Mother (84) traded her car in on a new model - the sticker price was 21,530 but on the contract they charged her 24,495.
No one at the dealership was able to explain the mark up and refuses to do anything about it. This has happened in Albany, Georgia at th Nissan dealership.
Ha, then you have the whole problem of trying to sell your old car yourself. I had a car that still ran OK, I had just finished putting $500 worth of parts on it, but I wanted something I could depend on not to break down in the middle of nowhere so decided to sell. It took a couple of months to finally get a buyer to agree on the $1.5K asking price, they show up with a certified cheque for $1K. I should have called their bluff but I just said take it. Live and learn.
Twice in my life I've bought a brand new car. Both times it was an absolutely miserable experience. They stick you in a tiny, airless room - hotbox you, tag team you - try to sell you add ons you don't want or need. Once I had a trade in - older car, not in great shape but still a decent car overall. They quoted $700 trade in - wrote the figure on a piece of paper - it was really low but I agreed just to be done with it all. When the final papers were typed up it showed $100 trade in. So I ask - the guy grabs the handwritten quote and says "oh no, that's not a seven - that's a one". What a bunch of crooks! We took our trade-in home and sold it ourselves for $2,000.
Seems to me if everything was on the up and up the sales manager would have no problem going over the contract, point by point if necessary. I truly hate having to buy a car because there is just so much BS built into the process... high pressure tactics, extra costs for everything from automatic transmissions to A/C, low-ball trade in values. And make sure everything negotiated with the salesperson is actually written in the contract and initialled or it is conveniently forgotten and all that talk is for naught. Oh, but they'll throw in the floor mats!
One thing I could see happening is if she traded in her car at the same time she bought. Something stupid some dealers try to do is pad the price of the car in negotiating the trade-in value. So they say, "I'll give you $5K on your trade-in." But you want $7K. So they say, "Well, I can give you $7K, but I'll have to increase the price of the new car." I've had someone try that one on me once. Pissed me off, since it was so doh. Apparently it works on some people, though, since some dealers continue doing this.
If you can't get a good explanation I would go to the BBB (Better Business Bureau) or to your local legislator's office or congressman. The invoice should have the purchase price, taxes, title and tags, transportation costs, etc listed separately so if the sticker price doesn't match the purchase price - without the add ons, then you have a case.) Cheating car dealers are not unusual. My husband and I picked out a car and they insisted we talk to their "finance guy" who would give us a "good deal". The guy talked down to us like we were stupid, and in the end quoted us a 9% finance rate. We knew better, and said we would be back. We went to our local credit union and got a loan for 3 1/2% and carried the check to the car dealer and paid them the purchase price (plus our trade in) We then reported the finance guy. A few years later we bought another car and that guy was no longer there. With these dealers, the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing, or if they do, they pretend not to.
The Georgia sales tax wouldn't have been that much. Tax, title, and tag shouldn't have added that much. If the numbers don't add up, talk to the person who sold her the car to get an explanation. If it looks like he was just lining his/her pockets illegally, report it to the county's APS to see what they think. There are scum bags out there who will take care of the confusion that many elderly people feel. I wish you or someone similar had been there with her when she went to buy the car!
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Who was doing the asking your mother or you? Who signed the contract
Sticker prices are suggested prices. Did she pay 24,495 ... could be...
Cheating car dealers are not unusual. My husband and I picked out a car and they insisted we talk to their "finance guy" who would give us a "good deal". The guy talked down to us like we were stupid, and in the end quoted us a 9% finance rate. We knew better, and said we would be back. We went to our local credit union and got a loan for 3 1/2% and carried the check to the car dealer and paid them the purchase price (plus our trade in) We then reported the finance guy. A few years later we bought another car and that guy was no longer there. With these dealers, the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing, or if they do, they pretend not to.