Once your credit is approved and you have picked out a car as well as settled on a price, keep paying attention while you sign the purchase contract…

Go over the information carefully

Here at Auto Credit Express, we occasionally get calls from consumers who “made a mistake”, went to the wrong kind of dealer and are trying to get out of their finance contracts.

Remember, a purchase contract is just what it says. Once you sign the contract, you are committed to the terms it contains. There is no “cooling off” period and you can’t change your mind later.

Double check the contract to make sure the terms are the same ones that you agreed on with the salesperson:

• Sales Price – make sure the sales price of the vehicle is correct. This figure should include the selling price of the car plus tax, title and license fees. The dealer may also charge a documentation fee to process the paperwork. This should all be outlined in this document and broken out as to the type of fee and amount.

• Amount Financed – this is the amount that you will be financing. It should be the sales price of the car less any down payment amount from cash or trade equity.
• Contract Term – this is the term in months of the sales contract and should reflect the terms you agreed to with the dealership and the salesperson/finance manager.
• Interest Rate – this is the interest rate that you will be changed. Again, it should be the same rate that you agreed to.
• Monthly Payment – this is the payment that you will be required to pay the bank each month for the term of the loan. It should match the amount that you agreed to.

If there is anything in the contract that you don’t think you agreed to, you have the right to walk away from it. If everything is correct and you sign the documents, the dealer will give you copies of the purchase agreement, finance contract, odometer statement, window labels and any other document that you signed.

The Bottom Line

You should be paying as much attention to going over the sale and finance documents as you spent researching your car purchase. If you blindly sign anything put in front of you and miss something, it’s your fault as much as the dealer’s. Taking a few extra minutes might save you years of misery. Remember, here at Auto Credit Express, we want you happily “on the road” to better credit.