old car. Toyota or not!

[Drummer's Wife]

Wow, $400 a month for a 6 yr old vehicle?  Siennas aren't that nice. LOL!  You should be able to get a brand new one for about that much (though maybe your loan was for a shorter amount of time?)

I wonder how much the Odyssey will be.  Hope it all works out for the best. 

[Kwan*Yin]

No it was for a 5 year loan! A new car is lower payments and lower APR but I just looked at the 2011 Sienna's and their new model is awful. The 8 seat was shrunk down and I couldn't fit the car seats in. Now if I could find a 2008,2009 Sienna that would be perfect. But not a single one around. I'm going to check out the Odysessy tomorrow. The 8 seat Odysessy is doable.

[zebra15]

How many car seats do you have?

Before you go 'car shopping' get bank financing.  You need to know what $$ you have to work with.