Just noticed extra dealer fees. What can I do?

I purchased a new vehicle from a dealer 2 weeks ago. I was re-examining the paperwork tonight and noticed extra charges on finance total labelled "finance charges". The charges total thousands of dollars. After googling it, these appear to be bullshit padding fees dealers add in to make up the difference on the "great deal" they gave you. When talking financing, these fees was never mentioned verbally. It's listed on the signed paperwork so I know they will tell me I agreed to the contract. It's definitely my fault for not looking more closely at what I was signing. I let my guard down as we were talking financing and I'm pissed at myself for not noticing.

I'm going to call the dealer tomorrow to talk about it. The dealer is obviously being incredibly unethical but I've signed a legal document. Is there anything I can do?

 

nah you signed it and agreed to it. Gotta learn how to read everything before signing it. Especially when it comes to a couple dozen grand. Live and learn.

 

You're kind of SOL, you signed the papers and it's clearly stated on them, did you not notice the payment amount or total, basically just signed away? Look at it this way, you learned a valuable lesson moving forward.

 

I just let my guard down. I have never heard of the "finance charge" scam before. I didn't know they could add that on at that phase of the transaction. I told her that I was pre-approved for financing through my credit union but if they could beat the rate I would finance with them. We talked about rates and she was able to beat my credit union (barely) but never spoke about the additional "charges" it would cost me. I know, still my fault for not looking closely.

 

Sucks man, world would be a better place if people treated each other different but unfortunately not the world we live in. You could always write Toyota (I've done this before and got a crazy response from the dealer after Toyota reached out to them).

 

Finance charges?? It costs money to borrow/finance a vehicle.

 

Did you actually take possession of the vehicle?

Edit: BBB might be able to help

 

This is a great idea, thank you. If talking to the dealer doesn't go well, and i'm sure it won't, I'll do this. What was the dealer's response in your case?

Yes, I've had the vehicle for 2 weeks.

I know, right? It's such a transparent scam. I feel like an idiot for not paying better attention. I'm usually very paranoid and diligent about these types of situations which is what kills me. I know better.

 

Wondering if this is serious lol. So, it costs money to borrow money?

 

Believe it or not...

 

"Finance Charges" are bullshit because loans have an interest rate already which is how lenders get their beak wet. They're going to tell me "that's what it cost to secure you the interest rate" but that's bullshit. She knew I was pre-approved for a loan through my bank without any "finance charges". She knew if she pointed out the extra charges that I would just use my bank instead.

 

I purchased on a Friday, was unhappy with the deal, went in Saturday to see about unwinding it, sales manager made up bunch of excuses in regards to their 7 day exchange policy, wrote Toyota that night, Tuesday get a call from dealer's Customer Service Manager who I guess can trump the Sales Managers upset that I made them look bad to Toyota and how can they fix it, problem solved. Its really gonna be if the dealer cares or not. For that scenario the dealer was a high volume I'm talking like 100 Tacomas in stock at anytime dealer and numerous yearly Presidents Awards from Toyota, so it mattered, some smaller dealers may not do sh*t.

 

This is very encouraging. Thanks again.

 

No prob, good luck!

 

Just out of curiosity. How's your credit?
Only reason I ask is I had a similar creative fiance charges when purchasing my 03 when in my early 20s. My credit was sub par, but the excitement of being approved for a new vehicle caught me off guard.
The dealer actually called me and said they had a better rate then originally signed on, and all I needed to do was come in and sign new loan forms. Turns out this is a common practice.

 

Finance charges are typically the interest cost of your loan.

Finance charges applied to a car loan are the actual charges for the cost of borrowing the money needed to purchase your car. The finance charge that is associated with your car loan is directly contingent upon three variables: loan amount, interest rate, and loan term.

 

oh damn never heard of an exchange policy, quickly read through all the paperwork they gave you and that you signed. If there's an exchange policy or something get this fixed quick. Hoping for a good outcome.

 

Some high volume dealers will do it, mine was 7 days / 300 miles, but had to be towards another new vehicle. Hell, Carvana does it.

 

My credit score is high 700s

Are you suggesting that I paid the interest over the life of the loan up front? The "finance charges" are close to 10% of the total sale amount.

 

Good luck OP. Hope you get this resolved.