What are my rights with my used car? The dealership wants it back after 13 days.?

I'm not sure about NC, but I will tell you how it works here in CA. It's probably the same. In CA we do "spot deliveries"- nobody is approved when they take their car home! There is a clause on the contract, the "Seller's right to cancel". It states (on the back of the contract) that if the dealer cannot get the bank to finance the contract the way it is, they have 10 days to notify you and cancel the sale. I'm guessing that you will soon receive a letter in the mail informing you that there is a problem, and the postmark will be within 10 days of the date of purchase. The contract is signed by you, and the dealer, but is contingent upon the dealer finding financing for you. If they let you take the car home without a prior approval, and you have bad credit, I'm sure there is a clause somewhere on your contract. Take a few breaths, calm down, and read it completely, and slowly. I have this problem every now and then with my customers, and they can't ever find it because they are so upset that they are not really reading, just "skimming" the contract. And yes, a customer interview is common with sub-par credit. The credit analyst at the bank must go over the information they have for you, make sure you are the buyer, and that you really can afford and intend to pay for the car. They are making sure that the dealer is not pulling the wool over their eyes by inflating your income, or job time, or whatever. What you really need to do is read your contract carefully, and see if there is a Seller's Right to Cancel (or similar) clause... I'll bet there is. If so, see what the details are, how much time they have to notify you, etc. If you have further questions, feel free to email me Oh, if you "just keep the car" (which I don't recommend) you will not be arrested for stealing the car! It is a civil matter, the police will not get involved. The dealership handed you the keys. You did not "steal" it. If you had put a gun to someone's head, or snuck the car out without their consent, then the police will get involved. Otherwise, they can repossess the car, and/or take you to court. But the cops WILL NOT come knocking at your door!

say bye bye to your car

You already got your straight answer, you just didn't like it. You do not "own" the car, nor do you have any legal right to it. All the paperwork you signed is contingent upon you being approved for financing. Since you were not approved, there is no deal. You have no right to the car, you did not "buy" the car unless you paid cash for it, you did not even "sign your life away" because the conditions were not met for this to become a real contract. PLEASE don't listen to the idiots that are telling you to keep the car. If you decide to keep the car, the dealership will report it stolen and you will be arrested. Period. It is NOT your car. You can't find anything on the contract that says "we'll find you financing in 10 days or your car is free" because no such thing exists. You only want to believe the answers that make you feel good. You will not get a car for free, you won't even be given the opportunity to pay for this one, because it is too much car for your credit situation to support. It's not fair, and it's not good business, but it is also not uncommon. Feel free to waste your money on a lawyer, but you will not possibly win since you have no contract. You are pissed because you have to bring their car back, and rightly so. But now you need to learn from this and move on. Buy a car that you can afford to pay cash for. Don't "rebuild" your credit on a depreciating asset at a 17% APR. Buy a car that you can afford to pay cash for. If you can't afford to save $300-$400 a month, tell me: how did you plan on making those car payments? Hmm. You're probably not gonna vote mine the "best answer" on this one, huh?

Read any and all fine print. If there is nothing addressing this situation and it all states that you are financed then the car is yours. Just don;t miss a payment.

If you had better credit this wouldn't have happened. Either you are young and haven't built your credit up yet, or you have damaged your credit through previous defaults/issues. The dealership shops your contract to maybe a dozen banks to see if there are any takers. If no bank agrees buy your contract, this is what happens. No financing means no deal. Get something YOU can afford with YOUR credit and don't get the girlfriend to co-sign. You have no idea what kind of problems that causes when you break up. Read through the questions here and you'll know what I mean.

As far as signed sealed and delivered goes. I'm going to answer this as a Owner of a car dealership. NO DEAL IS DONE until all parties involved sign the contracts. That means both buyers, the dealership and the bank. Until all have signed anyone can back out at any time. The bank gives the dealer the contract for them to have you sign. Once the dealer has your signature then the dealership management signs. Then the contract is sent to the lender with all the other paperwork so the dealership can get funded. If the lender notices something wrong or the paperwork isn't done right the lender will not accept the contract. If the dealer did what we call a spot delivery with the assumption you will get approved, because it looked good on paper, then the lender says NO, we have to try to find a lender to buy you or get the car back from you. Sometimes the lender will want more money a better co-signer or just say NO. The lender has the final say not the dealer unless it is a buy here pay here and he's doing his own funding.

it doesnt sound right but you should ask the dealer where it says they have a right to do this. On the other hand given the economic climate these days I can understand the bank backing out, but it DOES seem like it's too late. Someone would have to prove to me that what they are doing is legal. One question though, if the bank backed out, who will you make your payments to?

Sounds to me like a done deal and that you could even have a right to sue if they take it back due to hardship and suffering on your part given that you already gave away your old car (I am saying that even if you didn't and that is what you should tell the bank). Banks are in crisis now and do not want to give out loans. Don't let them screw you. Call in your area for free legal advice.

keep the car!! when you signed the papers and drove off, that car became your asset! it is not your fault that the bank, the dealership, and the financiers dont have the professionalism to have all situations and scenarios backed up with a resolve!! it is now a case of.. do they want to take the money off you for the car?, which is now yours!! ask yourself this... if you went to a rally the next day in the car.. got it written off..would they want it back off you then? the answer is NO! they would quickly find a solution!! and that solution would be 'you break, you pay'!! they would quickly find a resolve which would be as per contract that you signed! so, like i said, that car is yours!! you have proof in black and white!! if they dont want you to pay for it, then thats THEIR luck out! take it further, even with a solicitor!.. you could even end up getting the car for nothing!!