American car center Done what they asked as far insurance vehicle burned and deemed total loss now they want $6000 more. Memphis Tennessee
March 09,2015 my wife and I went to American car center to purchase a car. Everyone was friendly and we found a 2010 Jeep Patriot my wife loved. I traded my truck in on this car plus the first two payments totaling $500 went toward the car. Total of $3000 down. We had full coverage on the car from the time we left the dealer. About 10 months later my wife started the jeep to let it warm up and the jeep caught fire. My wife called fire department and firefighters put it out. The jeep was our only car. Next day I borrowed neighbors truck and drove to Memphis to talk to finance people about the jeep and also on getting another car. Took fire report to them and when I asked about buying another car the manager Danny told me we would have to wait on insurance to be settled. Never heard nothing else from American car center. My insurance company Geico cut them a check less than 2 weeks later for car value. Still no word from American car center. So in meantime I bought another car so my family would have a way to get around. On March 17, 2016 I checked my credit report and now there is a charge off of $6000 on my credit report. I contacted American car center and was informed since I had full coverage insurance I was liable for the remaining balance. When looking back thru paperwork there was a disclaimer for total loss waiver. Since I was fully covered they said it didn't concern me it was for people who didn't have full coverage. It seems when you do the right thing by having insurance you were be be better off without it. I will never refer anyone to this car dealer no matter what their situation is.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Robert
Irvine,California,
USA
A few things..
#4Consumer Comment
Fri, March 18, 2016
First of all just about every State in the US requires Insurance on a vehicle, but they generally only require "Liability". If you finance a car the lender will require additional insurance which is "Comprehensive and Collision". This is commonly known as "Full Coverage". However, Full Coverage does not mean that they will cover you for the Full Value of the loan.
When an insurance claim is paid, they pay it based on the value of your vehicle at the time of the loss. And one fact about cars is that they lose value. There is also a deductible tied to your insurance policy. This is the part YOU are responsible for. Now, the higher the deductible the lower the cost of your insurance. So a policy with a $500 deductible will cost you more than a policy with a $2000 deductible.
Now, if you have a loan balance higher than the insurance pays off YOU are resonsible for the difference.
So for example, if your loan balance at the time of the claim was $15,000 and your car was worth $10,000, but you had a deductible of $1000. Your insurance company will pay the loan company $9000. This leaves you with a balance to pay of $6000 that you are legally responsible for.
Now, if you have GAP insurance that pays this difference, assuming you have made all of your payments on-time. As if you have paid late it will not cover any late or delinquent payments.
So all of this comes down to that you need to read your paperwork and what you signed. If you have proof that you have GAP insurance and they are refusing to cover it then you may need to get an attorney. If you don't have GAP insurance then you need to go through the paperwork again and make sure that you are being charged correctly(again an attorney may be adviseable).
Interest.
#4Author of original report
Fri, March 18, 2016
How am I'm being charged for interest over a four year term when I only had the car for about 11 months. I understand if I went the full four years and had to pay interest but the cash payout should have been a lot less. Plus when the car burnt my wife contacted American car center and the lady she talked to Cassandra pointer told her once our insurance paid out what it was worth that American car center gap insurance would cover the rest and our lease would be complete. Now a month later the managers over the finance dept are saying they don't have gap insurance. American car center is nothing but a big ripoff and I've asked to talk to the manager four times only to be told he would call me back. I'm still waiting on that call back.
Jim
Florida,USA
This Is How It Works!
#4Consumer Comment
Fri, March 18, 2016
The insurance covers the value of the CAR one second before destruction. Not replacement value. Paying that value amount DOES NOT pay off the contract as most of the time, the principle plus interest is more than the value, which is called being upside down in the deal. In other words, you owe more than the car is worth. If you put little down, financed for a very long term and had a high APR, the amount you owe after the value of the car is paid, can be substantial. There's nothing new about this, nor is it illegal or unethical. You avoid this by putting down a larger amount and not financing for a unreasonable amount of time. Gap insurance sometimes is advisable.
NO RIPOFF HERE -- Complainer was upside down in the deal.