Dealership never took my down payment, what would you do?

It is not illegal for them to change the amounts on the contract to make up for the down not being paid and they don't have to have you resign. They have POA's for all those scenarios. They will ask first and if you don't pay, they will redo the finance contract and your payment will go up. You either had to sign a "One pay agreement" or they just forgot to ask for it. Shame on the F&I guy. But either way, you will pay it. The law is on the dealers side in this. You knew you had to pay it.

 

And just like opinions, everyone has different ethical "lines in the sand". What you may deem offensive, or unethical, may not be a big deal to someone else. Especially from other countries.

 

When I bought a Ranger in 04, the dealer-owner's son sold me the truck. When I first called and offered invoice he agreed and I asked if there were any other charges other than tax and license. He said no. When I came in and picked up the truck, I asked again and he said no. When he filled out the paperwork he made a $1700 mistake in my favor. My wife and I both saw it and I told my wife I would wait until we were in the final office to tell them. When we got to that office the guy told me there was an additional $75 charge for a transfer tax. I told him I had been told there was no additional charges and he basically said tough luck. Then he discovered the signed contract that was $1700 off. Oops for them! I finally cut a deal where I paid the $75 and the $1700 but I got a Ford truck liner tossed in. That was worth about $125, so them lying to me ultimately cost them that amount.

 

The line is simple and doesn't move, regardless of excuses made.

It's dishonesty and lying. Or just call it stealing. Taking/keeping something that isn't yours.

I understand it's not a big deal to some folks. The world is filled with thieves.

 

The hour of cruel and unusual punishment would have had me think long and hard about the decision.

I would have waited longer. Let the fuckers squirm.

 

Disclaimer: I've worked in just about every sales capacity for various dealerships over the past 7 years.

Bah, I would have waited until they asked for it. It's quite likely if you got confused and put an extra amount down you didn't have to, they would keep it. I know every dealership I've ever worked for would most certainly keep it. The excitement and confusion of the car buying process is something we utilize to profit on transactions.

If it's a very busy dealership selling a couple hundred new cars a month, with a lax office staff, it's very possible that 5 grand could have slipped through the cracks. If they didn't call me by months end, no sweat off my back and I wouldn't feel bad about it in the slightest. If they did contact me and ask for it I'd pay. You probably would not be legally obligated to, I'm not sure what would happen if you said "I paid that in cash" and played dumb. Certainly the business manager who did the deal would be fired, and they'd try and intimidate you into paying.

However, they will not be "squirming" like people here are saying. At any time, a high volume store will have several unfunded deals driving. Kicked contracts, missing stipulations, bad trade titles, it's a nightmare, but nobody is squirming. I've had a customer at one store I worked at in a similar situation, when he came in for service we sat him down and said you're not getting the vehicle back. He could have called the cops, maybe they'd give the car back, maybe they'd say it's a civil matter and not get involved. This is a very gray area.

 

I believe most finance office rooms at the dealerships now have cameras. Can't get away.

 

There is one dealer I would not lose sleep over this happening to, not that I'll go back there. A Chevy dealer who lied bold faced to me about my 06 Colorado and a secret warranty on the head that let go at 70K..which somehow I found online in under 5 minutes yet the dealer knows nothing about.

I do believe in honesty but knowing this particular place is outright deceitful it wouldn't break my heart to see them get their due.

 

The sales contract is the law maker in the dealership. If it's stipulated in the contract then it is law. That's all any court will look at. You will only get a receipt for the down when you submit it. If you can't show a receipt, then the court will say you owe. Period.it works the other way as well, if your copy does not reflect additional monies and theirs does. You win because the redid it after the fact. I have been in all situations when I was the F&I guy at dealerships.

 

In reality, there are only two choices here.
#1, You become the bigger man, contact them and pay what you owe.

#2, You don't contact them and when they contact you, you tell them to F off and that you paid them cash.

I am not one to believe in karma etc etc. I would basically have waited until they called me and made them wait until I pay them at my convenience. This is merely payback for the crappy way you were treated by their sales department.

Rest assured they would have caught it in finance and contacted you. It could have been a week or several months, but they would have realized eventually.

 

to me integrity and honesty you should not leave the dealership, But once you leave means you looking for excuse just saying

 

Honesty is one of the basic human virtues, or lines in the sand, of all mankind, all religions, and even those without formal religion, no matter where they are from or what their circumstance. Deep down inside every sane person recognizes the virtue of being honest, but nearly everyone chooses to rationalize their way around it for personal benefit at some time in their life. Some people indeed rationalize their lack of honesty so often that they self-declare it to an acceptable practice. In no way does that make dishonesty justifiable. In the end, no-one can come up with a suitable argument for being dishonest.