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Legal Help - Vehicle Service Agreement

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MBCyclones

Member
Sep 20, 2008
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I need a little help from anyone out there with some legal background.

I purchased a certified used vehicle from Wilson Toyota in Ames back on 7/23/2010. This was my first vehicle purchase so I didn't exactly know what I was doing. Along with the vehicle purchase I was "sold" a vendor service agreement which is effectively a extended warranty. Why I did this, I have no idea and in hindsight this was pretty dumb. Anyway, the cost was $1,700 rolled into the financing. The finance manager sold this as a no-brainer since the agreement stated that at the end of the term of the agreement (5 years) I would be entitled to receive the $1,700 back if my vehicle didn't require any repairs. He assured me that there would be no issues getting back the $1,700 and he "has one of these on his vehicle" (which i doubt).

Now that the five years are up, I called up the dealer. Apparently there is a clause in the fine print on the back that states I had to file my paperwork with this company called "Sterling Financial Management" out of Alabama. There is a filing period of 90 days after the contract expires, which they hid in the fine print, that I have surpassed. The finance manager says that he can't really do anything for me. I've tried to contact Sterling Financial Management and nobody ever answers the phone. I actually have had a hard time finding anything about them since they don't have a website and there is hardly anything out there about them. I never received any notification that my contract was expiring.

Do I have any recourse here? This seems like a shaddy contract that relies on the forgetfulness of people and intentionally makes it difficult to get refunded. I'm pretty upset with the responsiveness of Wilson Toyota as well. It seems like they keep dodging my calls to talk to them about this.

Thanks everyone.
 
If I was Wilson's I think I would be trying pretty hard to get the money back for you otherwise as a dealership I'm not sure they should be doing business with an outfit like that. I suspect they are making money as well in this. On the other hand I would have been reading that fine print. You know they aren't gong to contact you when they are the one that needs to refund you.
 
I can't speak for cars specifically but my wife was a district rep for maytag for years. She said that when the dealer sold an extended warranty that they typically got 50% of the fee or somewhere in that ballpark. I suspect you are SOL.
 
MBCyclones said:
I need a little help from anyone out there with some legal background.

I purchased a certified used vehicle from Wilson Toyota in Ames back on 7/23/2010. This was my first vehicle purchase so I didn't exactly know what I was doing. Along with the vehicle purchase I was "sold" a vendor service agreement which is effectively a extended warranty. Why I did this, I have no idea and in hindsight this was pretty dumb. Anyway, the cost was $1,700 rolled into the financing. The finance manager sold this as a no-brainer since the agreement stated that at the end of the term of the agreement (5 years) I would be entitled to receive the $1,700 back if my vehicle didn't require any repairs. He assured me that there would be no issues getting back the $1,700 and he "has one of these on his vehicle" (which i doubt).

Now that the five years are up, I called up the dealer. Apparently there is a clause in the fine print on the back that states I had to file my paperwork with this company called "Sterling Financial Management" out of Alabama. There is a filing period of 90 days after the contract expires, which they hid in the fine print, that I have surpassed. The finance manager says that he can't really do anything for me. I've tried to contact Sterling Financial Management and nobody ever answers the phone. I actually have had a hard time finding anything about them since they don't have a website and there is hardly anything out there about them. I never received any notification that my contract was expiring.

Do I have any recourse here? This seems like a shaddy contract that relies on the forgetfulness of people and intentionally makes it difficult to get refunded. I'm pretty upset with the responsiveness of Wilson Toyota as well. It seems like they keep dodging my calls to talk to them about this.

Thanks everyone.
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These are always crappy deals and every dealer sells them. I had a guy a shottenkirk hard sale me saying it is a "no brainer" every thing is covered, they are doing it to keep customers happy blah blah... I said I wanted to read the actual agreement and so I took it home and it was all bs. Most things that would break wern't covered and he had out right lied to me. I would never buy an extended warranty and it made me think all the people n that had dropped thousands on that crap.

I had an experience like that with my cell phone "protection plan" that promised refund. They didn't tell me about the $250 deductible when my phone did break. Why someone would pay $250 for a 2 year old rebuilt cellphone (you wouldn't) and so they are just betting you break your phone and don't use it or don't follow some hard to figure out clause... be leary if it sounds to good to be true But in general never by up sales and never extended warranties. Tell the salesman you don't agree to thousand+ dollar add-ons without doing your homework
 
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Live and learn. Think of it as a lesson learned that comes with a little more "tuition" than you would like.
 
I would consult an attorney if I were you. Without providing legal advice, I do not believe that a similar hypothetical situation would be a clear cut "Live and learn, you're SOL" thing. Look/Ask around for a good attorney and go in for a free consultation.
 
This reinforces what I've been thinking. Yeah I probably should have been a little more responsible here but I'm still going to check around and see if there is anything I do. I could yell at the finance guy for awhile. That would probably make me feel better...if he would ever return my messages I left him.
 
You're out of luck.

This is a customer service problem, not a legal one. Sure they could/should have done a better job educating you, but the ultimate onus is on you, not them. Take it up with them and remember that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
 
Agreed, you don't really have any legal recourse. You signed the contract and at least in theory had an opportunity to know what was in it.

But my question is, you say there was a five year term on the contract and you purchased the vehicle on 7/23/2010. Wouldn't that mean the contract expires on 7/23/2015?
 
HGPuck said:
Agreed, you don't really have any legal recourse. You signed the contract and at least in theory had an opportunity to know what was in it.

But my question is, you say there was a five year term on the contract and you purchased the vehicle on 7/23/2010. Wouldn't that mean the contract expires on 7/23/2015?
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I would think the contract isn't expired as well.
When you buy a car they always try to sell you other stuff which is just gravy for the dealership (undercoating, warranties) If you are financing at the dealership you need to just continue to say "No, I don't want that" when you are signing all that crap. As far as I'm concerned the majority of that crap they want you to sign is to confuse you.

I wish I had someone teach me how to buy a car when I was younger. I guess it is one of those things that the majority of us kind of just figure out as we age.
 
I'd beat the **** out the car until I broke something.

Although with a Toyota this may be a challenge.
 
Sounds like a lesson learned to me. Two lessons, extended warranties are rip offs, and always read what you've signed.

It'd be interesting to know if Sterling existed, or if they still exist. You'd think a reputable dealership would be willing to help you. I might be tempted to talk to somebody higher up the chain at Wilson. Dealerships typically like return business, not torching customers.
 
the day when we can just configure & buy cars directly from manufacturers via the internet at cost, opposed to haggling with dealerships and their sales people can't come soon enough

*not entirely on topic since this was a used car, but I'd imagine when that day comes around you'd buy used cars from places like carmax that don't rely on sales tactics
 
kingcy said:
Extended Warranties on cars are a huge rip off.
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I tend to agree that they are a ripoff but there are some that payoff. CarMax has some extended warranties that are well worth it if you're buying an expensive European luxury car. I tend to stay away from cars that need an extended warranty but if I was going to buy something like an M5, Land/Range Rover, Mercedes, etc . used I wouldn't go without one.

Just like most insurance, it seems like a ripoff until you have to use it. Unlike other insurance, there are a lot of shady companies so you have to be careful.
 
JY07 said:
the day when we can just configure & buy cars directly from manufacturers via the internet at cost, opposed to haggling with dealerships and their sales people can't come soon enough

*not entirely on topic since this was a used car, but I'd imagine when that day comes around you'd buy used cars from places like carmax that don't rely on sales tactics
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Tesla tried that and many states are not letting them sell cars there since their isn't a dealership. I guess the car dealer lobby us stringer than you'd think.
 
If you don't have a trade in and you really don't want to fight over the price, you can use something like carsdirect.com or maybe even costco to buy the car you want.

I don't know why people hate buying cars so much, I find it entertaining. Where else can you buy a product where you're in complete control?

#1 If I don't like the price I can just tell them that and leave. I'm the person in charge.

#2 Pricing on both used and new cars are easy to find on the internet. Vehicle history is available on most cars.

#3 Places like cars.com, autotrader.com, etc. allow you to find the exact model you want.

#4 Realize that the salesperson/dealer is going to make some money on you. This happens on every item you buy. I'm going to try and get the best price but I'm not going to lose sleep over $200 on a $30k purchase.

#5 When it comes time to sign the papers. "I know you have to read/offer everything but I'll just tell you that I won't be buying anything extra".
 
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