Consumer complaint received 2025-02-06 00:00:00
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Loan
Issue: Managing the loan or lease — Problem with fees charged
Company: CREDIT ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION
State: NJ

Complaint narrative:
XXXX XXXX To XXXX, cc me XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX  To Whom It May Concern : XXXX, I contacted Credit Acceptance. I was provided with this email and informed to send an email regarding my issue. 

My issue is not with Credit Acceptance. I actually financed a vehicle previously through Credit Acceptance in XXXX ( account # XXXX ). That went well. Unfortunately, I can not say it has gone well with XXXX XXXX. This has been, by far, the worst car buying experience I have ever encountered. I wish I had gone with my instincts. I am summarizing as best as I can, but I will say the customer experience has been terrible. At first, things seemed to go fine. Soon, I would learn differently. 

Initially, after checking out the vehicle and test driving, I walked away. The salesman, XXXX, sent me a text message and called me asking me to come check the vehicle again ; to give it another try. I walked away because of the knocking noise and the howling noise that the car was making. I also mentioned the tire sensor error being on the dashboard and that the car needed freon for the air conditioner. The air conditioner was blowing cool air, but I felt it should be colder. I really liked the salesman and trusted him. I felt like I had known him for years. So, I trusted him and went back to check the vehicle. It was not making the knocking noise anymore, but it was still howling and the tire sensor error was still on the dashboard. He then stated that he would give me a XXXX XXXX XXXX, to not worry, everything would be taken care of. So, again, I trusted him. The salesman stepped out of the room for a moment and the manager XXXX came to me and said he would give me a XXXX years warranty if I put XXXX XXXX dollars down. I originally was going to put down XXXX XXXX dollars. I mentioned that the salesman stated he would give me a three years warranty. The manager then stated he can not do that, the salesman would get fired if he did that. I then accepted the two years warranty. I also discovered that the heat did not work in the vehicle. I was assured all of this would be taken care of. 

So, I brought my car in for service. The salesman, XXXX, ended up getting fired since he stole a substantial amount of money from the dealership. He was also involved in shady practices with taking money under the table from customers. I never gave XXXX any money under the table. 

Although it took a while, the mechanic XXXX fixed the wheel bearings, which were causing the howling noise. I was upset that I was charged a XXXX dollars deductible to fix the wheel bearings as I was promised it would be fixed if I purchased the vehicle. The owner spoke with me and I agreed to pay the deductible. However, XXXX, who no longer works at the dealership among other mechanics who suddenly quit, stated the heating issue would take him at least XXXX hours to repair, maybe a few days. He showed me how bad of a shape the heating component was in. I am not sure exactly what it was called, but it looked like black glue was pasted everywhere. XXXX stated to bring the vehicle back once the dealership got the part to fix the heat. He also stated that when he fixed the heat, he would fix the tire sensor issue. About two weeks went by and still no part came in. I emailed and called the shop and was put off. I took my vehicle to XXXX and they checked the heating issue. XXXX informed me that they can not fix the heating issue and they are sure the warranty would not cover it. XXXX stated the dealership should have never sold me the car in that condition and that I should take it back to the dealership. That is the only reason I went back to XXXX XXXX. I wanted to be done with them but really needed my heat fixed. Ultimately, I was told to bring the vehicle in for the heat to get fixed. They kept my car for over a week and it still was not fixed. The dealership had no empathy for the amount of money I was spending in XXXX XXXX Since they claimed the part still did not come in, I went and picked up the vehicle. I could barely drive the car as it was too cold to drive. This is a summary, but I went back and forth for almost three months trying to get the heat and tire sensor issue fixed, including being mislead and lied to by the salesman. The manager XXXX is terrible. He is arrogant, dishonest and lacks empathy. When I finally brought the vehicle back, I was told the next day that their mechanic would start working on it first thing in the morning. I did not get my vehicle back for almost two weeks although XXXX stated the heating issue was a two days job. XXXX XXXX also stated they fixed the tire sensor issue but only cleared the code from the dashboard. So, they lied. Just bad customer service. I can not express in words how this whole thing has stressed me out. 

So, the heat is now fixed. However, I then discovered that their service center messed up my air conditioner. It is no longer working. The air conditioner is now blowing out air as hot as when the heat is turned on. I did not have an air conditioner issue before they fixed the heat. I sent an email to the dealership informing them of this. I received no response like many of my other emails were ignored. Now, my key fob has stopped working. Too much going on. This made me look closer at my contract. I feel so stupid as I trusted the salesman. In fact, he called me his brother. So, I really felt I could trust him. I discovered that I was charged the wrong price for the vehicle and have attached the screenshot of the ad showing the price. I also understood from the salesman that I was paying XXXX for the vehicle. I listed the break down of what I thought I was paying below. Essentially, I have been duped, mislead and lied to. After reading reviews, I am not the only one that has experienced this. The loan amount of XXXX is incorrect and outrageous. The loan amount should be XXXX. So, I am owed a difference of XXXX not including the interest I have paid on the XXXX. What can be done to resolve this matter? I have contacted the dealership and being ignored. I would like to avoid contacting my lawyer. So, what can be done to resolve this matter? If you need any additional information, please let me know. Thank you. 

The vehicle cost XXXX but listed as XXXX on the contract. No indication on the contract where the additional amount came from. 

On Mon, XX/XX/XXXX at XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX wrote : Dear Credit Acceptance, I am writing to you again due to the continued lack of response from the owner of XXXX XXXX, XXXX, despite my repeated attempts to contact him. I received a call from a Credit Acceptance representative regarding the outcome of my prior complaint, and I am deeply concerned by the handling of this matter.

It is troubling that Credit Acceptance accepted a handwritten document outlining supposed fees that do not appear in my contract. Such a document could be fabricated to serve the dealerships interests. In fact, I was informed that the fees listed did not even add up to the actual amount on my contract. When I met with the owner over two weeks ago, I was shown an official document detailing dealer feesone that was never included in my contract and that I had no prior knowledge of. This omission is misleading at best and deceptive at worst. Unfortunately, I did not obtain a copy of this document at that time, and now the owner is ignoring my requests for one. 

Additionally, the Credit Acceptance representative mentioned that the dealer submitted a handwritten document detailing charges for supposed vehicle upgrades. This is entirely inaccurate. These undisclosed charges directly altered the vehicles total price, a clear violation of transparent business practices. 

Further, the salesman who sold me the car was dishonest and has since been incarcerated for stealing a significant amount of money from both the dealership and its customers. The dealership has been uncooperative in addressing promised repairs, requiring repeated efforts on my part. While they eventually replaced the tire sensors and fixed my heating system, among other repairs, the repairs were unnecessarily delayed. Moreover, after repairing the heating system in XXXX, the dealership caused my air conditioning to stop working, despite it functioning properly beforehand. 

In good faith, I met with the owner and, as requested, informed Credit Acceptance that we had reached an agreement. I also removed my negative online reviews based on the owners commitment to resolve my concerns. He specifically agreed to fix my air conditioning and tire sensors at no charge. He fixed the tire sensors, but since ignored my calls and the owner is conveniently never around when I try to reach him. It is clear he is not honoring his commitment.

If Credit Acceptance does not take the necessary steps to resolve this matter, I will consult my legal counsel and file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Not only was I misled, but the dealership also sold me a lemon, which is illegal in New Jersey. All fees should have been fully disclosed in my contract and they were not. As the financing company, Credit Acceptance has a responsibility in ensuring fair dealings and I urge you to take appropriate action. 

I expect a prompt response to this matter. Thank you for your attention and cooperation.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief