You just bought a car. The dealer wants you back to resign paperwork.

[Perpetual Change]

You buy a new car from a dealership, partially with a rebate the dealer agreed to give you. Days later, they ask you to come back with the rebate money and want you to resign your paperwork with them. Basically, they've decided a rebate they agreed to give you actually doesn't apply to you, and that you're not eligible for it, even though it was in the paperwork you signed.

They tell you they want you to come back and resign right away. What do you do?
1. Give 'em the slip. Let 'em call you when they have your tags ready
2. Agree to go back and look at the document they want you to sign, but on your own terms and convenience
3. Run back to them right away and do / sign whatever they say

[Tick]

I would tell them they are going to honor the price I signed paperwork for or the deal is off.

[Perpetual Change]

Here's a few other factors to consider:
-The amount of money being considered here is $500
-I still need to get my plates and registration from the dealer at some point
-the rebate in question is for recent college grads - the dealer doesn't typically give 'em out to people who graduated from institutions outside the US. They didn't care or ask WHERE I went when I signed; they just told me to fax 'em my diploma.
-The dealer has my trade-in vehicle
-this is my first time buying a car (scary)

My inclination is to have them scan and send me whatever they want to sign, so that I can actually look it over carefully.

[Nick]

I'd have them scan and send, if only to bide your time. And at the end of the day if the paperwork is all signed I'd do whatever possible to keep your money. They likely can't withhold your tags.

[Shadow2222]

I agree with Nick. The whole point of a contract is to be binding, on BOTH ends. They may have some loophole to get you, but I doubt it. You can always tell them that you want your trade in car back, your money back, and you will give them the car back. There is no way they will want to go through all that effort for a measly (to them) 500 bucks.

[Dr. DTVT]

If it was just a minor clerical error, I'd just do it.  But since money is involved and you have an agreement, tell them you expect them to honor the agreement in some way/shape/form.  If you have to give the rebate back, then demand $500 more in trade in value.  The thing to remember is right now you hold the cards, and they are going to try to convince you that they are the ones holding the cards.

[Tick]

Here's a few other factors to consider:
-The amount of money being considered here is $500
-I still need to get my plates and registration from the dealer at some point
-the rebate in question is for recent college grads - the dealer doesn't typically give 'em out to people who graduated from institutions outside the US. They didn't care or ask WHERE I went when I signed; they just told me to fax 'em my diploma.
-The dealer has my trade-in vehicle
-this is my first time buying a car (scary)

My inclination is to have them scan and send me whatever they want to sign, so that I can actually look it over carefully.

Stand firm and tell them you will take the car under the original terms or not at all. Period. You will win trust me.

[Jaq]

Add me to the original terms or deal is off list. And then never deal with these guys again, because clearly they can't be trusted on deals.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Did you go back and read through all of the fine print, terms, and conditions of the contract you signed, to ensure that there wasn't some sort of provision governing the schools covered by the deal?

[Perpetual Change]

Thanks, everyone. Lots of confirming my gut instinct here.

We both made (and signed) and agreement. If they gave me something they don't usually let people like me be eligible for, that's not my issue, right?

My other big fear is that they could just be using this as a ruse to open up other issues and change other things on the contract.

Did you go back and read through all of the fine print, terms, and conditions of the contract you signed, to ensure that there wasn't some sort of provision governing the schools covered by the deal?

Yeah, the college rebate is literally a line-item that says the dealer's name with $500 next to the bill. Nothing in the contract from what I can tell says anything about any of those line items or numbers being subject to any additional changes or need for validation.

[Tick]

Thanks, everyone. Lots of confirming my gut instinct here.

We both made (and signed) and agreement. If they gave me something they don't usually let people like me be eligible for, that's not my issue, right?

My other big fear is that they could just be using this as a ruse to open up other issues and change other things on the contract.

Did you go back and read through all of the fine print, terms, and conditions of the contract you signed, to ensure that there wasn't some sort of provision governing the schools covered by the deal?

Yeah, the college rebate is literally a line-item that says the dealer's name with $500 next to the bill. Nothing in the contract from what I can tell says anything about any of those line items or numbers being subject to any additional changes or need for validation.

Good man. Stick to your guns on this. Push comes to shove they will honor the agreement over losing the sale, guaranteed.

[KevShmev]

There is no way they would let the paperwork be redone if you had signed a deal that benefited them.  Odds are, your salesman screwed up and will have to eat the $500, so he is scrambling to get you to redo it.  Tell him to be get bent, and if he is smart, it will be a hard lesson learned.

[ResultsMayVary]

I agree with what everyone else has said. Tell them to honor the deal or there is no deal. They signed a contract, so it should be binding for both parties.

[kirksnosehair]

Yep, I'm 100% with Tick on this.   

[slycordinator]

I wouldn't go with "honor the deal or there is no deal" because that is you agreeing that they have the choice to not honor the deal, when legally they must honor it.

[Tick]

I wouldn't go with "honor the deal or there is no deal" because that is you agreeing that they have the choice to not honor the deal, when legally they must honor it.

Well, that is a good point. Not sure if they have to honor it if its within 3 days. Any standard contract can be cancelled within 3 days. I'm not sure if that works both ways.

[Nick]

Even if they pull the card where anything can be cancelled, if it's a new car you simply say that either they honor the agreement, or you undo everything and will find a dealer who will. No dealer is going to go through all that just to lose a sale.

[ReaperKK]

I wouldn't go with "honor the deal or there is no deal" because that is you agreeing that they have the choice to not honor the deal, when legally they must honor it.

Well, that is a good point. Not sure if they have to honor it if its within 3 days. Any standard contract can be cancelled within 3 days. I'm not sure if that works both ways.

I was under the assumption that this was considered the cooling off period and every state was different.

[slycordinator]

If they still have time to cancel the contract now, he could simply wait...

[King Postwhore]

I would tell them it's bad faith business and if they don't honor the agreement, you are contacting the better business bureau if they push it any further if they continue to call.  Like Kev said, sounds like the salesmen is trying to cover his or her ass for his or her mistake.

[TAC]

I would tell them it's bad faith business and if they don't honor the agreement, you are contacting the better business bureau if they push it any further if they continue to call.  Like Kev said, sounds like the salesmen is trying to cover his or her ass for his or her mistake.

Yup, that's exactly what is happening. I would let them know that if they pull the rebate back, they can keep the car. The deal is off!

[Perpetual Change]

The woman from the dealer tried to tell me today that they couldn't get me my tags until I signed the agreement.

I sent a stern reminder to them about our already extant agreement, which is still binding and which they signed and, most importantly, which I am not open to replacing with any new agreements.

I don't think I'll be hearing from them about this much more 

Although, if they do, I think I'll take the opportunity to suggest other potential items I'd like to see in any proposed "new agreements". Anything you guys think I should add to the list? I'm thinking a year's worth of oil changes, gas cards, and a good $1000 of the price of the vehicle

[black_biff_stadler]

Tell 'em you want Lifting Shadows in paperback form. Given its complete unavailability, the market value for it should far exceed the pittances you suggested.

[slycordinator]

Ask them to show in the contract they and you both signed where it says that they can change these terms after the sale and where it says that they can keep the plates/tags in that case.

And if they cannot find it at that point, then bring in an attorney.

[Kotowboy]

What is the difference between Barrister / Solicitor / Attorney / Lawyer ?

[lordxizor]

Ask them to explain to you how the agreement that was signed is not legally binding. If the deal was illegal for some reason, then you're probably stuck, but it sounds like they just messed up and gave you a deal they later thought they shouldn't give.

[Perpetual Change]

Ask them to explain to you how the agreement that was signed is not legally binding. If the deal was illegal for some reason, then you're probably stuck, but it sounds like they just messed up and gave you a deal they later thought they shouldn't give.

That is what happened.

And, as an update, it the salesperson completely backed off when I threatened to complain to management. What I'd been gathering way pretty much right.

My salesperson (in her zeal to close the sale with me) gave me a rebate that she wasn't sure her manager would approve. Her manager apparently didn't approve it (when he was in, two days later), but since she wanted to close the sale so bad she already signed a contract with me guaranteeing it.

Whelp, fast forward two days, and guess what? Manager didn't want approve the rebate. But of course now we've both already signed something saying that the dealership is in fact paying me that rebate. Dealerships apparently have no issue cannibalizing their own employees when things go south, since apparently the rebate is now going to be coming out of my salesperson's commission. Which is what sent my salesperson into a frenzy to get me to resign - better me than her, right?

Ultimately, I would feel a little bad about it - I don't want my salesperson to lose her commission. At the same time, she attempted multiple times to mislead me into thinking that I HAD to resign, and she also brickwalled me away from management, and said some very false and misleading things about whether I could still get tags if I didn't resign. If it wasn't for her consistent dishonesty, vagueness, and unwillingness to even talk about the details of what I'd be resigning with her, I'd have worked with her finding a way so the rebate didn't need to come out of her commission. But I lost my patience thanks to all those issues, and as soon as I made a firm statement that I wasn't resigning and that I wanted to talk to management, my salesperson completely backed off.

[slycordinator]

What is the difference between Barrister / Solicitor / Attorney / Lawyer ?

https://www.lawyeredu.org/attorney-vs-lawyer.html

And it goes further into the distinction of barrister and solicitors for common-law countries (like the UK).

[black_biff_stadler]

Sounds like she was perpetually changing the terms.