Dealership miscalculated sales tax

[NeptuneRanger]

In the event there was a math error in the cost of the car, interest rate, extended warranty contract, window tint etc etc, your position is valid and I whole hardly agree with all the comments above, they eat it. The problem is you have no leverage in this case. Tags are a form of tax, you owe that to the State now and each year thereafter. Without legit registration the ticket for being pulled over in AZ is nearly 1,000 bucks, not sure about CO.

If you like the truck, pay the 800 and be done with it. My guess is their margins on the new vehicle are very tight and that is the best they can do. If you happen to have put 1,000 miles on the truck they won’t want it back lest they sell a used versus new vehicle. Just my 2 cents

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[D Fresh]

F-Them.
F-That.

Oldest trick in the book. Sell you a car and come back for more. This is Bull Schisse of the highest magnitude. F-Them in the @.

1. If it is true and accurate - so what. Cool story bro. That tax was part of the contact I signed and if you F'd up then that's your problem not mine. I'm not in the business of paying for your ineptitude. I have a duly executed contract that will stand up in a court of law. Bring it Mo-Fos!

2. If this isn't true and they are stringing you for profit money - so what. Shady dealership. Burn that relationship and tell them to suck the fuzz off your big hairy ford driving nutz because you are smarter than the average bear and you aint falling for this. I have a duly executed contract that will stand up in a court of law. Bring it Mo-Fos!

In either case - burn them. Burn that relationship. Never go back. They are either shady or incompetent and it isn't worth your time to figure out which. They can rot in the pit of filth they created.

#IveBeenDrinkingCanYouTell ?

Totally with you.

At this point it sounds like worst case court it might have to be. In that case I feel basic contract law has me covered.

I almost sent my wife off the deep end.

I pontificated that if Ford Credit and I have "paid" for the truck, and it is insured and tagged under temporary plates. What might happen if I drove the truck into their showroom totalling it?

Yep, been drinking too.

 

[D Fresh]

In the event there was a math error in the cost of the car, interest rate, extended warranty contract, window tint etc etc, your position is valid and I whole hardly agree with all the comments above, they eat it. The problem is you have no leverage in this case. Tags are a form of tax, you owe that to the State now and each year thereafter. Without legit registration the ticket for being pulled over in AZ is nearly 1,000 bucks, not sure about CO.

If you like the truck, pay the 800 and be done with it. My guess is their margins on the new vehicle are very tight and that is the best they can do. If you happen to have put 1,000 miles on the truck they won’t want it back lest they sell a used versus new vehicle. Just my 2 cents

You've summed it up nicely. According to them the purchase is done. They've been paid. They aren't taking it back.

 

[D Fresh]

"My first reaction is to take halfsies and small claims his ass for the other $800". I suspect, once you accept the deal, you will no longer have recourse in court. You are playing poker with someone who has done it before. Just set on it a day or two and let him think about it. Depending on volume of dealer, holdback and the original deal you got, $1600 could put him upside down on the deal and that is not a good thing. The 50/50 split is not biggie or he wouldn't have offered it. Use your best poker face....

That's the plan. A quick perusal of the dealerships "get to know us" page shows that he does indeed have higher ups. Will let him stew on it tomorrow and start making some calls.

 

[D Fresh]

i'm not from Colorado - but I would visit the DMV and see if this dealership has a history of performing poorly on math in public. If they have done this before it would be common knowledge. I would pursue a more hard-line approach in this case. If not, I would collect the 800 dollars from them and go to the DMV myself. I certainly wouldn't trust them with another 800 bucks.

Thing is COVID delays at the DMV are probably what caused this to come up a month later in the first place.

I don't think they'll be much help other than to confirm the amount and take payment.

 

[D Fresh]

If you know an attorney I would seriously run this by them. Even a 100 for advise and a ‘phone call’ could have you sidestep this mess without opening your mouth. When attorneys call and have valid claims many will write it off instead of having it cost them far more. Worst you’re left with is 50/50 at this point. Time to up the anti!

I don't know any attorneys and feel a cold call to one willbresult in a greater bill than what the dealershipbis trying stick me with.

I think if legal recourse is needed my outlet will be small claims.

 

[cwea]

"not my fault you suck at your job, once you refund my money 100% you can come get your truck, it will be on the street keys on the hood"

i wouldnt budge an inch

 

[Fawnbuster]

So I know I just just hit post on the last one. But it was sitting their while the "finance manager" called back.

Long conversation. After pulling teeth he offered half and half. I countered with halfsies and bedliner. He said no.

Apparently he is the "sales manager" I finalized the deal with and holds both titles. He claims he is the last option to talk with and will not budge.

His stance is he's been paid by me and Ford. If the tax is not paid the vehicle cannot be tagged, and not his problem.

Put the conversation on hold.He's gonna be back in the office noon on Friday. Got some research/ calls to make tomorrow.

My first reaction is to take halfsies and small claims his ass for the other $800.

$800 almost seems worth it to be done with it.

Everyone has a boss. Sales manager answers to the general manager and or owner of the dealership. I wouldn't pay a red cent just based on their screw up, attitude and a binding written contract. Being willing to work with them is one thing, their attitude throws that out the window for me.

 

[wanted33]

I'm in for the resolution of this drama. I have no idea what the best course is to take, so my interest is peaked. Good luck OP.

 

[GTGallop]

Totally with you.

At this point it sounds like worst case court it might have to be. In that case I feel basic contract law has me covered.

I almost sent my wife off the deep end.

I pontificated that if Ford Credit and I have "paid" for the truck, and it is insured and tagged under temporary plates. What might happen if I drove the truck into their showroom totalling it?

Yep, been drinking too.

Coffee and Sober Brain working this AM.
License Plates and Sales tax are not connected. One department knows nothing of the other. And there is no law that says they have to charge you sales tax. Any retailer can sell anything they like without the additional charge of sales tax - they just have to eat the sales tax when they file taxes annually or quarterly. What the law does do is allow them to pass that tax on to you if they like, and almost every one does.

Easiest thing to do is to wait them out. Tell them you ain't taking the bait and magically your plates will arrive in the mail or how ever you normally get them.

If you want some leverage, there are attorneys that will send a letter for a small fee of $50 to $150. You can even add that fee in on the letter and tell them youare expecting them to pay it and taking them to small claims court, not to contest their invalid fee but to get your $150 back for legal counsel about a scam they were pulling. It's even possible that a judge could award you up to 3 times your losses as a form of punitive damages.

 

[MrAnalog]

Just got a call from the salesman who sold me my truck about a month ago.

County DMV kicked back my paperwork saying dealership shorted them roughly $1600 in sales tax.

Not sure what to think. They calculated the taxes, they had my address. We made a deal.

My initial response to him was we have two choices. They cover it, or I bring them their truck back and we scratch the deal. He said he'd get back to me.

I love my truck, if it ends up being a free rental for a month I'll take my money elsewhere for another Ranger. But I don't want to have to do that.

Not happy at all.

Any suggestions are welcome.

They wrote the contract, not you. They are the experts in paying sales tax, not you. I have no legal training, but I believe these factors are in your favor.

They also may be liable for loss of use.

 

[jsphlynch]

Really interested in seeing how this turns out. I think everyone can agree that morally the dealership is responsible, but legally (please note, I have no formal legal training) it appears a bit more hazy.

I suspect that the sales contract included some CYA language formally intended to protect the dealer from honest miscalculations. Indeed, since the sales tax rate could be different for every customer (if calculated based on where the buyer resides rather than where the dealer is located), I could see this being a reasonable clause. But $1600 is a pretty big "miscalculation" and there's no way the sales tax rate varies that much county-to-county. (Edit to add: Per a post later in this thread, it does vary that much!)

If you negotiated on the out-the-door price, rather than the purchase price, you might have more of an argument. On the other hand, I don't know how you prove that you agreed on $X price out the door if it isn't preserved in writing somewhere, and it probably isn't (there's a reason the salesmen won't let you keep that little 4-square sheet that they wrote everything on during the negotiations).

Have you checked online reviews of the dealership for reports of similar shenanigans? Your argument for fraud or negligence is quite a bit stronger if you can show that this isn't an isolated incident.

Regardless of how this turns out for you, make sure to file a report with the state attorney general. The AG's office almost certainly won't help you, but a couple of reports like yours and they'll surely take action against the dealer, thus ensuring they can't do this to other people.

You can also post reviews, contact BBB, pass the tip to your local news station, etc. Just be very careful about the potential for libel.

License Plates and Sales tax are not connected. One department knows nothing of the other.

Not true, at least in the states I've lived in. Licensing can verify whether sales tax has been paid, and will not give you title until it has been paid. They do this to ensure no one evades their tax bill by buying in a neighboring non-sales tax state or when buying from a private party.

Easiest thing to do is to wait them out. Tell them you ain't taking the bait and magically your plates will arrive in the mail or how ever you normally get them.

I don't think this will work. Dealer has zero incentive to act if OP tries to wait them out, since they already have their money and the state is focused on getting their cut from the OP. OP will just end up with an untitled truck sitting in his driveway. Got to be proactive in this case.

 

[dtech]

Might be worth a call to the State Attorney Generals office just to see what their take is - been yrs since I used then but I found them to be responsive and at least with my issues helpful.

And as I think you might have said - give it some to time as what usually transpires behind the scenes is some damage repair/infighting at the dealership as no one wants to eat that many $$, so stand your ground, it's their mistake.

 

[TheFixer253]

I bought my 2020 Ranger in the Denver metro area. Would you mind sharing which dealership this is that can't do a simple sales tax calculation and then causes all sorts of grief for one of their customers?

 

[Trigganometry]

Again, I just purchased a Ranger beginning of December. Once we agreed on a price document(s) were drafted as a ‘contract’. I live in Massachusetts so our sales tax is pretty much the same as yours. I paid a fee for them to do the RMV transactions. The sales tax was a line item listed in the contract as part of my fees. If it wasn’t there it’s on them. Once I sign the dotted line that’s it. By law you can’t go back and change it. Any court of law would uphold that opinion.

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