Consumer complaint received 2019-07-20
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease — Problem with additional products or services purchased with the loan
Company: Nicholas Financial Inc. (OH)

I'm a XXXX yrs old XXXX and purchased my first car from a Dealership XX/XX/XXXX. I had a XXXX credit rating due to not ever financing anything. I went to XXXX XXXX looking for a reliable vehicle to get me to appointments etc. I got a ride to the dealership which was an hour drive each way after calling them and getting a pre-approval through Nicholas Financial. I arrived had {$1000.00} cash I had been saving to put as a down payment. They showed me 4 different vehicles 1 which I liked a XXXX XXXX. I told them this is the one I like and would like to buy, after about 2 hours of waiting they said we are still working on it and would call me the next day. The next day I received a call from them saying we couldn't get you approved for the XXXX or any of the other 3 cars we showed you but they had a 2012 XXXX XXXX they could get me financed for through Nicholas Financial if I could come back up that day and see if I liked it. I got a ride again another hour to get there and looked at the XXXX which was a very nice looking car and seemed to run and drive well on the short test drive they let me take it on. So after giving them just about every piece of information about me, several references and another 2hr wait it was a go. I sat in the lobby for about another hour waiting for the Finance Manager so I could sign all the paperwork. As the Finance guy was shooting papers at me as fast as he could The Finance Manager informed me that Nicholas Financial would not finance me unless I bought a Warranty and GAP insurance. I was never shown this Warranty or whom it was with nor did they give me any options of what Warranty I could choose from. Not knowing any better and being a first time buyer I signed the paperwork and was charged {$1000.00} for the Warranty and {$790.00} for GAP insurance which I had no clue what it was because I had full coverage insurance. I got in my car drove off the lot and 20 mins into my 1 hr drive my check engine light comes on. I immediately pulled over, called the dealership and told them what was going on. My salesperson told me let me get with my manager and call you back. I never got a call back and drove straight to an Auto Repair shop in my hometown. They told me based on the codes they pulled that I needed 2 fuel injectors and an o2 sensor replaced and 1 code was permenant and the dealer probably cleared but would always come back on until the repair was made. The next day I still never got a call back from the dealer so I called them and was transferred to a Manager who told me I had a Warranty and would need to call and make a service appt. I explained I was never told who the Warranty was through or what it covered, he said thats all he could do. I called Nicholas Financial whom made me purchase a warranty and explained this whole ordeal that started just 20 mins after driving off the lot and was told well just keep on the dealership so they could get it fixed but didn't have my warranty information yet. End of story at this point was I drove it short distances until about 1-2 months later I received a warranty card in the mail and the name of the Company XXXX. I called them regarding the issues and my Warranty coverage and they advised me the Warranty I purchased didn't cover those repairs and that was an ad on for electrical and another for sensors. I was now able to look at what Nicholas Financial picked as a Warranty which was basically a drivetrain warranty. To date I have paid close to {$2000.00} dollars of money I had to borrow to have repairs done not covered by a Warranty I was forced to buy from Nicholas Financial. Being XXXX this has put a huge financial burden and unwanted stress on me. I have contacted Nicholas Financial several times asking for them to cancel my Warranty and GAP insurance because that was a backdoor tactic, illegal and I was under the impression I had to purchase which totals {$1800.00}. I have talked to the Manager XXXX XXXX via email along with other employees so I have documentation and the Corporate Compliance Officer XXXX XXXX and they have never addressed the Warranties I was tricked into purchasing just send them a copy of the repair invoices and he would see if the Warranty Company would cover it. I sent them both a copy of my Warranty and highlighted what it covers and mine does not cover the repairs needed. I even tried trading the car in for a new one 8 months later but the dealer got 3 different payoffs one being {$100.00} less than what I purchased the car for 8 months prior so they said they couldn't do it. I'm stuck with a car which has had electrical issues since 20 mins after purchasing it. I'm so stressed and frustrated I even asked to return the vehicle several times and they would just tell me to call them and they could help but I told them email was my communication so I had documentation.