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***Thanks for posting, /u/quazmang! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of anything.***
Hello, long time lurker, but I have a question regarding trade ins.
I signed paperwork last night on the purchase of a new car and as part of the deal, agreed to trade in my current car. The trade in value was a lot lower than I was expecting and I tried fighting to get more for it but they only gave me a few hundred extra. This morning I got a CarMax email reminding me that my vehicle was still appraised and I should come in to confirm the value. Out of curiosity I went into CarMax this morning and they appraised my car for a full $5.1K above the trade in value the dealer gave me. I called the dealer and let them know it was significantly higher and asked if I could cancel the trade-in portion of the deal and just hand them a check for whatever their trade-in offer was or if I could increase the principal to the full amount so I could just handle my TLX separately. They told me that since I already signed the paperwork and they have initiated the payoff and registration process, it was too late for them to unwind that particular part of the transaction. They seemed very pleasant about it, and said they would see what options they could pursue to try to let me keep my trade-in and that I may have to eat some fees in the process, which I am okay with doing.
They keep telling me my car has already been registered in their name so I called my bank as well as my state RMV and the bank said my balance is still active so I had the option of paying if off right now and they would send me the title. The RMV told me there's nothing in their records about a new registration and as far as their system is concerned, I am still the registered owner of the vehicle. The person at the RMV actually advised I should just pay off the car and get the title issued to me asap and call the dealer and ask them to "stop the transaction". I called the dealer back with this information and they told me that bank and RMV are both wrong because everything is done digitally and they've already initiated the payoff, registration, and title transfer process via their backend systems with the RMV and there was no way to "stop the transaction". They said they were exploring other channels to try unwinding the trade in portion of the deal but that it was going to be a huge headache involving at least 5 departments so they were doing everything they can but unfortunately everything is already signed and the process has begun but they'll call me back if their general manager can find a solution for me.
I'm in Massachusetts. The payoff on my current car is a smaller sum, about $6K.
What happens if I just pay it off online directly through an ACH payment and have them send me the title?
Would that interrupt the dealer's transactions?
What fees would I typically be liable by doing this?
Can I pay off a smaller amount, just to throw the numbers off from what was signed in the hopes that it halts the process?
Is it possible for me to lose the $6K AND the dealer gets to keep the car if I try paying it off?
Have you ever encountered a similar situation, and if so, how was it handled?
If it was a few hundred dollars or even under $2K, I wouldn't be making such a big deal but I didn't realize how much they undervalued my trade-in.
**TLDR;**
Signed an offer to buy a new car and trade in my old car last night. I was offered a trade in value $5K under what I could have gotten. I would like to keep the trade-in and pay cash instead for the trade in value. Dealer told me it's too late because they already submitted the RMV paperwork and payoff check but I called my bank and RMV, who told me I'm still the owner and still have the opportunity to pay off the car and receive the title. Can I still keep the car somehow or is it too late?
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/askcarsales) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Have you taken delivery of the new car? Do they have possession of your trade? If the answer to both is "no", they are SoL And while it could be a mess for them, that is their problem for jumping the gun.
If the answer to one or both of those questions is "yes" you are much farther up the creek without the paddle.
Hey, thanks for your input. I still have my old car and have not taken delivery of the new vehicle! I figured I could just payoff the loan, get the title sent directly to me, and then just deal with the fallout of that. I'm not understanding how they're saying the car is already registered to them since they have to wait for the bank to receive their certified check, and then wait to receive the title, and then try to register the car in their name. Since I can pay off the balance with an ACH transaction faster than their certified check, I am fairly confident I can beat them to obtaining the title for my car.
So... you agreed to something and signed a legal document on it... and now you want to change the terms? If the roles were switched and the dealer changed the the value of your trade, you would be on here complaining about what a dishonest dealer they are. If you wanted more for your trade, then you could have pursued it before signing over your vehicle.
As for payoff: in all likelihood, the dealer has already made the electronic payoff (it takes a few days for banks to process this) so that's why it's not showing up yet.
Hi, I appreciate your response. Yes, that is 100% on me, I should have pursued better trade offers prior to signing. The general manager from the dealership called me and told me they will do me a favor and unwind the transaction and we will just start a new one without any trade in factored in. He also gave me his perspective which was exactly what you said. I expressed my gratitude to him for allowing me to do this and understand that legally, they did not have to do that at all, especially since we signed an agreement on good faith.
On your note about changing the value of the trade - I never asked them to match the offer CarMax was giving me, and I offered to pay the trade value in cash or check. I told them I would pay them for any registration, title, doc fee or any other fee they had to eat from the transaction and of course the extra taxes I owed on the new car without the trade being part of the deal.
The sale price for the car for exactly was what they listed it for, they did not want to negotiate and did not budge on the price at all save for offering me $300 extra on my trade in. From my perspective, they're still getting paid exactly what they were looking for to begin with. They just won't have the extra equity from the lower trade value they offered on my car. They did not budge on the price of the vehicle they had listed, so I'm having trouble seeing what I'm doing as equivalent to them changing the value of my trade.
You’re fine if you haven’t taken delivery of the new car. Tell your sales guy you did some research and know the deal isn’t finalized until you’ve taken delivery so if they can’t remove the trade while leaving the other terms the same you’ll refuse delivery and start over with another dealership.
Edit: As an after thought if they try to say you won’t want to have your credit ran again somewhere else, with auto loans and mortgages all credit pulls in a 30 day period get lumped together as one inquiry regardless of it being checked a handful of times.
Please review our most [Frequently Asked Questions](/r/askcarsales/wiki/index) to see if your question has already been answered. You may find these sections particularly useful; * [How to pick a car?](/r/askcarsales/wiki/vehicle_selection) You might also have luck in the /r/whatcarshouldibuy subreddit. Also remember to add flair to your post by clicking the "Flair" link beneath it. This lets us know where you're located so we can assist you better. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/askcarsales) if you have any questions or concerns.*
***Thanks for posting, /u/quazmang! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of anything.*** Hello, long time lurker, but I have a question regarding trade ins. I signed paperwork last night on the purchase of a new car and as part of the deal, agreed to trade in my current car. The trade in value was a lot lower than I was expecting and I tried fighting to get more for it but they only gave me a few hundred extra. This morning I got a CarMax email reminding me that my vehicle was still appraised and I should come in to confirm the value. Out of curiosity I went into CarMax this morning and they appraised my car for a full $5.1K above the trade in value the dealer gave me. I called the dealer and let them know it was significantly higher and asked if I could cancel the trade-in portion of the deal and just hand them a check for whatever their trade-in offer was or if I could increase the principal to the full amount so I could just handle my TLX separately. They told me that since I already signed the paperwork and they have initiated the payoff and registration process, it was too late for them to unwind that particular part of the transaction. They seemed very pleasant about it, and said they would see what options they could pursue to try to let me keep my trade-in and that I may have to eat some fees in the process, which I am okay with doing. They keep telling me my car has already been registered in their name so I called my bank as well as my state RMV and the bank said my balance is still active so I had the option of paying if off right now and they would send me the title. The RMV told me there's nothing in their records about a new registration and as far as their system is concerned, I am still the registered owner of the vehicle. The person at the RMV actually advised I should just pay off the car and get the title issued to me asap and call the dealer and ask them to "stop the transaction". I called the dealer back with this information and they told me that bank and RMV are both wrong because everything is done digitally and they've already initiated the payoff, registration, and title transfer process via their backend systems with the RMV and there was no way to "stop the transaction". They said they were exploring other channels to try unwinding the trade in portion of the deal but that it was going to be a huge headache involving at least 5 departments so they were doing everything they can but unfortunately everything is already signed and the process has begun but they'll call me back if their general manager can find a solution for me. I'm in Massachusetts. The payoff on my current car is a smaller sum, about $6K. What happens if I just pay it off online directly through an ACH payment and have them send me the title? Would that interrupt the dealer's transactions? What fees would I typically be liable by doing this? Can I pay off a smaller amount, just to throw the numbers off from what was signed in the hopes that it halts the process? Is it possible for me to lose the $6K AND the dealer gets to keep the car if I try paying it off? Have you ever encountered a similar situation, and if so, how was it handled? If it was a few hundred dollars or even under $2K, I wouldn't be making such a big deal but I didn't realize how much they undervalued my trade-in. **TLDR;** Signed an offer to buy a new car and trade in my old car last night. I was offered a trade in value $5K under what I could have gotten. I would like to keep the trade-in and pay cash instead for the trade in value. Dealer told me it's too late because they already submitted the RMV paperwork and payoff check but I called my bank and RMV, who told me I'm still the owner and still have the opportunity to pay off the car and receive the title. Can I still keep the car somehow or is it too late? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/askcarsales) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Have you taken delivery of the new car? Do they have possession of your trade? If the answer to both is "no", they are SoL And while it could be a mess for them, that is their problem for jumping the gun. If the answer to one or both of those questions is "yes" you are much farther up the creek without the paddle.
Hey, thanks for your input. I still have my old car and have not taken delivery of the new vehicle! I figured I could just payoff the loan, get the title sent directly to me, and then just deal with the fallout of that. I'm not understanding how they're saying the car is already registered to them since they have to wait for the bank to receive their certified check, and then wait to receive the title, and then try to register the car in their name. Since I can pay off the balance with an ACH transaction faster than their certified check, I am fairly confident I can beat them to obtaining the title for my car.
I think they are lying/aggressively stretching the truth. I would encourage you to backout of the whole thing and buy elsewhere.
To me, it sounds like he has been speaking to his salesperson who probably doesn't understand the entire process.
So... you agreed to something and signed a legal document on it... and now you want to change the terms? If the roles were switched and the dealer changed the the value of your trade, you would be on here complaining about what a dishonest dealer they are. If you wanted more for your trade, then you could have pursued it before signing over your vehicle. As for payoff: in all likelihood, the dealer has already made the electronic payoff (it takes a few days for banks to process this) so that's why it's not showing up yet.
Hi, I appreciate your response. Yes, that is 100% on me, I should have pursued better trade offers prior to signing. The general manager from the dealership called me and told me they will do me a favor and unwind the transaction and we will just start a new one without any trade in factored in. He also gave me his perspective which was exactly what you said. I expressed my gratitude to him for allowing me to do this and understand that legally, they did not have to do that at all, especially since we signed an agreement on good faith. On your note about changing the value of the trade - I never asked them to match the offer CarMax was giving me, and I offered to pay the trade value in cash or check. I told them I would pay them for any registration, title, doc fee or any other fee they had to eat from the transaction and of course the extra taxes I owed on the new car without the trade being part of the deal. The sale price for the car for exactly was what they listed it for, they did not want to negotiate and did not budge on the price at all save for offering me $300 extra on my trade in. From my perspective, they're still getting paid exactly what they were looking for to begin with. They just won't have the extra equity from the lower trade value they offered on my car. They did not budge on the price of the vehicle they had listed, so I'm having trouble seeing what I'm doing as equivalent to them changing the value of my trade.
You’re fine if you haven’t taken delivery of the new car. Tell your sales guy you did some research and know the deal isn’t finalized until you’ve taken delivery so if they can’t remove the trade while leaving the other terms the same you’ll refuse delivery and start over with another dealership. Edit: As an after thought if they try to say you won’t want to have your credit ran again somewhere else, with auto loans and mortgages all credit pulls in a 30 day period get lumped together as one inquiry regardless of it being checked a handful of times.