Many of us have had bad dealership experiences, with classic sales tricks like changing the price, giving a higher interest rate, and undisclosed terms of the contract. A man from North Chicago is suing a dealer for allegedly pulling all these tricks at the same time, reports the Lake & McHenry County Scanner. The worst part is that the man is blind, unable to read the paperwork himself before signing it.
Jerry Bosley walked into City Chevrolet of Grayslake in July, 2023. He was interested in a Chevy Traverse (not to drive himself, but for family members to drive him around) that was advertised online for $32,915. The lawsuit claims the dealer agreed to a fair price, and also promised to beat his credit union’s 6% interest rate on the loan. So far, so good.
However, when it came time to sign the paperwork, the dealer allegedly only gave him a ”summary and basic description and representations” of the paperwork he was signing. It would not provide accommodation for independent review as required by federal law, namely the Americans with Disabilities Act. The lawsuit accuses the dealer of changing the terms of the sale without Bosley’s knowledge, resulting in a purchase price of $43,588, over $10,000 more than advertised, at an interest rate of 11% rather than 6%. While we know and grudgingly accept that dealers typically make everything worse, taking advantage of a blind man is a pretty low blow.
Blind man’s bluff
Bosley complained to the dealer when he discovered the higher price and interest rate. He was told it was too late to change anything because he’d already signed the paperwork. In addition, any dispute was required to go through arbitration rather than a court of law because he’d signed away his right to sue, again without his knowledge. He’s suing anyway. The dealer has already filed a motion to dismiss the case because Bosley had signed a private arbitration agreement at the time of sale, which Bosley insists he was not aware of signing…