Dealership Question

[MSH]

I was just at a dealership looking at cars. Found one i really liked.... told the guy to run the numbers and he gave me some paperwork to fill out. It looks like they use a company called Drive Financial Services". Has anyone heard of them? Any experiences with them? I googled them and there are a bunch of rip-off reports.... but that doesn't mean anything. You can get them for any company

Do all lenders call your place of employment? What do they say?

[Flamingo]

If you are concerned, check with the Better Business Bureau as to that company.

Lenders call your place of employment (your supervisor or HR dept.) when you apply for a loan, usually for a car or mortgage. They just verify your employment and check the information you provided on the application (salary, length of employment, etc.).

[AngelinaCatHub]

If you have any kind of "gut feeling", be careful. Ask your dealer if they have a better source. Remember, there is a glut of used cars out there and you may be able to get a better deal. 'Hub

[Nicollette]

Now a lot of lenders can also use a service called, "The Work Number" if your place of employment is signed up with them. It will give the lender info they need such as length of employment, salary, etc. The lender for my auto called "The Work Number" and it gave them they info they needed. I think a lot of bigger employers are turning to this because it eliminates a lot of personal calls to supervisors and Human Resources. Just ask your payroll dept if they are signed up with them.

[MSH]

Thank guys....
I felt great when i was there.... i ignored the usual car dealer tactics (he slipped and told me the price of the car, than it was suddenly more expensive... so, they can make you feel like you are getting a deal). Car drove great, felt good.... It was exactly what i was looking for.
I brought the papers home and googled that name.... Bam!! now i am worried.... especially with the fine print that they can call all of these personnel references and place of business if they want too.

Is it normal for companies to call your references.... I know they use it if you are late, but what about for getting the loan?

[veryclose]

I would say visit some other dealers and see where they are going to try to finance you. If you have a bad feeling about it, pay attention to that feeling.

I was 2 weeks post-discharge with abysmal credit and a dealership was able to get me financed through Chase (high interest rate of course). You can probably be financed through someone else, don't give up.

I Googled them also and see more than a few complaints about them not having record of payments and even a complaint where the buyer was told a certain sum for monthly payments and 2 months later the buyer was notifed that the payments would be $75 more a month.

Personally, if the dealer with the car you like won't go through someone else, I'd walk and find another car somewhere else.

[BassBoy]

IMO, if the dealership CAN NOT get you financed with a reputable lender, then run away, don't walk! More and more dealers are implemeting Fresh Start Programs and surely, a handful of them are using reputable lenders.

Have you tried to get pre-approved yourself, like with Capital One Blank Check? Having your own pre-approval places the ball in your court. You eliminate the dealer's financing options all together and all you need to concern yourself with is the purchase price. Makes the negotiations of buying a vehicle so much easier.

Just a note I want to point out........if you choose to do dealer financing, DO NOT leave with a vehicle unless every document pertaining the vehicle and the loan are completed and signed. When dealers allow you to leave without everything completed, this is called Spot Delivery, Spot Delivery is when you leave with the vehicle, but the dealer needs to finalize financing approval, but the the dealer comes back to you a few days later with different loan terms, including a higher rate. But of course, you love the new car and you want to keep it, so you decide to agree...........putting extra money in dealer's pocket by agreeing to higher rate or poorer terms.

And I agree with everyone who has replied.........if your gut is telling you something is not right, then go with your gut!

[Flamingo]

Thank guys....
I felt great when i was there.... i ignored the usual car dealer tactics (he slipped and told me the price of the car, than it was suddenly more expensive... so, they can make you feel like you are getting a deal). Car drove great, felt good.... It was exactly what i was looking for.
I brought the papers home and googled that name.... Bam!! now i am worried.... especially with the fine print that they can call all of these personnel references and place of business if they want too.

Is it normal for companies to call your references.... I know they use it if you are late, but what about for getting the loan?

As to the highlighted sentence...if they ask for the information, expect them to check on it. When you sign that application/form, you give them permission to do whatever is on that form...remember that.

[MSH]

I was just doing some research.... "Drive Financial Services" is owned by a company called Santander Consumer.... Which is also the parent company for Roadloans.com, which seems to be used a lot buy others on this site.

[MSH]

Is this a normal practice to call references? I do not mind listing people.... i understand they go down this list when you don't pay. But, i prefer family and friends to not be called because i am looking to buy a car.

[backinstride]

Drive Financial Services Info...

Yep. This question got me to stop lurking... Although OP might not need to know this now, I have dealt with Drive Financial Services (in a previous life) for a previous, successful, car loan. It was a time when I needed to rebuild my credit - back then... They also operate a few dealerships by the name of Drive Time, there are several on the east coast and other areas.

I don't know about Roadloans, but here's now DFS operates. They will get you into a car if you are breathing, pretty much. They will go through the exercise of qualifying you based on your income, job, blah blah blah... as usual. But it doesn't really matter what kind of car you get, they will always add about $3500+- to the price right off the top. And yes, that is in addition to the un-effing-believable-double-digit interest rate you will get.

I laughed out loud when OP said the car was suddenly more expensive than what the salesman mistakenly quoted you! That is their "fee" for taking your poor-credit-having-butt on as a risk. And despite all the good car-buying advice here, please don't think you're going to get rid of that "fee". If you take a good look at fair market value/KBB vs. the price of the car you want to take home going through DFS, you'll see.

The Drive Time Dealerships make it very clear to you that you will begin to receive "payment reminder" calls immediately after you have agreed to the deal. They told me that for the first 3 months, they will call the week my payment is due to remind me to pay it. After you have shown you don't need baby sitting, they will let up, a little.

I know there are ripoff reports concerning the kind of vehicles ppl have been sold - They use to operate dealerships that sold straight lemons back in the late '80s/early '90s, but now the majority of their inventory is vehicles that have come off lease.

Without looking, am sure they have gotten RIRs because of their heavy handed tactics in making sure payments are made on time. I personally did not mind this 1) BECAUSE the dealership was straight up with me and told me this would happen - and I listened. The calls usually went like: this is blah with drivetime, reminding you that your payment is due on blah. No ugliness, no rudeness. They also got me in a pretty decent car with just about zero down even when they "really" required about $1000 down, based on my credit & situation. Yea, I made sure they took a "risk" . 2) I had no intention of being late - I accepted their calls for the first few months and went in person to make my payments before every due date (realize this is not feasible for some). 3) I was wiling to spend more on a car than I really should have to get my credit score up. And although I paid out the hoo-haa, for me it was worth it. 4) Although they get you where it hurts, the loan I had was simple interest, not one of those crazy compound-exponential-minus-the third-wednesday-of-the-year-plus-pi kind of loans. That I made sure of before I signed anything. And for me, at the time, the only other option was paying cash for a hoopty and STILL not anything to reflect positively on my credit.

They were a little out done that I was able to pay the loan off early (a little over a year into it).

Oh yea, and they don't call your references when they are getting you the loan - at least they didn't in my case. That was just for in case you fail to pay.

So that's the deal.... if OP had an "uneasy feeling" with the financing part, I can certainly understand. If you have other options, go for it. But again, that's the deal w/ DFS.

[backinstride]

Oh yea, and

....no car salesmen will ever tell you about that fee... what it REALLY is.

Unless you act like you know what you're talking about and call them out on it.

But why admit you're being... Oh, heh, I was gonna say taken for a ride. But that would have been bad.

[teacher]

I don't think Drivetime is the same as DFS. I might be wrong though.

[backinstride]

I don't think Drivetime is the same as DFS. I might be wrong though.

Maybe they operate under different P&Ls, but they are one in the same. I applied for (but did not take) a car loan last year at a Toyota dealership. The very nice finance man said only one company, Drive Financial Svc. would finance me because I had had a loan w/ them before.

And it was the same finance man who suggested I try to do "this-n-that" in order to get with another finance company because DFS would have me in a payment I didn't want because of the jacked up price & the interest. I guess they've branched out....