Sales manager got wrong payoff value, now I'm being held responsible

[Coopf22]

Florida person here.

About two months ago, I traded in a leased jeep cherokee. I was asked for the payoff amount and when I told them I didn't know it, I was told to not worry about it because they'll find out. Bada bam, bada boom, a deal got worked out and I leave in a new leased grand cherokee.

Fast forward to now, my previous leasing company has been contacting me to make a payment. I told them that the car was traded in and they should've received a payment from the dealer. I tried contacting the dealer for about a week, and was finally called in to speak with them today.

Turns out, the pay-off amount that THEY put in the contract, was incorrect and there's a difference of about $14,000. The contract says $18k, but the correct amount is $32k. When speaking with the general manager, I let him know that the payoff amount that was on the contract was one that was given my the sales manager. It was even acknowledged by the salesperson who helped with the deal that the sales manager is the one who got the payoff amount incorrect and he was the one who put it in the contract. However, the general manager said that because I signed the contract, I was saying that it was correct and I'm responsible for it.

The general manager kept letting me know that I was the one who made the mistake and that I need to fix it because I'm young and shouldn't mess up my credit. And to help me fix it, he'd give me a deal on a Jeep Compass, where I'll be essentially paying the same amount. The problem I have is that they were the ones who messed up with the payoff amount. But he keeps throwing it into my face that I signed the contract. My question is, why am I being held responsible for a mistake that they made on the contract?


Is there anything I can do? Or am I stuck because I signed the contract?

 

[quincy]

You will have to work it out with the dealership.

The dealership is correct that your signature indicates your agreement with the terms as written - but the dealership is the one responsible for the error. You were relying on the dealership to write in the correct payoff figure.

Please edit your post to remove the objectionable language. It violates the terms of use on this site. Thank you.

 

[Coopf22]

You will have to work it out with the dealership.

The dealership is correct that your signature indicates your agreement with the terms as written - but the dealership is the one responsible for the error. You were relying on the dealership to write in the correct payoff figure.

Please edit your post to remove the objectionable language. It violates the terms of use on this site. Thank you.

I apologize for the language. They were basically telling me that either I get this new car, or I'm gonna have to pay the $14k. Is that legal?
BTW, thank you so much for taking time out of your day to respond to my message. I greatly appreciate it.

 

[adjusterjack]

Is that legal?

It's legal to ASK you for money. It's legal to SAY you owe money. It's legal to give you options that you don't like.

Whether you have an out or not is a civil matter. I suggest you consult an attorney before you make another mistake by again believing what the lying sack of thieves are telling you

 

[Coopf22]

It's legal to ASK you for money. It's legal to SAY you owe money. It's legal to give you options that you don't like.

Whether you have an out or not is a civil matter. I suggest you consult an attorney before you make another mistake by again believing what the lying sack of thieves are telling you

That's the thing. They're making it seem like they're trying to help me out to get out of owing two car payments. I'm not sure if they would still be willing to "help me" if I told them I'd speak to an attorney before making any decisions.

Do you know of what kind of attorney I should be seeking? Contract dispute? Customer protection? Lemon law?

 

[Zigner]

Honestly, the prior leasing company isn't a party to your new deal. Per your contract with your prior leasing company, you still owe the money, and they have every right to pursue this directly with you, no matter what is going on with the new contract.

 

[Coopf22]

Honestly, the prior leasing company isn't a party to your new deal. Per your contract with your prior leasing company, you still owe the money, and they have every right to pursue this directly with you, no matter what is going on with the new contract.

And I completely understand that. However, what I'm trying to find out is whether or not this is something that can be handled by an attorney. My main thing is that the sales manager said he would get the payoff amount. He got the wrong one. So I'm not sure if I'm legally responsible for his mistake.

 

[Zigner]

And I completely understand that. However, what I'm trying to find out is whether or not this is something that can be handled by an attorney. My main thing is that the sales manager said he would get the payoff amount. He got the wrong one. So I'm not sure if I'm legally responsible for his mistake.

Re-read my post.

Let's say you borrowed $7,000 from your friend Bill. You make payments for a while to bring the balance down to $5,000 when you decide you'd rather borrow money from Sally. Your deal with Sally is that she'll pay off your debt to Bill and Loan you an additional $2,000. She calls Bill to get the balance and mistakenly writes the amount down as $500 instead of $5,000. You finish up the deal, she hands you $2,000 and sends Bill a check for $500. Now, you can see that Bill is not going to accept $500 as full payment, so he's going to come after you for the remaining $4,500, as he has every right to do. Who do you think owes that money to Bill? (I'll give you a hint: It would be the person who borrowed the money from Bill in the first place, as that's the only person who has a contract to repay Bill.)

I suspect that the dealer was given the payoff amount for the lease, not the payoff amount if you want to keep the car. You were actually compensated for this by receiving a credit for your trade.

 

[Coopf22]

Re-read my post.

Let's say you borrowed $7,000 from your friend Bill. You make payments for a while to bring the balance down to $5,000 when you decide you'd rather borrow money from Sally. Your deal with Sally is that she'll pay off your debt to Bill and Loan you an additional $2,000. She calls Bill to get the balance and mistakenly writes the amount down as $500 instead of $5,000. You finish up the deal, she hands you $2,000 and sends Bill a check for $500. Now, you can see that Bill is not going to accept $500 as full payment, so he's going to come after you for the remaining $4,500, as he has every right to do. Who do you think owes that money to Bill? (I'll give you a hint: It would be the person who borrowed the money from Bill in the first place, as that's the only person who has a contract to repay Bill.)

I suspect that the dealer was given the payoff amount for the lease, not the payoff amount if you want to keep the car. You were actually compensated for this by receiving a credit for your trade.

I think that last section is exactly what happened.. Is that something that I can sue the dealership over?

 

[Zigner]

I think that last section is exactly what happened.. Is that something that I can sue the dealership over?

No - YOU need to pay the money. The problem is that you have no "damages" - You didn't give the money to the dealer to pay off the full amount of your old lease. In fact, as I mentioned above, you actually received a credit for at least some amount of that payoff.

 

[Coopf22]

No - YOU need to pay the money. The problem is that you have no "damages" - You didn't give the money to the dealer to pay off the full amount of your old lease. In fact, as I mentioned above, you actually received a credit for at least some amount of that payoff.

Okay, thank you so much! I really appreciate you giving me information on this.

 

[LdiJ]

Florida person here.

About two months ago, I traded in a leased jeep cherokee. I was asked for the payoff amount and when I told them I didn't know it, I was told to not worry about it because they'll find out. Bada bam, bada boom, a deal got worked out and I leave in a new leased grand cherokee.

Fast forward to now, my previous leasing company has been contacting me to make a payment. I told them that the car was traded in and they should've received a payment from the dealer. I tried contacting the dealer for about a week, and was finally called in to speak with them today.

Turns out, the pay-off amount that THEY put in the contract, was incorrect and there's a difference of about $14,000. The contract says $18k, but the correct amount is $32k. When speaking with the general manager, I let him know that the payoff amount that was on the contract was one that was given my the sales manager. It was even acknowledged by the salesperson who helped with the deal that the sales manager is the one who got the payoff amount incorrect and he was the one who put it in the contract. However, the general manager said that because I signed the contract, I was saying that it was correct and I'm responsible for it.

The general manager kept letting me know that I was the one who made the mistake and that I need to fix it because I'm young and shouldn't mess up my credit. And to help me fix it, he'd give me a deal on a Jeep Compass, where I'll be essentially paying the same amount. The problem I have is that they were the ones who messed up with the payoff amount. But he keeps throwing it into my face that I signed the contract. My question is, why am I being held responsible for a mistake that they made on the contract?


Is there anything I can do? Or am I stuck because I signed the contract?

Ok, I find it hard to believe that there hasn't been some error somewhere. The starting price for a Jeep Cherokee is around 32,000 now. Therefore, even if yours was loaded its highly unlikely that the remaining lease balance would be 32k at trade in. I suspect that the 14k was actually correct, and that somehow what would have remained had your purchased the vehicle rather than leased it is what that 32k is all about.

Do you have your original paperwork from when you got the leased vehicle that you traded in? That paperwork should show you what the residual value would have been at the end of your lease period. It should also show you what the original purchase price of the car should have been. Every lease is based on an original purchase price. The difference between the two is the lease amount, and what you would owe on the lease would be the difference between what you paid on the lease and the remainder when you traded it in.

Its highly unlikely that your lease balance would have been 32k.

 

[quincy]

Ok, I find it hard to believe that there hasn't been some error somewhere. The starting price for a Jeep Cherokee is around 32,000 now. Therefore, even if yours was loaded its highly unlikely that the remaining lease balance would be 32k at trade in. I suspect that the 14k was actually correct, and that somehow what would have remained had your purchased the vehicle rather than leased it is what that 32k is all about.

Do you have your original paperwork from when you got the leased vehicle that you traded in? That paperwork should show you what the residual value would have been at the end of your lease period. It should also show you what the original purchase price of the car should have been. Every lease is based on an original purchase price. The difference between the two is the lease amount, and what you would owe on the lease would be the difference between what you paid on the lease and the remainder when you traded it in.

Its highly unlikely that your lease balance would have been 32k.

It was already determined there was an error in the payoff amount.

 

[LdiJ]

It was already determined there was an error in the payoff amount.

And? Are you saying that the "error determined" is not potentially an error itself?

If so, please do some research on the purchase price on Jeep Cherokees.

 

[quincy]

And? Are you saying that the "error determined" is not potentially an error itself?

If so, please do some research on the purchase price on Jeep Cherokees.

I own a Jeep.