Consumer complaint received 2021-01-28
Company: Dennis Dillon Auto Park and Truck Center, Inc.,
State: UT
Product: Vehicle loan or lease
Sub-product: Loan
Issue: Getting a loan or lease
Sub-issue: Changes in terms mid-deal or after closing

Complaint:
I wanted to share our experience with Dennis Dillon XXXX in XXXX, Idaho as I believe deceptive, and possibly illegal, business practices are occurring. I dont believe this dealership represents the values of XXXX and as a repeat customer of new XXXX  trucks I wanted to make you aware of my experience. 

In XXXX we were the victims of a hit and run and our XXXX XXXX XXXX was totaled. In XXXX we then became the victims of Dennis Dillon XXXX 

Our salesman, XXXX was great, right up until we discovered the details of the Dennis Dillon sales scheme, then he threatened us. Once I found out what they were doing, after the sale, he yelled at me over the phone and told me I would never be able to buy from Dennis Dillon again or other dealerships in Idaho.

When I emailed the company to ask about their price for a new XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX***** responded, in part, Our goal is to make this transaction as smooth and easy as possible, as well as provide you the best price in the nation on new and pre-owned vehicles. Great, what was the price? XXXXXXXX  stated Dennis Dillon could get us a new truck for {$2000.00} below invoice and came back with a price of {$38000.00}. I asked him to put the full details of how he arrived at that number in writing and he said he couldnt because 1 ) the incentives change but 2 ) he would be fired by Dennis Dillon XXXX  if he did. That raised a red flag but I understood the incentives change so I assumed it must have something to do with the incentives offered and didnt have time to dig into the details as I was dealing with medical and legal issues related to the hit and run. 

Later, after I put down a {$3000.00} deposit, XXXX  revealed that the catch was that 1 ) We could not put down more than 20 %, 2 ) We could not refinance before we had made 6 payments, 3 ) he would get me the best possible rate because Dennis Dillon worked with dozens of lenders ( I told him I expected 1.99 % as that is what we could get with our excellent credit history and he assured me it would be no problem ), 4 ) we would get invoice pricing of {$42000.00} plus a {$2000.00} discount from the dealership and all incentives, and 5 ) he should not be talking about the details because he could be fired. I asked why he would be fired if it was a legitimate transaction, why we could only put down 20 % when we had over 50 % to put down, and why we had to make 6 payments before refinancing? He assured me it was all legal, that the 20 % down and 6 payments was a stipulation of the banks they worked with, that their pricing scheme was an exclusive that they didnt want other dealers to know about, and not to worry as they would get us a great rate. 

I realized later that XXXXXXXX would only talk about the details above during phone calls and would not put anything regarding the specifics of the deal in writing. He did put in writing that the base price would be {$42000.00} and the other approximate {$4000.00} was based on their exclusive deal and XXXX corporate incentives. He would not write down the 20 % down requirement, the 6 payment requirement, or even the {$2000.00} incentive from the dealership. 

Still a bit nervous, but encouraged by his promises and the fact that Dennis Dillon has great reviews, I proceeded with the transaction. 

XXXX was pleasant and very helpful during the remainder of the transaction so we drove 6 hours to Idaho to get the truck when it came in. This is when the problems arose. 

First, it took us approximately 6 hours to finalize the transaction and get out of the dealership. Others have also complained about how long it took to get out of this dealership. On a XXXX review of Dennis Dillon, XXXX XXXX said, Buying took all freaking day. We bought our XXXX truck from a dealer in Utah in XXXX it took us 30 minutes. We are unsure if this is a tactic by Dennis Dillon to wear people down before signing papers and releasing the vehicle but it surely was unpleasant. 

Second, XXXX  high pressured us on certain things, I assume because he is rewarded in some way, to fill out a survey before we left the dealership and to sign up for XXXX services ( as we were trying to return our rental vehicle ). 

Third, and most importantly, the financing was a complete deception in my opinion. Here is what I finally figured out by doing the math when I got home as they would not tell me : When we went to sign the paperwork, not knowing what the final price of the vehicle would be, the base price was {$42000.00} as we agreed. Dennis Dillon gave us {$2700.00} in incentives. They explained up front the {$2000.00} but would not explain where the {$750.00} came from when I asked about it specifically and also what XXXX incentives were available. [ They told us each transaction is recorded in XXXX  office so it should be on that recording. ] We purchased some additional options and put down some cash which brought the final price to finance to {$38000.00}. This is where the problem came in and how the deception works. XXXX, the finance person we worked with, was in lockstep with XXXX on these points and they were not transparent but rather were deceptive in how these items were presented to us : 1 ) XXXX and XXXXXXXX stated we could only put down 20 %, no more, but would never tell us why other than it was just part of the deal. My belief, based on what I was told, was that it was contractual and part of the bank financing. It is NOT. Nothing in their paperwork, which took me hours to review, states anything about not being able to put down more than 20 %. This deception by XXXX and backed by XXXX, allows Dennis Dillon to make more money on the financing because we were financing more. XXXX  did not reveal this to us. 
2 ) XXXXXXXX  and XXXX stated that we had to finance through them to get the exclusive Dennis Dillon deal but then we could refinance after 6 payments. XXXX  emphasizes we can ONLY payoff or refinance after 6 full payments. This was a complete lie. 
3 ) XXXXXXXX states the interest rate was 5.xx % and I about choked. I can not remember the exact amount so will use 5.99 % as my examples below. I state I am very disappointed as XXXXXXXX told us he would get us the best rate possible ( I told him I knew that I could get a 1.99 % for certain ). XXXX plays the manager  game and calls the finance manager to see if there is anything that can be done. ( I am later told by XXXX XXXXXXXX that XXXXXXXX is the finance Manager ). XXXXXXXX says they will make an exception and that they dont normally do this but can give us 4.49 %. We still can not get full answers to our questions so at this point I was so frustrated I simply wanted to get it over. We have a credit score over 800 most of the time ( Depends on who ranks us and when but it is in the high 700s to low 800s ) so I wasnt worried about refinancing nor 6 payments of interest if it is contractual. It wasnt so I refinanced as soon as I could get a payoff from the bank Dennis Dillon set us up with. We were able to get a 1.99 % rate. 
4 ) XXXX sold us a XXXX XXXX package but failed to tell us that part of the package would not be available in Utah . For instance, he said that dents were covered under the package but did not tell us that after a dent is repaired the XXXX  coat, which we also purchased, would have to be reapplied. There are no XXXX  dealers in Utah that service cars. Therefore, in order to get the coverage for this package we have to drive out of Utah, to another state, to get a single dent recovered with XXXX or the dent repair will be noticeable. We would like a full refund for the Protections we covered as we believe this was another clear deception. A XXXX reviewer, XXXXXXXX XXXX, stated they had issues with this company 3 years ago but provides no details. Due to the multiple deceptions by Dennis Dillon we no longer trust these Protections will help us and we wasted over $ XXXX purchasing them. 

My wife and I had both been through a recent wreck, been going through physical therapy ( and I still am ), and my wife had been through a recent XXXX  XXXX, so we were both hurting from sitting for so long. So, we begin standing to relieve the pain. 

We finally finalize the transaction so that we can simply get out of this dealership, get the undercarriage spray and some other protections applied, and finally leave. The next day, after driving 8 hours and getting home at XXXX, I begin reading the paperwork to figure out how they are working the finances. 

I discover that 1 ) there is no statement whatsoever that we are bound to requiring us to only put down 20 %. Dennis Dillon only told us that so they could make more interest money on {>= $1,000,000} rather then {$18000.00} as we could have put down {$20000.00} more. 2 ) The paperwork specifically states, You may prepay. You may prepay all or part of the unpaid part of the Amount Finance AT ANYTIME WITHOUT PENALTY [ Emphasis added ]. 

With these two pieces of information, I finally discover what they are doing. Here is how it works : I find the {$750.00} XXXX incentive, that I didnt see before, on XXXX site. During the rush of things I missed that XXXX was offering 0 % APR for 72 months PLUS {$750.00} XXXX XXXX. The reason I believe XXXX  and XXXX would not point out the {$750.00} in XXXX  XXXX  is because it is linked to the 0 % APR ad on XXXX website , which I didnt see when I asked XXXXXXXX about the incentives available from XXXX. XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX the Dennis Dillon XXXX  General Manager later confirmed it was XXXX XXXX. 

I start doing the math, and asking more questions, and discovered Dennis Dillon gives an exclusive by offering invoice pricing and {$2000.00} off of invoice. Then, they signed us up for a high interest rate, not the 1.9 % rate we knew we could obtain because of our excellent credit, and told us we could not refinance until 6 payments were made. XXXXXXXX and XXXX were VERY clear and even written down we could not payoff or refinance until after our XX/XX/XXXX payment. This scheme would net Dennis Dillon XXXX {$1300.00} in interest payments ( according to my calculations ) and the bank over {$6000.00}. When I balked at that rate they dropped the rate slightly to 4.49 % which would still net them {$980.00} in interest. If we would have gotten the rate we qualified for they only would have made {$430.00}. The difference in the original rate they gave us and the rate we qualify for was {$870.00}. XXXX told us we could not bring our own financing to get their exclusive deal so we trusted him to make good on getting us the best interest rate possible. 

Also, if we had been allowed to put down an additional {$20000.00} in cash the numbers would look like this : At 5.99 % the interest would be {$640.00}, at 4.49 % the interest would be {$470.00}, and at 1.99 % the interest would be {$200.00}. So, the total difference between the interest rate they originally gave us and the best interest rate we qualify for is {$1100.00} to Dennis Dillon XXXX. 

Once I discovered how they made their money I texted XXXX and said, In reviewing the terms of the finance document it states under Finance Charges and Payments >> 1.d, You may prepay. You may prepay all or part of the unpaid part of the amount finance at any time without penalty. Can you please point me to the part where it states we can not refinance before 6 payments have been made? and the contract also nowhere states we are limited to putting down only 20 % as you told us.. 

XXXXXXXX then calls me, as he would not put any details in writing, and again stated he could be fired for talking about the details. He yelled at me for breaking their gentlemans agreement and said I would never be allowed to buy again from Dennis Dillon XXXX, or other Idaho dealerships, if I refinanced before making the 6 payments. 

I had no problem with their exclusive deal until they broke the deal on the interest rate and I discovered clear deceptions. I would have gladly paid the {$200.00} to get the {$2000.00}. But once they broke their promise on the interest rate, I discovered deceptions, and was threatened, I had a real problem with their conduct. 

The deceptions, in my opinion, were : 1 ) That we were required to put down no more than 20 %, 2 ) that we could not refinance before 6 payments were made, 3 ) that they would get me the best interest rate possible, and 4 ) that I could never buy from Dennis Dillon XXXX or other Idaho dealerships again, and 5 ) that XXXX would be fired for revealing the exclusive deal. 

In speaking with XXXX XXXX after speaking with XXXX he told me that Dennis Dillon XXXX tries to properly educate their employees to be completely transparent. He told me that I could refinance anytime I wanted without penalty and that XXXX would not be fired for revealing how the program works. He also said they had talked to their attorney about getting something in writing that people sign to fully disclose the program but havent been able to come up with the correct verbiage. XXXX, obviously, was speaking with me after I had discovered what Dennis Dillon had done so Im not sure his statements are truthful or not. 

However, in reviewing the Dennis Dillon Reviews on XXXX I can see that others complained about the 20 % down issue. XXXX XXXX complained of this same issue in XXXX and also stated they changed the deal on me. XXXX XXXX also mentioned in XXXX, youre limited to putting down no more than 20 %. This would not have been a problem if the dealership had clearly explained this in a transparent way. Rather, they used deception in order to keep us from refinancing, or putting down more, in order to get a larger payout of interest. 

While I have doubts ours was an isolated incident of deception, because XXXX  was in lockstep with XXXX, I would like to see an investigation into this dealership and their conduct. Other customers need to be asked if they were led to believe that they could not put down more than 20 % cash, refinance for 6 payments, or were promised competitive interest rates to lure them into this deal. We clearly were manipulated and deceived and XXXX XXXX also believes he was. 

Federal law. I will be filing complaints with the Idaho State Attorney General, the Department of Consumer Affairs, and with other State and Federal entities to ensure others do not have an experience like we had. We ask for an investigation into these deceptive practices so that others are not harmed as we were. 

To be clear, I expect a dealership to make money but I expect them to be fully transparent and honest in their business. Dennis Dillon XXXX was neither fully transparent nor honest with us. We drove many hours to do business with them and in the end was threatened for trying to act in good faith. I work extremely hard for my money, as Im sure XXXX and XXXXXXXX and all of those at Dennis Dillon do , so I would expect them to treat all people with integrity just as they expect others to treat them.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation