Consumer complaint received 2023-01-17
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Getting a loan or lease — Changes in terms mid-deal or after closing
Company: ALLY FINANCIAL INC. (PA)

My son purchased a car from XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX Ohio about a year ago. XXXX XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX. This dealer is part of a larger group of dealerships all under XXXX XXXX XXXX based in XXXX. Long story short, my son and I traveled from XXXX XXXX to XXXX OH to buy a used car from XXXX XXXX. We only made the XXXX hour XXXX XXXX because my son filled out a credit application online and I was included as cosigner, and they told us we were pre-approved. He was having a difficult time because his credit wasn't very good and he just turned XXXX. First, and unbeknownst to me, the finance department made me the buyer and my son the co-buyer. We told them that I'm only cosigning for my son, several times. We spent a couple of hours with the sales person and were concerned we might have a difficult time driving home from XXXX to XXXX due to the change in the weather. Then suddenly, we were whisked into the finance department. There were so many documents to sign, it was very difficult to interpret what all of these meant as they shoved a pile of papers to sign and we were never told that I was to be made buyer. I thought I was signing as a cosigner. We later found out that we also paid for a XXXX XXXX " appearance warranty '' for {$240.00}. I'd never pay for this. We had numerous conversations with the dealer because we had a XXXX hour trip and didn't want any snafus. My son was clearly the buyer. No way would we have committed to all of this if we knew I was the actual buyer. In fact, I've used Ally before for a car loan in the past and was never even late on one payment. My son hasn't driven the car in over XXXX months. It's just parked and in the same condition as when we purchased it save for about XXXX miles. The attached communication clearly shows that the car dealership knew my son was the buyer before the purchase and before that we made the long drive. 
To make matters worse, however, they sold us a car with a significant performance-based modification. They never disclosed this. We're not mechanics, I can't open the hood of the car and determine if there had been modifications. They certainly knew it and admitted as much just a few weeks ago. So, my son drove the car back to XXXX and I followed him in my car. After a few weeks of driving, a mechanic told my son, " that's really loud, you may have trouble getting the car inspected. '' He looked under the hood and told us this car had been modified. We looked into it further and compared my son 's car to others of the same year/model and it was definitely different under the hood. So, now my son tries to sell it and he can't. Potential buyers won't touch it for several reasons, the primary one being the engine compartment had parts that didn't seem stock. Also, others commented that a street racer probably owned this car and had it modified. My son never got the car inspected or registered because he was afraid of assuming any liability. 
Then, about that same time, months ago, my son lost his job and couldn't keep up with the payments to Ally Financial, the auto lender. So now, Ally might repossess the car. We communicated this to Ally but I'm not sure they care. Keep in mind that, since they have me as the buyer, my credit score is taking another hit as is my son 's. 

XXXX XXXX XXXX refused our offer to just turn it back into the dealer and walk away. We just wanted to be made whole. Eventually, they did offer to buy it back between $ XXXX and $ XXXX. Keep in mind, we had purchased it less than a year ago at around $ XXXX. T We don't want this to happen to others and would appreciate your involvement. I can give you all of the details.