Is this even legal?
My husband and I bought a 99 chevy venture from JD Byrider in May of '06. It ran fine for about 2 months, then the intake manifold gasket needed to be replaced. It is the only time we have been late on a payment, we had to pay over $200 in towing, plus a rental car for a week and the $25 deductible to get it fixed. They very reluctantly agreed to allow us a one week extention on our payment even though we were told when we bought it there was no grace period, but we couldn't pay the towing and rental car without it, no rental car, no work. About a month later, the traction control system started engaging when coming from a stop, the car would lurch into the intersection and stall for a few seconds before moving, we were almost hit several times. We took it to JD and when we got it back it wasn't doing it anymore so we assumed it was fixed. After a year it started doing it again, took it in and JD said they could find no problem so couldn't fix it. Now that the van is out of warranty (only had a 18 month warranty) The transmission needs replacing and were told by new mechanic wouldn't need replacing if fixed sooner, he can't see why JD didn't find the problem. It also needs a new abs motor, can only buy from GM dealer for $1500 just for the part, radiator leaking, and constant water on driver side front floor, don't know where that's coming from. But worst of all, still owe $6200 on van after almost 2 years of paments at $169.45 every other week and we wanted to pay it off so we could buy something else, can't afford two payments, but when our taxes came in we called cnac to ask how much it would be to pay it off they told us $6200 wether we pay it off now or finish the year and a half payments we have left. In the beginning almost our whole payments went to interest, which I know is normal to collect the interest on the front end, but shouldn't some of that become unearned interest and go to principal if we pay it off a year and a half early? They wouldn't have a right to the full 19% interest for the full term of the loan but still want to collect it from us. I looked at our contract, the minimum finance charge is $0.00. Can they really make us pay all that interest. We're stuck, the van needs over $4000 in repairs and is almost undriveable, I just want to get rid of it. We even thought of trading it back in to JD (yes we are that desperate) I know there interest and prices are high, we agreed to that when we bought the van, but even though we bought it from them for almost $12000, they say it's only worth about $900 so no trade in.
To answer the original question...
Yes, needing to have your car repaired IS legal!
Let's cause these thieves some loss legally
I am organizing a citizen protest in a very high profile manner that is sure to raise some eyebrows. If I can get enough people to participate, I would like to spend a Saturday ( Their busiest day of the week) walking back and forth in front of the local franchise holding signs asking people to question me about CNAC and JDByrider's practices and policies. When people hear what will really happen if they have an emergency and are "one day" in default on their "loan" from CNAC, they will turn and walk away. Not to mention the condition of the vehicles after a couple of months of use. This company is operating at the very fringes of the law by design,and in turn, are hurting the very people that they advertise helping. The game that they are playing, within the confines of the law,is ruining lives barely on the upswing. Folks That truly need a service such as that, succumb to the vultures that have these practices in place as a business model. One story is told to the public as a gimmick to draw in the unsuspecting "customer" who buys into the very aggressive sales pitches,and all they need to do is wait. Their "contracts are designed to be solely in favor of CNAC and there is no relief written into the contract for the buyer anywhere. But it is made immediately affordable to the "customer with the down payment he has at the time, who most likely is in real need of transportation. The minute you call and say you will be a day late, you will have it repossessed. And the only way you get it back is to pay off the loan. This is a win-win situation for these thieves. If by some miracle you can amass the already inflated price of the car, they win,and if not, they have your money already and you can't get it back. And they get to "auction off" the vehicle and attempt to sue you for their "loss". I want to meet the lawmaker that signed the bill, allowing these types of vultures to operate and would like to call them out on the air. If enough of a stink can be generated, someone will smell it. It is time to put a monkey wrench in their plans and bring them to a grinding halt with their nonsense. I am in Tampa,FL and anyone interested in causing these criminals some serious loss of revenue can e-mail me at rennell_johnson@yahoo.com
(p.s. I have done the research and according to the HCSO, TPD and the FDLE, protesting in this manner is perfectly legal as long as no-one trespasses on the car lot itself or the property owned by the dealership. EVERY square inch of the sidewalk in front of the business belongs to the public and is considered by law, A Public Right of Way. I even intend to do it alone but more people will draw the media and that is the target. To spread the word and get them some negative publicity.
Citizen protest
What a great idea, protesting in front of one of thier dealerships! I don't know if this is one of thier company stores or a franchise, but either way maybe you can generate some negative publicity against these bastards. I am not in the Tampa area, but I whole heartedly support your efforts, hope you can get more of thier victims from your area to participate. Maybe we could inform enough people to protest all thier stores in each city that they criminalize. The number of disgruntled employees is also very high, they have first hand info of thier tactics and would be invaluable as a resource. If you, we, all of us can get the word out to the powers that be, maybe it will draw enough attention to generate an audit of thier past customers. Be aware! JD monitors all these sites, they will have a heads up. I loathe this company and I never purchased a vehicle from them, I was tricked (lied to) to go work for them, I saw and heard first hand the lies and decite that are perpetuated by this company. Believe me....these cars are crap! Maybe 1/10 of them are worth anything, but nothing is worth what they do to the public when you sign that contract! Don't do it!!!!!!
Byrider monitoring the sites
I know full well that they monitor these sites, most criminals keep up with the laws in effect that affect them. The sweet thing about protesting in front of their lots is that they can do a damn thing except watch and absorb the bad publicity. The first amendment was written in a fashion that allows the public to speak out against tyranny even if it is carried out by two bit crap hustlers such as CNAC/JDByrider. I urge you all to exercise your rights and put these shameful hustlers out of business. People have the intrinsic right to rebuild their lives but to have shysters such as these, cause people to fall deeper into debt with their unfair tactics and business model designed to generate cash at the expense of peoples lives is inexcusable and should be punished by the law. Since a part of their business model is scamming the public, it rightfully should be the public that exposes them for who they are and effectively puts them out of business. And as far as this so called doctor that continues to write these posts extolling the virtues of CNAC/JDB, are you kidding? Do you think that because you have scammed us all, we are stupid enough to believe ANYTHING that you post on this site or any other? Get a grip, you are seriously wasting your time if you think that any of you postings are doing anything more than upsetting the very people that have fallen prey to your "business practices"? It's fuel for the fire to generate negative publicity for your business. Not everyone is a dolt that will sit still and allow you to continue fleecing poor people out of the little money that they have. YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED.
jd DOES suck
I'm in
luv4drew@hotmail.com