What is my dealer up to?

This may be the case but for me I would like to make sure there is no transportation damage before I'm married to a specific VIN . After the VIN is assigned if there is damaged sure they will fix it but then your stuck with a repaired new truck . I work at a dealership bodyshop and it does happen .

 

Nice bird

 

Well, my dealership put the same pressure on me -- although in my case, the truck had arrived and I just happened to be 1500miles away at that time in a remote location camping. I thought about it and asked a friend too, and then was like "Hey, if I'm buying a new truck and I know what product I'm buying because I've already test-driven one etc, then why not just sign on the line?" and my friend concurred. So anyway, I agreed to sign the contract without seeing the truck, but then they told me it had to be a physical contract. No way I can sign a physical contract when I'm on a road-trip. Then they asked me if I'd just wire them the money without any signed contract, just like the Nigerian princes -- are you kidding me? Anyway, not sure what changed, but they agreed to wait till I was back from my road-trip. Promptly went and picked it up 3 days after I returned. Funny thing is, they took an entire 2 weeks to actually take my money...
I have no idea what incentive structure results in such shoddy nonsense.

 

At least in the state of California, I believe that there is a maximum amount that a dealer can ask as a deposit to hold a vehicle for you. But I don't think there's any provision that states that a contract is valid only if the car is driven out of the dealership lot by the owner. Given the crazy market at present, I think it's almost inevitable to pay a deposit.

 

I agree with the above. I was sort of relieved that my dealership respected my deposit and timeline -- perhaps this is the negotiating power of having gone through a broker, who obviously wants the truck to go to me so he can get his commission, and at the same time, the dealership has a long-term interest in keeping relations with the broker good. A+ grade to my broker.

 

This! ^^^^
From people that have/do see the behind the scenes at stealerships, only red flags with this scenario. But, catch 22 is this current market where the stealership isn't nailed down to a buyer , either.
It's a choice, but also remember, it's a luxury decision not a necessity. After all this turmoil, new trucks will still need to be sold. So, protect ya neck and live to buy another day IMO.

 

Based on my personal buying experiences, the contract to purchase the vehicle always includes the a pre-delivery inspection and acceptance. If an issue is found during the inspection, you can opt out of the purchase.

Again, if you don't feel comfortable then by all means don't proceed. And I fully understand people being distrustful of dealerships. But the ones I have dealt with had good reputations and I never had a problem.

 

It's a shame not everything is explained on the contract...until it becomes relevant "after the fact". An experienced salesperson with integrity (and that's a big expectation of mine) would make you aware of certain aspects of the contract so as not to hurry the sale in order to get their commission.

There's an angle being pursued in the reasoning for signing ahead of time before taking delivery of ANY vehicle...is all I'm saying.

Ed

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So there would be no problem selling it then making this unnecessary.

 

You are married to the VIN number if you process the purchase agreement because sales tax would be collected and registration processed.

 

Strange. I signed an intent to purchase along with a small deposit before the truck was ready. I then signed docs the day I was picking up the truck.

 

You won't pay sales tax until the vehicle is sold to you with money transaction.

The dealer can not register the vehicle in your name.


Too much mythinformation................

 

Very shady. My local dealership didn’t even cash my check that covered their $1k deposit fee until my truck showed up on lot a month later.

 

That's considerate. I wrote a check for $5K and it was cashed in less than a week. I had a trade-in too so I was a $10K paying customer...they knew I was moving forward with the purchase.

When they found out I had a pre-approved loan, they weren't too happy. The finance guy was nosy and asked what kind of interest rate. I told him less than 2%...I later found out after they ran my credit check, even with an 800+ FICO score, their lowest rate was 3%. I think that torqued them a little.

Ed

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They checked your credit without you telling them to? I’d be pissed with a hard inquiry I didn’t authorize.

 

I'd bet that in the tiny print on one of the many documents they shoved in front of him to sign was an authorization to run a credit report. I doubt a dealership would risk getting caught on a FCRA violation. The fines are pretty stiff.

 

Yeah, it was part of the contract I didn't read.

Next car purchase for my wife, we are coming in with pre-approved loan and specifically telling them not to check our credit.

Ed

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I’m 19 but don’t have a long credit history, 780 with 2 credit cards I have in rotation for my fuel expenses. My plan was to give $20k down and have one of my parents apply for the loan under their name since they’ve both got 800’s too. My dad applied with Toyota Financial thinking he’d get the 2% he always qualifies for but ended up receiving a 4%. He took my $20k, and bought the truck cash. He’s got the vehicle under his name while I pay him my monthly installments. Should be done paying it off in 1.5 years.

 

Does nobody else lock their credit when not using it? When purchasing a vehicle, I've always gotten preapproved w/ a credit union, which required me to unlock my credit w/ 1 of the 3 credit agencies to approve the loan. After approval for loan from CU, my credit was locked again and nobody could run a check against me after that.