12 On Your Side Investigates: Trade-in troubles leave drivers with debt, tag snags
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Auto sales jumped 5% last month as people rushed to upgrade their rides before the new tariffs kick in.
But also on the rise are complaints against Georgia car dealerships failing to pay off liens on trade-ins.
One of the dealerships in question is Waynesboro Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, which is now under investigation by Georgia’s attorney general.
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Imagine getting stuck paying three car payments or paying for a truck that can’t leave your driveway.
That’s what several customers told an investigator happened to them after they traded in or purchased a vehicle at the dealership.
Call ...
- DISPATCHER: “And you’re saying they’re not paying something that they were supposed to have paid?”
- CALLER: “Yes the vehicle that I traded in on Dec. 17th had a lien against it.”
... after call ...
- CALLER: “I need a unit to go with me to the Ram dealership.”
- CUSTOMER TO DEPUTY: “This is our third visit. We came. We called. I said, ‘Hey, wait. You haven’t paid the vehicle off.’ I am getting notification the bill hasn’t been paid. He does business in top secret places. He has a top secret clearance. Credit will affect his top secret clearance, so I had to pay off the truck with Chrysler Credit. I had to get a title, a registration, had to get a tag.”
- SALES MANAGER TO CUSTOMER: “OK, I am going to get everything together if you could leave for right now.”
- CUSTOMER: “I’ll just sit here and wait.”
Visit ...
- CUSTOMER TO DEPUTY: “Why do you think they blocked that door?”
- DEPUTY: “I understand. We are making phone calls right now.”
... after visit ...
- DEPUTY TO SUPERVISOR ON THE PHONE: “Yeah I was about to say ... that’s a civil.”
- Deputies told this customer to take it to court.
... the results are always the same.
Among the 10 victims named in an initial investigation by the Burke County Sheriff’s Office is Midville Police Chief C.J. Green.
He got stuck with three car payments – including two on vehicles he had traded in and the dealership had sold.
After trading a Silverado and a Durango for a new Ram in November, he’s paying about $1,800 a month on loans.
“That’s where the late payments come in because I couldn’t continue to pay on the Durango,” he said. “I mean who could? I’m on a policy salary.”
Maegan Meyer’s father paid cash for the Silverado that Green traded in.
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“There are no words,” she said. “Something that was supposed to be so simple for my father to do because he was excited to finally get his VA benefits and this is the first purchase he wanted to make – his first vehicle in years.”
She said: “When my dad purchased this for cash for 31 thousand with all the extra stuff they added to it … they never gave him a title.”
Meanwhile, Green said, “I’ve been turned over to collections at this point.”
The dealership shutdown in April.
One customer told a deputy just before that: “The problem is they are closing doorsin two days. If I don’t get the vehicle, they’re going to make it disappear.”
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Bill Gibbs is the vice president of Jim Hudson Lexus. He’s been in the business of selling cars for the past 40 years, and offered his opinion:
“It sounds like they didn’t pay their trades off and the floor plan lender shut them down.”
He added: “So when you get out of trust with your lender, they come in and take over.”
A deputy’s body cam caught this interaction:
- DEPUTY: “So what are you here?”
- AUDITOR: “I represent the bank that owns everything.”
- DEPUTY: “OK.”
- AUDITOR: “So own their asset – that asset – until such time it’s taken care of.”
- AUDITOR: “Because I work for the bank, I cannot release keys to that car.”
- DEPUTY: “Right.”
- AUDITOR: “Because I have the key to all the cars.”
Green said he reached out to his attorney.
“He says we don’t have anyone to sue because that was locked into a corporation,” he said.
The attorney suggested he file a police report with the Burke County Sheriff’s Office.
He did.
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From the investigator case notes, the owner of the dealership claimed all the money from the traded-in and then sold vehicles went to the operation of the business.
The investigator wrote that it proved theft by deception and theft by conversion.
The owner got an ultimatum: pay up or prosecution.
The owner paid up, at least for Green.
Last week, he met the veteran from Evans to hand over the now-clear title to his trade-in.
“I was so excited. I am like, ‘Yes we finally got this title. We can finally it.’ And then we go to it and they’re like, ‘No, sorry.’”
The tag office told her and her father the now-closed dealership has a pending electronic tag registration on the Silverado.
“Now he is stuck in this situation with a $31,000 yard ornament, and there is nothing we can do,” she said. “We are helpless.”
Green is now at the mercy of the bank to clear his credit.
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“Oh, I was in the high 800s. Never missed a payment,” he said. “I’ve been working on my credit score since I was in high school.”
Meyer said: “There should be some sort of fraud or criminal case to bring against them for this.”
On April 23, The Burke County Sheriff’s Office sent out a news release stating:
“Investigation into Waynesboro dealership results in positive resolution.”
But just Wednesday, the Burke County sheriff gave us an update: The case is active. more victims have come forward.
How can you protect yourself?
- Look at a dealership’s inventory on the lot. Is the dealership selling vehicles or are the same vehicles sitting on the lot accruing interest with the bank?
- How long has the dealership been in town? A quick business search with the secretary of state will give you an answer.
- Look at recent reviews online.
- If you do end up becoming a victim, file a report with law enforcement and the attorney general’s office. Send those reports along with a letter to your bank.
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