‘Turo Should Pay It Off’: Man Trades Volkswagen Tiguan For a Tesla. Then He Gets a Call From the VW Dealership 3 Months Later
'I gave them both sets of keys and everything.'
A Volkswagen Tiguan owner says he was scammed at a dealership after trading in his vehicle for a Tesla. Don (@dondontplayyy) uploaded a TikTok explaining how he believes three employees at a Volkswagen dealer colluded to finagle him out of his trade-in. It’s a ploy he says that he only discovered months later, leaving him with a series of frustrating interactions that culminated in a lowered credit score and two car notes.
Refinancing His Volkswagen
Don begins his video speaking into the camera declaring he was scammed. He said that he was financing a 2019 Tiguan for around $600 per month and wanted to refinance. After receiving mail-in advertisements about refinancing options, he decided to learn more about one of the offers he received. So he called the dealership, which asked him to come in and discuss the matter in person, which he did.
Upon entering the dealership, he informed the dealership that he was just interested in refinancing his current car. Following this, a rep from the dealership ran his credit and saw that it was in good standing. So much so that the salesperson told Don he could probably purchase a house if he wanted to. After complimenting his credit score, the same rep tried to sell Don a new vehicle. The TikToker said that despite being intent on financing his vehicle, he decided to allow the sales rep to show him some new rides. However, nothing he saw really piqued his interest and he proceeded to let the rep know that he just wanted to re-finance.
A Tesla Catches His Eye
That is, however, until he saw a Tesla at the dealership. Don says that he had always wanted the EV, which prompted him to request a test drive. After running the numbers on the EV, he learned that he would only be paying $400 a month for the Tesla, which is significantly cheaper than his Volkswagen. Consequently, he saw the prospect of trading in his car and getting the Tesla as a “plus.” He went on to state, “I wanted to drop down anyways, and I got a Tesla, let’s go with it.”
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Don figured that he would have to trade in his Volkswagen which would ultimately bring down the price of the Tesla. He said that he was fully aware of the protocol that would need to take place, which included a three-day pay-off of his vehicle. After spending hours in the dealership, Don signed off on the necessary paperwork and supplied the dealer with a 10-day payoff. Subsequently, he followed up with the dealership to ensure that they received the 10-day payoff payment.
No Pay Off
Initially, he thought everything was fine. That is, until three months later when he received a call from Volkswagen asking him to send the payoff out. Perplexed, Don relayed to Volkswagen financing that he had, indeed, paid off the vehicle. This prompted him to phone up the dealer and ask why they didn’t send the payout yet. An employee at the dealership asked for his 10-day payoff yet again, and Don informed them that he had sent it to them three times already. Furthermore, he tells viewers that the Tiguan had been in the dealership’s possession this whole time.
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“I gave them both sets of keys and everything,” he said. After waiting a few more days after sending the dealership the payoff yet again, Don rang up Volkswagen financing. He asked if the Tiguan had been paid off. He was told no. So he went on to call the dealership one more time to see if the payoff had been applied to the Volkswagen’s balance.
However this time, someone told him that he didn’t have a car on file in their system.
Dude, Where’s My Car?
Astounded, Don reminded the dealer of his previous correspondence with them. He stated that he had a record of his transactions, along with phone calls. Additionally, he told viewers that he visited the dealership with friends of his to get further footage of his interactions with staff.
Ultimately, he was told that the car was listed on Turo, and that whoever was renting the vehicle out on the service was supposed to submit the payoff to Volkswagen. At this point, Don said that he just wanted the car back in his possession, because he was on the hook for two separate car notes.
Someone at the dealership informed him that the Tiguan was actually at a detail center and that they would get the car back to him. The following day, the car was returned, but when Don checked the odometer, it had 4,000 more miles on it. Moreover, he remarked that the vehicle “smelled like cigarettes [and] marijuana.” Not to mention that it was “dirty” which he found strange because the dealership told him that it was in the process of getting detailed. “It was dirty, inside and outside. The wheels had stuff on it. And I’m just so confused as to what was going on,” he told viewers.
Financial Implications
Don said that because the pay off wasn’t appended to his vehicle that his credit score suffered as a result. Consequently, this complicated his ability to purchase a property he was interested in purchasing, he says. The experience prompted him to look back at the paperwork he signed and as it turns out, the verbiage in the agreement was different that what he discussed with the dealership.
He said that in the paperwork, the trade-in section was listed as “N/A” indicating that he didn’t give the dealership a car. Instead, the dealership put in that the used Tesla he bought was valued at $30,000 instead. Which meant that a trade-in value for his Tiguan wasn’t applied to his purchase at all.
Don encouraged viewers to learn from his ordeal. “Read y’all paperwork, man. I put my trust in them [the dealership]...don’t put your trust in these dealerships. And these dealers, read over y’all paperwork. And take a friend with you. That’s the lesson that I learned.”
Commenters Sound Off
There were some folks who replied to Don’s video who expressed that they didn’t feel all that surprised by the dealer’s scamming ways. “They saw you coming. You met the DEALER at the DEALERSHIP? You dealt with 3 people and you don’t have a clue who they were.? WOW no wonder,” one person penned.
Another remarked that they were having a hard time understanding his desire to re-finance the car at a dealership. “Maybe I missed it, were you trying to refinance at the same dealership where you originally purchased the Tiguan? Most dealerships don’t offer refinancing and would direct you to your lender or bank,” they wrote.
Which was a sentiment echoed by someone else on the application who penned, “Dude, you should have re-financed with a bank or Credit Union!”
There was one user on the app who recommended that Don should report the dealership to alert other consumers to the fraudulent practice. “Report them to (Better Business Bureau) BBB they’ll look into this and whatever they find will be public knowledge,” they wrote.
Someone else also recommended that Don take this route as well. “You can report them to the Attorney General in your state and to the BBB. Put them on blast, call the name of the dealership and the people involved,” they suggested.
InsideEVs has reached out to Don via TikTok comment for further information.
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