2. AUTO SALES FINANCE ACT REQUIRES ALL CHARGES TO BE ITEMIZED

Rees-Levering Auto Sales Finance Act requires over 15 different charges to be specifically itemized under a listing titled ITEMIZATION OF AMOUNT FINANCED: This sum of the charges must be disclosed as a subtotal. Then all downpayments (trade-in, rebate, cash, etc.) are itemized and subtracted from that subtotal to reflect the total downpayment. You can view how all the charges must be itemized by clicking on the yellow portion of the contract image to your left or by clicking here.

KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL: Go over this list very carefully. Make sure that you have not been charged for anything that you did not agree to buy. Make sure that all the prices itemized are exactly what you have agreed to pay. Buying a car can be overwhelming and it is easy to become distracted and discover, only AFTER you have signed the contract, that you have been charged too much or for something you didn't want.

CAUTION: One catch-all condition dealers ofter insert in these contracts is a promise to pay any difference if the trade-in's stated payoff is too low. More than one buyer has suddenly learned that the dealer is demanding a lot more money because it turns out the pay-off information was too low. Many dealers will exercise deliberate ignorance when it comes to trade-in payoffs because they know they can sell you a car and then get more money out of you later. The best thing to do is contact your lender for a pay-off quote just prior to visiting the dealer.

WHEN THE DEALER SAYS YOU OWE MORE MONEY: Unless you actually lied to the dealer about your pay-off you should be able to rescind the contract. Tell the dealer that you were as unsure about the pay-off as they were and you:

1. Will give them their car back
2. Expect a refund for your downpayment and trade-in returned.

Explain to them that the law clearly requires the pay-off amount to be an itemized dollar amount AT THE TIME you signed the contract; NOT at some later date. And based on your mutual mistake, either of you can back out of the contract.