It’s all led up to this moment when all of the papers are signed and here come the keys.
Oh, wait a minute…the iPad from hell seems to be giving our F&I guy a bit of bother where the system wasn’t allowing the deal to be booked.
Uh oh!
There was a legitimate reason to worry that our trip to Happy Town where the Corolla and Kia are parked might be delayed a bit, especially as we’re doing the deal on a Sunday and bankers aren’t exactly known for working over the weekend hours.
TIP: do be aware that when you’re doing deals on the weekend, especially ones that involve the dealer’s financing, sometimes the bank can turn up on Monday and screw up the whole thing!
But wait a minute? We had a deal, right?!? All the papers were signed, all of the agreements made?
One of the documents that was signed was a power of attorney to allow the dealer to fix minor little boo boos in the paperwork without making the customer come back in to re-sign the whole mess of paperwork. Typos, biffed addresses, that sort of thing.
What that power of attorney doesn’t protect you against is the dealer’s bank backing out of the deal that the dealer had agreed over the weekend after the fact.
There have been instances where the customer was handed the keys to the new car only to get a call from the dealer to bring it back because the bank chose to decline the financing.
That’s heartbreaking enough but then it’s not unheard of that the vehicle they’d traded in has already left the lot on it’s way to the auction and they can’t get it back. Most dealers won’t send off the trade-in until the bank confirms the deal is good to go but there have been instances where the consumer has lost the new car they thought they’d bought and the car they’d traded and they’re usually completely out of luck at that point.
TIP: the deal ain’t done until whoever finances it is past the point of rescission!
Fortunately, that’s not happening tonight…our F&I guy waves his magic wand and it appears the bank and dealer systems are happy so out the showroom door we go to unload the Kia.
There’s a little bit of a bittersweet moment as the stuff in the Kia’s being emptied into the recently hatched Corolla that Jessica will now be calling her daily driver.
I truly get it.
I’ve always hated the bit when it comes to handing over the keys and title on the vehicle I’m leaving because of the many hours and miles we’ll have spent together over so many years.
You can’t help but get attached to a vehicle that’s been awfully good to you through the years.
There’s been a couple that I’m not ashamed to admit that there were a few tears. More than a few, really.
But eventually one does get past that and now there’s the exhilaration of driving a newer vehicle and enjoying the couple of months before the first payment comes due!
That’s when you’ve gotten your keys in Happy Town and it’s time to go cruise the main drag!
Have fun and enjoy your new ride! 🙂