Complaint Review: Scott Evans Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

This dealership pre-approved my mother for a low cost, used vehicle they had advertised.  I drove her down to look at the vehicle and perhaps for her to purchase it.  I stayed in my truck while she went to test drive and speak with the sales person.  After a couple of hours I see her come back out and get into a NEW Jeep Renegade and go for a test drive.

Some more time passed and a sales person came out to my truck and asked me to come inside.  He said they needed some info from me.  I declined.  Some more time passed and the finance manager came out and said to me that my mother would need a co-signer or she could not get financed.  She had no money to put down.  She gets a disability check each month for about $1,300.00 and that is her entire month's income.  I work in Landscaping.  I make $15 per hour, so I bring home about $450 per week or less than $2000 per month. 

She has bad credit and I have bad credit.  She was living in a motel at this time - so basically homeless.  I went inside and they explained to me that they needed my income added to hers in order to have a high enough income to get the loan.  They said they also needed my credit, even if it was not good, in order for her to get the loan.  So, if I would co-sign they could get her into a Jeep that had a big rebate and they would put the amount of the rebate as her down payment but would put it was a cash down payment on the documents and that we needed to tell the finance company that we had paid cash that was saved up for the down payment.  I signed some papers, thinking I was co-signing for her. 

They said she had given them her banking info and the payment was being auto deducted each month.  I didn't get any paperwork - they gave it all to my Mom.  She drove off in the Jeep and I left in my truck. Everyone seemed happy.  Then I start getting past due notices mailed to me and notice that there is only my name on the notices and the Jeep is past due by a couple of months.  I ask my Mom what is up (we don't live together, so I had no idea there was any problem with her payments).  She blows me off.  Fast forward...I learn from word of mouth that my mom has dumped the jeep and is in a new car and the jeep is impounded. 

I registered for an account on Chrysler Capital and sent numerous emails because come to find out, I didn't co-sign - they submitted my as the borrower and only me.  They combined both of our income as mine and only submitted my info for the loan - my mother was not on the loan at all.  So, they lied about my income, lied to me about the loan, and when I requested the loan docs they would only send me the truth in lending page which said the loan's APR is 19% and monthly payment was $552!!!!!  PREDATORY LENDING AT ITS FINEST!  I have requested the paperwork for this deal from the dealership and finance company numerous times with no success. 

This type of lending practice is criminal.  They wanted us to lie about our down payment (which we didn't have one) and according to the truth in lending page, the vehicle had a sales price of $24,088.00 and once financed the total cost was $49,404.50!  They were charging more in interest and fees than the vehicle actually cost.  I have informed the dealership where the car is impounded at so they can go get it and I will have a repossession on my credit and won't be able to get financing or credit for at least 5-7 years because of this and as of today, they have yet to get the car out of impound and it has been in there for over 50 days and has a storage bill of over $2,000.00. 

They told me to just be patient and let them repo it on their time.  There is no way either myself or my mother could afford this vehicle on my salary or her disability payment or BOTH.  It is insane that this kind of thing is allowed to happen.  We are not the only people being scammed by this dealership...if you read the online reviews there are tons of people with the same or similar stories as well as past management employees stating they were instructed to do things that were illegal and when they refused, they were terminated.  I hope this dealership will be reviewed by the attorney general of GA for violations of consumer protection laws.