Yes. If this were a run-of-the mill "in the excitement we forgot to get his down payment" situation, the OP would have received a call from the dealership the next day saying "oops". The paper trail would have started there. The fact that it started 3 months later is suspect

i'd get paid in cash in a heart beat, however, i rarely PAY in cash, unless i'm avoiding some kind of credit fees, or the person isn't charging me sales tax. Tires, i buy in cash. Cars and Real estate, get a certified check so you have a paper trail. however, the fact that they released the car to you, and you signed all the paper work, implies that you paid what it said on the paper work, and the burdon should fall upon them to prove otherwise. If i had a store, and one of my employees forgot to collect the money from the customer and didn't realize until a long time after, you had better believe its coming out of the employees pay. Sounds like the financing manager is an as$clown.

I counted the cash twice before I handed it over and the gentleman that worked my contract counted it twice. I mean he showed me where in the contract that stated $1000.00 was paid. I guess it was dumb of me to think that this was a receipt/contract. But yeah I would not go out of my way to accuse a business. I once used to own a business and I know word of mouth is #1 for advertising.

I'm sure it happens but what makes you think that the dealer asked to bring in cash knowingly... I didn't mention this in the OP but now I think about it I think they pulled a fast one on me.

Man, I would fight that one then. Sounds like you have at least 2 people that are involved, and I bet one doesn't know the other took the money.

It's not dumb of you( you trusted the company to handle the transaction properly), I didn't know all the facts, just stating the different scenarios.

I'm 30... Is that young still? :rolleyes: I guess I'm inexperienced with dealerships and law. and yes I went alone.

Thanks for the advise.
I checked 4 times what it stated on the contract and kept it in a safe place.

I know you were throwing different scenarios out there. But I do agree more than one person was involved in this as well.

Also Google around for that dealership on reviews, maybe they've tried this before too.
(I got a lot of results for yo-yo scams for my dealership, before I bought from them)

good call.

Holy crap! I didn't realize it until now but my dealer did this to me :icon18:. They called me a week later and said that the loan was "only pre-approved" and that the terms have changed. Obviously, my reaction to the guy on the phone was "WTF?!" (literally). I went through they're finance department to get the loan, and I was happy with the results. But they called back and gave me some BS. I simply replied "that's BS I have excellent credit, I'm sure I can find an even better rate myself, give me a few days I'll call you back with a new lender." I got a call back a few hours later from the same guy saying " ok the lender has approved your current loan, nothing has changed, no need to re-sign anything". Wow, you learn something new every day!

Exactly, thats exactly what a yo-yo scam is.

I believe the dealer is on this one. They would have to prove you did not give them the $1,000. As stated earlier the dealer should not of let the vehicle go w/o a signature for a note showing the $1,000 to be paid at a later date. The dealer giving you the vehicle confirmed the transaction was complete. If you were trying to return the item then I would say the burden would be on you. A lawyer should be able to tell you the laws regarding this type dispute. This dispute has happened before & will happen again in the future & there will be case law on it.
Good Luck.

This is what google turned up... Mixed reviews only 2 but still. The bad review further proves my eperience with their I'm right you're wrong attitude.

NISSAN OF SAN BERNARDINO - San Bernardino, CA, 92408 - Citysearch

Well the only lawyer that I spoke to said he can't represent me if it went to small claims court saying most likely since it's not a "large" sum of money. It is to me damn it! He also said to let them take legal actions further saying that the contract should be enough to prove in my favor.

Do you have a bank reciept showing a withdrawl of 1,000. cash?
ATM or otherwise?

I realize money is money, but since the amount is not that large, have you considered just paying it to clear your credit?!

Have a written letter from them that it was paid in full.

Then turn around and sue them in small claims, only after the issues cleared on your credit.

I had the cash in hand. I get paid in cash sometimes and the day that I went in was exactly pay day 04/30/10 I went straight to the dealers after work.

That doesn't sound like a bad idea... But what guarantees do I have if any that I will see that 1000 again. Plus doesn't that make me more of a "suspect" if I willingly pay them?

I really believe that your auto purchase contract/finance document is a legal and binding document that will stand up in court (or arbitration if required). I believe that there is a requirement called the "One Document" rule governing a new car purchase. If the document shows a down payment, then the dealership will have a difficult time proving otherwise. There is an attorney in SoCal that specializes in these auto fraud and dispute cases. His name is Hal Rosner, of Rosner, Barry & Babbitt. The phone number is (800) 466-5366. By the way, I believe that Rosner answers auto dispute/fraud related questions for free on a website called UCAN.org.