Legal Question in Consumer Law in California

Car lease fraud?

Three and a half weeks ago, my daughter traded-in her 2000

model Honda Accord to lease a Volvo from a San Francisco

dealership. She owed about $2,300 on her Honda, which was

financed thru American Honda. The amount due to her from

the Volvo dealership on the trade-in is approx. $11,000.

She still has not gotten her $11,000 from the Volvo

dealership, which is giving her the run around. She called

American Honda and, as of today, they have not gotten the

pay-off from the Volvo dealership and have not released the

title to them. However, the Volvo dealership claims they

have ''wholesaled'' out her car and will not have the $11,000

to give to her for ''at least a couple of weeks.''

Does she have any recourse? Also, how can they ''wholesale

out'' her Honda withou


Asked on 9/16/02, 6:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Re: Car lease fraud?

-Your case is eerily similar to a class action I filed against Ventura KIA two weeks ago down here. Namely, the dealership refused to pay off customers' trade-ins. This happened to many people.

-The short answer is to file a complaint with the DMV and see if that will provoke action on the dealer's part. If not, you then can sue for fraud and breach of contract.

-I do not know how the dealership managed to "wholesale" the car without paying off the loan. In my case, the unpaid-off trade-ins have been repossessed from the new owners.

-Despite how you proceed, I would like to speak with you about your experiences. Please feel free to call me at 805/641-6600 or e-mail me.

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Answered on 9/16/02, 7:05 pm


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