BUYERS BEWARE. This place is a SCAM masked as a legitimate business and I will try to explain how (using numbers). BEFORE SIGNING ANYTHING, please take the time to read this and it could save you thousands (I lost a $500 deposit with them but am still relieved because if I had signed the forms I would have lost A LOT more).
I went in to get pre-approved to buy a 2017 Toyota Camry. Now when buying a car, there are a few options:
a) You go to a bank or a lender and get pre-approved. Now you can go to a dealership and select a car.
b) You go to a dealership and select a car first, and then the dealership helps you secure financing.
However, this place is neither A nor B. What they do is something strange and bizarre. They try to help you get approved for a loan first (in a painstaking process that can last 4+ hours where they leave the room to "make phone calls" to make it appear like they are doing work).
After a few hours, they will come in and congratulate you on being approved. Phew, the hard work is done. Finally, I can go to a dealership and pick out the car that I like, right???? Uhm...no. Basically, and this is genius if you ask me, they approve financing based on the car that you're looking for, and then select a car for you. I didn't know if this was a joke or if he was being serious. I had so many questions: Do I get to test drive the car? Do I have a say in the color? How do I know I'm not overpaying for a car? Why can't I pick a car myself now that my financing is approved? How do I know you'll select the right car for me? It's really difficult to trust a complete stranger to make such an important, intimate decision for you.
But let's assume they pick the right car. I would have been cool with it BUT based on the math, YOU WILL BE PAYING DOUBLE WHAT THE CAR IS WORTH (as other reviewers have suggested) I was looking for a 2017 Toyota Camry (white, silver, or black). They guy (Phillippe?) came in and said that he will get me a car that meets those requirements but I won't actually get to see it until it arrives. ONCE YOU SIGN THE DOCUMENT, YOU ARE LEAVING IT UP TO THEM TO SELECT A CAR FOR YOU. I thought this was strange and a big red flag.
Now let's get to the numbers (which is where the real fun begins). Let's say a 2017 Toyota Camry LE under 60,000km costs about $16k on the market (always check autotrader, kijiji, blacbook, etc). With tax and profit (they say they profit $1500/car), it should NOT cost more than $20,000. What they approved me for was $177 bi-weekly over 84 months (I have attached the text message of their 'offer' below). THAT MEANS I AM PAYING $32,214 FOR A CAR THAT SHOULD NOT COST MORE THAN $20K. I am paying double the price of the car. This is ludicrous and should be borderline illegal, but they are a sophisticated predatory lending organization and prey on people who simply want to secure financing, regardless of the cost.
I did the math on the offers Phillippe was presenting who started getting angry that I wasn't signing the deal (I had already paid a $500 deposit at this point because I fell for the positive Google reviews). They also check your credit report before you come in (which should be illegal) so they know your vulnerabilities. He dragged in his general manager who tried to change my mind, but after six hours of back and forth (from 3pm-9pm), I told them that I'll have to think about it. I've tried getting my money back but they have gone silent. I don't expect to get that money back but I'm glad I didn't make a bigger financial blunder by signing a deal where I would overpay for the next seven years. read more