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 Dear
Terry,
I am having a big problem with my car. I wanted to purchase a new car and I found a good offer with Kia. They were offering a 2007 Kia Spectra for $200 a month.
So I went in and talked to the salesman. He said that is what they could offer. I realize I made a mistake, but then I signed all of the paperwork and no one went over anything with me. I kept asking what the payments would be and they kept saying it will all be explained when the papers are mailed to me.
So I drove off with the car and a month later I got the bill -- it was $345 a month! So I am paying $345 a month for 60 months, that equals $20,700 total for a car that is only worth $13,000.
I did not make the first payment and I returned the car to the dealership. I told them I did not want the car and I was going to work it out with the finance company. They were very rude and yelled at me.
Then about an hour later when I got home, the car was parked in my driveway, which means someone from the dealership drove to my house and they had to drive about an incredible rate of speed because they beat me home by about 30 minutes.
What can I do? Can I get out of
this deal, since I didn't make the first payment?
They clearly advertise the same car for $199 a
month. It seems like this a clear example of bait
and switch. Please advise me as to what I can
do and what options I have.
-- Patrick
 Dear
Patrick,
You fell for a standard trick of new car advertising -- the offer of a low monthly payment that has a lot of fine print. You can have any car for $200 a month if you put enough money down or finance it for a long period of time. Sure, they could have sold you that Spectra for $200 a month, if you had put about $5,000 down.
Is it bait-and-switch? I think so, but your state laws probably won't see it that way because the dealership will pull out the original ad and point to the fine print that mentions a huge down payment.
You don't have many options here.
You signed a contract. Did it have all the blanks filled in? If it did, somewhere in there were the terms of the loan. If there were blanks, you might get a lawyer who could argue it wasn't valid.
The sorry lesson here is that under no circumstances should anyone drive a car off the lot without a clear understanding of what it's going to cost and in possession of a valid contract.
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