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Rock Solid Auto Center unwilling to return my deposit in full Mesa Arizona
1. My husband and I were having problems making the payments on my 2005 Chevy Astro van and State Farm Bank was unwilling to help us so we decided we were going to turn the van over to them.
2. We needed a car to replace the soon-to-be repossessed van, so we went to Rock Solid Autocenter to buy a car.
3. We bought (financed) a car through through Rock Solid Auto Center and drove it off the lot at approx. 9:00 p.m. Thursday, November 13.
4. The following morning, I had buyer's remorse, and I asked my husband to call State Farm Bank one more time to try to work things out on the Astro van payments.
5. My husband called State Farm Bank, and they were willing to work out the payment problem with us, suspending payments until December 8, and extending the loan. We accepted that solution.
6. At approx. 3:00 p.m. on Friday November 14, I returned the car my husband and I had purchased the night before to Rock Solid Auto Center, and before I even had a chance to explain why I was returning the car, one of their employees approached me and told me that my husband had signed the wrong space on the sales contract so that contract was not valid. I was relieved when told that because I wanted to return the car anyway.
7. The sales manager at Rock Solid Auto Center was reluctant to cancel the sales transaction. I spoke to my husband on the phone, and he informed me that the lender said they would release us from the lien if we couldn't work out the disposal of the vehicle with State Farm Bank. My husband called me again about 10 minutes later, confirming that he spoke to the lender and explained that we were going to continue paying State Farm Bank and were going to keep the Astro van so the Rock Solid Auto Center's lender released us.
8. I explained to the Rock Solid Auto Center's Sales manager that one of his employees told me the sales contract was invalid because my husband's signature wasn't on it, and that their lender was going to call him and admit that they were releasing us from the loan.
9. The sales manager took the call from their lender, came back and told me that the sale was cancelled, but that our deposit was non-refundable because we spent 5-6 hours with the salesman, they had to reinspect the car for damage, and there were fees which he could not clarify.
10. None of the paperwork I was given states that my deposit is non-refundable nor mentions any fees upon returning a vehicle.
11. I filed a claim through the Visa department at Wells Fargo Bank to attempt to get back the $402.00 deposit, but was told there is no guarantee that I will be able to get it back. It will take 10-15 business days.
Laurel k. xxxxx
Mesa, Arizona
U.S.A.
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1 Updates & Rebuttals
Rock Solid Auto Center
Mesa,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Rock Solid Auto Center Response
#2UPDATE Employee
Fri, November 21, 2008
We are always upset when a customer leaves our lot unhappy, regardless of the situation, but we feel that we need to present the full story here as well. The first point to make in response to this statement is the fact that our Sales Manager has repeatedly offered the customer her money back, minus a fair amount retained to re-inspect the vehicle for damage, as well as cover our document and processing fees. As most any dealership would tell you, this is more than fair. We have had situations before where a customer wants to take a voluntary repossession on their vehicle after substantially damaging it, and not wanting to pay the repair fees. This is why we must re-inspect, test, and if need be repair every vehicle that happens to come back. The customer makes the misstatement that "...our deposit was non-refundable..." which is not the truth. We're thankful that this website affords us the opportunity to be heard as well, so we are not the victims of simple half-truths and incorrect statments. What the customer must recognize is the fact that A) We are not in the business of renting vehicles, we are a car dealership. And that B) Arizona is not a state that allows car buyers the opportunity to act upon "buyer's Remorse". Attorney General Terry Goddard states on his website (http://www.azag.gov/consumer/AutoPurchaseBrochure.pdf) that "Arizona does not have a three-day right to cancel a car sale, take time to do your homework." Buyer's Remorse is not a valid reason to get out of a contract, and even though the customer signed the contract in the incorrect margin, it does not make it invalid. There is obvious intent present that the customer had intended to willfully finish the car sale, and just made a simple mistake. Unless, of course, they intended to make the error fraudulently, which we don't believe is the case, as they signed the other stack of paperwork correctly. As such, the finance company that they purchased through has every right to pursue the situation as a voluntary repossession. In order to help the customer out, they have decided against that route. This leaves Rock Solid in a precarious position though, because again, we are not in the business of renting vehicles. We do have to pay our sales associate for the lost time, as the customer states, and we do have to pay our technicians to re-inspect the vehicle. We have offered the customer back the majority of their down payment money in an attempt to part ways peacefully with the customer. We just need the customer to be reasonable in what they expect from us as well. The reason none of the paperwork explains how money will be handled if the car is returned is because it is not supposed to be an option. It is simply handled as a repossession. Arizona law does not require dealerships to provide contingency plans in case customers change their minds. Since their finance company is choosing graciously not to pursue the customer with a repossession, their company loses nothing from it. Rock Solid on the other hand, loses potential sales on that vehicle while it's in the customer's possession and also while it's in reconditioning again. We lose our Sales Associate's time, and we lose the sale over the customer changing their mind. If you were to purchase a vacuum cleaner at Target and clean your house with it, and then decide you would rather keep your old vacuum cleaner instead, you cannot simply return it with no strings attached. We have made an offer to the customer, and feel that it's more than reasonable. We hope that the customer is able to see this, and we are able to part ways amicably.