Legal Question in Consumer Law in California

Re: Car dealerships

Yes, you are stuck...unless you either file bankruptcy or find a glitch in title that was not disclosed. Go to carfax.com to see if there is a glitch in title.

Re: Car dealerships

Yes! They can sell a car for whatever a willing and able buyer will pay for it. I am guessing, though, that there is more to the story here.

Did you have a trade-in that you were upside down with (that is, you owed more than it was worth)? Some purchase agreements roll into the price of the new car the difference between what your old car is worth and what you owe. In other words, the $5,200 "extra" they got for the car may have been the amount you owed over what your trade-in was worth. In essence, you financed the deficit on your old car along with the new car loan.

The fact that you have paid $10k on your new loan and still owe $18k (on a $23,200 purchase) tells me you have a very high interest rate or substantial other costs that were folded into the financing.

I am afraid you are caught in a vicious cycle here, and your only practical escape will be to tough it out until you pay off the car - regardless of what it is worth. Then you can start fresh with a purchase that ONLY includes the price of the new car, and not anything else rolled into the loan. Then, SHOP HARD for a better deal, where you can actually pay what the car is worth! Do some online research of values before you go shopping (check www.kbb.com for example) and be an informed consumer.

Good luck!

Re: Car dealerships

Rick Williams gave you the same response I would have.