Do I have to return my new car?

Question: I bought a brand new car over a month ago.  I thought everything was completed, but someone from the dealership’s finance department called me today and said that I need to come back in and put more money down.  Can they do that?

Buyers who finance the purchase of a vehicle at a dealership can choose to locate their own financing or submit a credit application at the dealership, so that the dealership will locate a lender.  In Georgia, dealerships are permitted to demand the return of the vehicle or request more money if no lender accepts the original finance terms.  In order to be able to do this, the dealership will have the buyer sign a bailment agreement, or conditional sales agreement, at the time of purchase.  This agreement outlines the buyer’s responsibilities in the event that no lender is located.  Typically, it will require the buyer to maintain insurance on the vehicle and to pay for mileage in the event that a lender cannot be located.

If you bought the vehicle with your own financing or if you paid cash for the vehicle, then the dealership should not be calling to ask for more money.  If, however, you signed the bailment or conditional sales agreement, then read it to determine whether the dealership can demand additional money from you.  If it can demand more money and you do not have it, then you will need to make arrangements to return the car.  Before returning it:

• make an appointment with the dealership to return the vehicle;
• take pictures and videos of the vehicle’s condition and retain them with your records;
• look at the conditional sales agreement and the odometer to calculate the amount of your down payment, if any, the dealership will be allowed to retain.

It should be noted that it should not take a dealership a month to locate a lender for you.  Some dealerships use the conditional sales agreement as a way to get your down payment and allow you to put enough miles on the car to keep your money.  They then demand the return of the vehicle under the guise of being unable to locate a lender for you.  If you believe that happened, you should contact an experienced automobile fraud attorney.