Buyer Nightmare. Just found out bad news!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Valente
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So sorry Valente. That really sucks. I know I worked very hard on aligning tax deductions and tax credits as you did. It not only is a lot of money to juggle but the timing is critical around the change of years from 2017 to 2018.

I encourage you to take the matter to court.
 
Thanks for the encouragement. I am taking them to small claims court...April 12th. Ugh. I just know they're gonna spew a bunch of lies even under oath. They got what they wanted - one more sale to add to their December quota - at MY expense. I read where some dealers can make up to $500K from the factory if they hit a certain quota. I just hope I get a decent judge Yep. It really sucks.
 
Yes, nothing like some potential bad publicity and social media pressure to get a company to right a wrong!
 
What will help you in court is that you have the contract in hand dated 1/1/2018. Please keep us posted as to what happens.
 
Here is my 2 cents.

The dealer wasn't being honest with contracts with 2 different dates. But the fact that Valente signed the contract, meant he willingly collaborated, falsified documents and committed fraud. The judge might just throw this case out of court.
 
He only did it because the dealer told him it was a standard thing that is done. He had no reason not to believe them and no insider knowledge of the dealer's operations to know any different. And it certainly wasn't his idea to do it in the first place. All he was trying to do was buy a car from a licensed dealer.
 
Hope the dealership settles - at least midway. Jan 01 purchase is cutting it too close for tax incentives. Since the OP signed both agreements, it will be interesting to see how this goes. Dealerships have all the money to fight for their quota.
 
Hope this works out for you. Terrible situation for sure. Is there nothing you can do to depreciate some of your assets to carry the cost over to the next year?
 
Don’t go to small claims, you can’t win (yet). You have suffered no damages (yet). Sounds like you already filed and got a court date, so you may want to contact the courthouse and ask for an ‘adjournment sine die’.

There is a much simpler solution. The dealership screwed up, they’ve admitted it. But they don’t know how to fix it. Give them a solution.

Ask them to agree in writing that in the event the IRS reassesses you they will reimburse you any additional taxes, interest, penalties, etc as a result of their error. The dealership doesn’t want you to sue and they don’t want to deal with you filing a complaint over their fraudulent behave so they should agree. After all there is only a chance you get reassessed, not a guarantee the dealership will have to pay if the agree to your request. Even if they end up paying, that will be cheaper/better than dealing with a lawsuit and fraud complaint.

Then file 2018 based on the facts as you know them to be correct, not the incorrect paperwork. After all, tax credit eligibility is a question of fact. Paperwork is supposed to reflect economic reality, it doesn’t create it.

If you don’t get reassessed you end up whole and everyone is happy. If you do get reassessed,the dealership pays you for the difference and you are still just as happy. No harm, no foul.

Given your tax credit is $7500, even if the dealership ends up paying $4,000-$5,000 to make things right, in the end that is a no brainer versus legal fees and potentially losing their dealership license.

Disclaimer - I am not a CPA in the US or an attorney so these are my ‘opinions’ and not ‘legal/tax advice’.


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Mikep00 said:
...Given your tax credit is $7500, even if the dealership ends up paying $4,000-$5,000 to make things right, in the end that is a no brainer versus legal fees and potentially losing their dealership license.

Disclaimer - I am not a CPA in the US or an attorney so these are my ‘opinions’ and not ‘legal/tax advice’.


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The EV credit is just that, a credit and not a deduction. Therefore, if you owed at least $7500 in taxes for 2018 you get that back in full. Therefore, if the dealership agrees to this, they'd be out $7500, plus penalties, interest, and potentially other costs. I only point this out because they may not so easily agree to indemnify, much less any form of admission that they manipulated the sale and played games with Honda's commission year payments.

Have you talked to DMV about all of this?
 
For anyone who has been following my plight about being ripped off by a dealership, I had my day in court today. I was suing UNICARS Honda in Indio, CA because they screwed me out of the $7500 federal tax credit. A little back story: I purchased my Clarity from them on Jan 1st. They had 2 contracts - one dated Jan 1, 2018 and another dated Dec 31, 2017. They said the 2017 contract was strictly for the dealership to pad their year end sales quota and it would not affect my 2018 purchase. When I got the DMV registration, the registration said I purchased the car in 2017. They sent in the 2017 info to the DMV to cover their SALES QUOTA ASSES. So now, I cannot use the $7500 federal tax credit for next year. So today at court, I lost my case. The judge found in favor of the dealership stating that the $7500 was not "real money" it was a credit. DUH. WTF? So another scamming dealership wins. So when my taxes come due next year, I have to pay "real money" to the IRS. The really awful thing was the judge said I perjured myself because I signed the 2017 contract and I was complicit in padding their sales quota. No blame went to the dealership. Apparently, this was all my fault!? GO FIGURE.
 
Valente said:
For anyone who has been following my plight about being ripped off by a dealership, I had my day in court today. I was suing UNICARS Honda in Indio, CA because they screwed me out of the $7500 federal tax credit. A little back story: I purchased my Clarity from them on Jan 1st. They had 2 contracts - one dated Jan 1, 2018 and another dated Dec 31, 2017. They said the 2017 contract was strictly for the dealership to pad their year end sales quota and it would not affect my 2018 purchase. When I got the DMV registration, the registration said I purchased the car in 2017. They sent in the 2017 info to the DMV to cover their SALES QUOTA ASSES. So now, I cannot use the $7500 federal tax credit for next year. So today at court, I lost my case. The judge found in favor of the dealership stating that the $7500 was not "real money" it was a credit. DUH. WTF? So another scamming dealership wins. So when my taxes come due next year, I have to pay "real money" to the IRS. The really awful thing was the judge said I perjured myself because I signed the 2017 contract and I was complicit in padding their sales quota. No blame went to the dealership. Apparently, this was all my fault!? GO FIGURE.
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Leave reviews about their shady practices on every website you can think of. Let them come back and offer you something.


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@Valente
Sorry to hear about the outcome. It really hurts. Can you adjust your 2017 return and get something out of it?
I guess your next action is to contact honda and tell them your story. They might not be able to do anything. But since you have document that showed 2 different date on sale contracts, then might put them on notice or something.

BTW, the dealership was open on Jan 1?
 
megreyhair said:
@Valente
Sorry to hear about the outcome. It really hurts. Can you adjust your 2017 return and get something out of it?
I guess your next action is to contact honda and tell them your story. They might not be able to do anything. But since you have document that showed 2 different date on sale contracts, then might put them on notice or something.

BTW, the dealership was open on Jan 1?
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No. I already had my taxes done knowing that I would owe nothing for 2017 because I bought $20,000 worth of business equipment. That's why I bought the car on Jan 1st because I know I will have to pay taxes next year. That is a thought about contacting Honda. I may do that. Report one of their slimy dealerships.
 
kkiran said:
Leave reviews about their shady practices on every website you can think of. Let them come back and offer you something.


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I thought about that too but people are being sued for leaving bad reviews. I read where someone left a bad review on YELP and they were sued for $25,000. Such frightening times we live in. Bad people win. Good people get screwed.
 
Valente said:
I thought about that too but people are being sued for leaving bad reviews. I read where someone left a bad review on YELP and they were sued for $25,000. Such frightening times we live in. Bad people win. Good people get screwed.
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Really? They made you sign two contracts and you have the proof. How can they sue for complaining about their shady tactics?


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