AFSCME 3357-HOF'S BLOG

Spot Delivery -
From A Car Dealer Lawyer's Perspective

Gil Van Over, apparently a lawyer for car dealers, has posted a column on the dealer-magazine.com website on the problems with spot delivery car sales. For those who aren't familiar with spot delivery sales, we in the consumer law field refer to these sales as gimme-back, yo-yo, or puppy-dog sales. In these sales the car dealer sells the car to a customer, then several days later, calls the customer saying that there is a problem with the paperwork and the customer has to bring the car back and restructure the deal. In almost every case, the new deal is worse for the customer.

As Mr. Van Over points out, spot delivery sales could, in a given case, be illegal for violations of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the state Unfair and Deceptive Acts statute, Truth in Lending, and Article 9, U.C.C. (regarding repossessions). A full treatment of the subject is contained in the National Consumer Law Center's Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices manual. If you are a consumer victimized by a spot delivery sale, contact an experienced consumer attorney through the National Associations of Consumer Advocates website, www.naca.net.