Argh! My dealer is trying to charge me extra!

[trvlrschick]

When I put in my order for the FFH, I asked for the EXACT amount I would be paying. Taxes, title, license, EVERYTHING. I was given a reasonable number, and I agreed on it. I signed a paper stating that that was what I would be charged. Come time to buy it, he showed me the same paper, but with a new price for the car - LOWER, because they'd messed up the taxes so they wanted to make sure my numbers still worked out. I agreed. I went back, signed all the paperwork with the finance guy... and didn't read it that closely, because I had just been shown how much I'd be paying, so I expected them to honor it.

 

Now, three weeks later, he calls and says that my financing check was short by $750. The check was for exactly how much I was going to owe, calculated by the amount I was given minus my down payment.

 

I argued, but he's determined that I underpaid. I don't know how he messed up the docs, but he obviously did and now is trying to make me pay the extra. I think he might have put the original selling amount, not the lower amount because of the screwup with the taxes.

 

Also, I just noticed they added a BS charge for a "tire recycling fee," which in MD is $1 PER TIRE, and they charged me $224. What the heck is that.

 

I'm still fighting, but probably I"ll lose because I signed the sheet without reading it thoroughly. Teach me to trust car dealers. :rant:

[hermans]

You signed all the paperwork before the car has been actually delivered?

[trvlrschick]

I signed a purchase order, with an agreement to buy the car at a certain price, everything included.

[hermans]

They have changed the terms of your signed agreement. Either make them stick to it or walk away. Myself...I would walk away and call the bank and them the deal is cancelled and then go find a reputable dealer.

[jeff_h]

This is the same dealer where we bought we wife's Energi, the only thing I saw upfront was that they did NOT list the freight cost in the online price of the car (most dealer web sites that I have checked online have this included, and I believe the Ford B&P site also has it) - so I had to look closely for it.

 

Other than that, they charge me a bit more on the estimated registration/tags charge that they sent off to the VA DMV, however I got a check back from the dealer a few weeks later for about $25 (I guess once the transaction with DMV was complete).

 

I agree with hermans in the above note, sounds like their mistake and they should eat it -- but it wasn't anything related to the freight charge noted above, was it?

[trvlrschick]

I finally figured out what it was. The guy we signed the paperwork with charged me MARYLAND sales tax, not VIRGINIA sales tax, which is where the extra $750 comes from. I'm not paying Maryland sales tax when I live in Virginia!

[hybridbear]

So now are you all good?

 

I finally figured out what it was. The guy we signed the paperwork with charged me MARYLAND sales tax, not VIRGINIA sales tax, which is where the extra $750 comes from. I'm not paying Maryland sales tax when I live in Virginia!

[Fastronaut]

Glad it all worked out for you. In Maryland the $224 would have been $256.

 

Title Certificate Fee = $100

Class A Registration Fee = $135

Electronic Title & Registration Fee = $17

Tire Recycling Fee = $4

[jeff_h]

Glad it all worked out for you. In Maryland the $224 would have been $256.

 

Title Certificate Fee = $100

Class A Registration Fee = $135

Electronic Title & Registration Fee = $17

Tire Recycling Fee = $4

 

Well that got me curious so I checked my purchase order, had tax of 3% (went up to 4% for VA in July) and $145 for reg/license fee and that was it.

[Fastronaut]

 

Well that got me curious so I checked my purchase order, had tax of 3% (went up to 4% for VA in July) and $145 for reg/license fee and that was it.

Maryland is an expensive state.

[acdii]

Tire recycling fee on a new car?

[hermans]

Ya, it's that way in PA. In your state it's $2.50 per tire. I'm sure it's on you sales contract.

Edited December 20, 2013 by hermans

[Fastronaut]

Yup - you pay in MD upfront. Someday, those new tires will be recycled ... ugh!

[trvlrschick]

Not sure if it's settled, but I suspect it is. He didn't return my call, and when I emailed my salesman he talked to the guy, and emailed back that, yep, that was the error. I think the finance guy is too embarrassed to return my call.

[elle]

Just curious-- I am from Maryland and I lived in VA for a while. My recollection is that, in Virginia, you had to pay a yearly property tax on your car. Am I remembering that correctly? If so, do they still have that tax? IIRC Maryland was expensive in some ways, but there were no yearly expenses or property taxes, which made it much cheaper and easier to own a car over the long haul. I think MD initiated emissions inspections after a while, but when I lived there you only had to have a car fully inspected if you were going to sell it-- not so in Virginia.

Edited December 21, 2013 by elle

[jeff_h]

Just curious-- I am from Maryland and I lived in VA for a while. My recollection is that, in Virginia, you had to pay a yearly property tax on your car. Am I remembering that correctly? If so, do they still have that tax? IIRC Maryland was expensive in some ways, but there were no yearly expenses or property taxes, which made it much cheaper and easier to own a car over the long haul. I think MD initiated emissions inspections after a while, but when I lived there you only had to have a car fully inspected if you were going to sell it-- not so in Virginia.

 

Oh don't worry that's alive and well, it's called personal property tax -- just paid $928 last month for my two cars, every May and November I get that nice little bill. It's based on the book value of the car so if you like to have a nice car you'll pay a few hundred bucks every 6 months, if you instead drive a hoopdie and spend your money elsewhere, well then you'll pay about 50 bucks or maybe less.... each state has their distinct way of collecting revenue (income tax, sales tax, property tax, personal property tax, etc) and this is our little slice of happiness. However our real estate property taxes are lower than many other states so again every state has its own niche.

[elle]

Thanks; I was just curious, as that struck me as so odd when I first moved there :)

[acdii]

People here gripe because our plates went up $2. After reading how some states charge tax on a car that you already paid taxes on, $2 a year is nothing! However, our property taxes are awful! Mine is nearly $7K a year on a little over 5 acres out in the middle of nowhere. A good chunk of it is wasted on the education system that is wholly broken, and needs to be demolished and built on a better business standard, and not this horrid administrative system.

[hermans]

People here gripe because our plates went up $2. After reading how some states charge tax on a car that you already paid taxes on, $2 a year is nothing! However, our property taxes are awful! Mine is nearly $7K a year on a little over 5 acres out in the middle of nowhere. A good chunk of it is wasted on the education system that is wholly broken, and needs to be demolished and built on a better business standard, and not this horrid administrative system.

Be happy you don't have to pay taxes where I live. I have a piece of property (5 acres) in the middle of nowhere with an old barn that I can't even tear down because it's "historic". Taxes $9,500/year and nobody lives on it. Here, you can swing the proverbial dead cat without hitting a historical building. No offense to cat lovers, I have a few as pets. And then, don't even talk to me about the San Diego area.

Edited December 21, 2013 by hermans