Buying a car - Used or New, tips and buyer bewares

There are 84 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 4,087 times. The latest Post () was by UK Man.

    What hurts the most is falling for it over and over. It must be the Christian principle of see the good in the people rather than smell fish… definitely not the country nor the economical climate to do so. New money can be earned, but the time lost is gone, the headaches and our details (where we live, what we do) in the hands of those scammers is what worries me.

    Semigoodlooking , my husband is contact with one other scammed client. He switched his plan to a different Renault dealer and his situation was slightly different to ours. I don't know if he knows other scammed people, but I guess that if Clarin and La Nación made an article about Renault specifically, there must be many more...


    Quote from LN

    En primer lugar, lo más importante que hay que hacer es constatar que la persona que ofrece el plan de pagos sea un representante oficial de la marca. En caso de Renault, todos los agentes autorizados se encuentran en la web oficial de Plan Rombo (su plan de ahorro) y en las demás marcas hay que revisar las webs oficiales o acercarse a un concesionario para mayor seguridad.

    Por otro lado, chequear las redes sociales. 
    [...]
    No hay que hacer un pago online por otro medio que no sea un web oficial; para más información al respecto, la solución siempre es la misma: ir al concesionario en persona y hablar con un agente de ventas.

    Very funny... Our dealer IS an official Renault Dealer listed on the Plan Rombo page.



    Quote from Clarín


    Los planes de ahorro ofrecen la posibilidad de comprar un vehículo a través de un recorrido de un número definido de cuotas mensuales, disponibles para financiar la totalidad de un modelo o una parte del valor. Así, en el lapso que se puede extender el programa hay ventanas de entrega de autos, por sorteo entre quienes intervienen en un grupo o por licitación (se le entrega a quien realiza la mejor oferta de cancelación de cuotas).



    Yes, we were aware because the seller said that there was this "deal" that was going to go very quickly: a former client who ordered a car through a plan and who had to call it off because of financial issues. So, we could enter the plan on his behalf, paying an entry fee and what was left to pay (108 installments out of 120), and we went to a notary to sign this change of plan's ownership.

    We had never heard that these plans are not at all transparent. We thought it was something for low-income people. I never need financing in my life, and never read about it in the newspaper. We had also talked to family and friends about our need to buy a new car, and nobody ever mentioned to stay off plans because they are scams.


    The scammer-clerk we met on the first day also said that the installments were fixed (which turned out to be a lie), which made it the more attractive to us. And that we had to pay a deposit just to "freeze" the deal for 24 hours, as it was so good it would be gone the same day or the next.

    We thought we would have never had access to a financing plan in Argentina, so it was a great way to pay in installments in pesos over a long period of time, instead of cash upfront.


    Reading the reviews online, it seems it is a common technique to portray the deal as "unique" and putting pressure on the client to decide quickly, and to pay a deposit to "freeze" it for 24 hours, and NOT disclosing all the terms of the contract to make it more appealing.


    The concealed terms are usually:

    1) it is a unique deal - FALSE, these plans are meant to enroll as many people as possible and are accesible to anyone. There is a portal were they enter your name and DNI and show that you are eligible. A sort of pre-approval as done in the US using your SSN and credit score. They don't actually care about your ability to actually pay, because there are higher changes of you dropping out of it for lack of money / inability to keep up with installment increases / the plan's terms & conditions

    2) there is a guaranteed delivery date for your car - FALSE, the licitación (adjudication) can go on for months. As explained in the Clarín's article, it is a bidding process that depends on the dealership's skills/attractiveness to Renault. We were told we would have the car in 25 days because we were SO LUCKY to join the ride after the former client had started the order, so less wait for us!

    3) fixed installments - FALSE, the installments are part fixed and part variable - The variable rate is not known in advance and it is set by Renault at their own discretion. Some users have reported their installments DOUBLING in a matter of 6-8 months. At that point, they are unable to pay, and still have no car. So they have to drop out.

    4) actual car  - FALSE, the process is for a potential batch of cars yet to be produced in Cordoba. Basically, you are financing their future production.

    I never understood the system here for financing cars. I remember in the UK going into the dealer, getting finance and driving off the lot with the car.


    The installments circle for cars here never was appealing in the slightest, simply because you don't get the vehicle. How does it work if you buy model X and it is to be delivered in 3-5 years, but in that time the manufacturer discontines the model or updates it? Do you get the replacement model or simply what is by now an old car?


    I understand why you went for this though serafina, they sold you a deal that looks amazing, a classic scam actually. You just don't expect such things from a major car company. Unfortunately, finding proper bargains or good deals in Argentina is not easy.

    Quote from Splinter

    If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Anyway, I'm surprised this is even legal, ffs!

    That's exactly what I told myself once it blew...

    Of course they don't tell you you won't be getting a car for years. They actually give you a pretty reasonable (by local standard) deadline. Say less than 3 months, when imported cars can take 6 to 10 months.


    We went to two Toyota dealerships and they all said there was a 6 month wait, at least, with no guarantee of which models/versions/colors were going to arrive.

    Unfortunately, had we gone to a bigger Toyota dealership, we would have saved money and time. We are now using the Jorge Ferro Totoya Dealership on Libertador in Nunez . They also have used cars.

    I am going off second hand knowledge that I was told once several years ago, so I may be well off base. Used cars - as in almost brand new but used - are more conveient and cost-effective because once you get a new car the registration costs are high. Not sure if true or if such costs are included in the kind of plans Serafina is discussing.

    No, the registrations costs are not included in the purchasing price. When buying a used car, the title ownership transfer should be paid by the purchaser, anyway. No idea about the amount of title transfer vs. new registration.


    It is kind of hard to find almost-new used cars since the local market it is what it is... high demand, low supply, and in general a slower economy. People don't buy cars on the spurs of the moment since ordering, paperwork and sorting the payment is not very swiftly.


    A friend bought a new WV car by bank transfer. He did the transfer to the dealership, and the bank blocked it until he could prove the source of the funds. They asked him THREE YEARS of pay slips. he had no issue in providing those, since he is a public servant. But this just proves how it is damn hard to spend money in an economy that claims to be starving for fresh cash.

    Quote from serafina

    No, the registrations costs are not included in the purchasing price. When buying a used car, the title ownership transfer should be paid by the purchaser, anyway. No idea about the amount of title transfer vs. new registration.


    It is kind of hard to find almost-new used cars since the local market it is what it is... high demand, low supply, and in general a slower economy. People don't buy cars on the spurs of the moment since ordering, paperwork and sorting the payment is not very swiftly.


    A friend bought a new WV car by bank transfer. He did the transfer to the dealership, and the bank blocked it until he could prove the source of the funds. They asked him THREE YEARS of pay slips. he had no issue in providing those, since he is a public servant. But this just proves how it is damn hard to spend money in an economy that claims to be starving for fresh cash.

    Madness, I am freelance and while I can provide three years of income proof, they are hardly payslips. My bank declines my debit card every time I want to make a purchase of around 50,000 or more, which is about 210 dollars so hardly a massive amount. I end up having to call them. Jokers.

    I remember the fun and games the missus had to go through when she bought a new car from the Renault garage. Although she knew how things work here I hadn't appreciated how hard it can be to spend your own legitimately earned money.

    Quote from UK Man

    I remember the fun and games the missus had to go through when she bought a new car from the Renault garage. Although she knew how things work here I hadn't appreciated how hard it can be to spend your own legitimately earned money.

    Indeed, which is why being married to an accountant has its advantages. Most of our friends and family put the vehicles in names within that group or even split the ownership depending on unused allowances.

    One has to use the system and be imaginative, within the rules.

    Update on our saga: after no news from the Renault dealership where we "bought" the car for over two weeks (they promised on Friday morning to call us no later than Saturday noon... that was 2 Fridays ago). My husband went to the Renault HQ on Santa Maria de Oro here in Palermo. He just met with a guard, who seemed accustomed to receiving such visits. Within 5 minutes, my husband was called on the phone by someone from the Plan Rombo.

    On the next day (today), even the dealership called to talk about our refund and cancellation of the plan. Coincidence? Impossible as we never told the dealership we wanted to cancel (although the fact we stopped pressing them for updates should have given away that we had lost faith/interest).


    They called again this afternoon and we are due to meet with the escribano on Thursday for some paperwork. They said we will be refunded the money we paid on the table, which is even more we were expecting from them. However, let's wait to have the (devalued) pesos in our hands before celebrating.



    We are tired of this system that it is not working... I think everybody is (the dealership, the plan rombo, the HQ, the escribano).

    So much effort for little or no result in many instances, in Argentina. It is draining!!

    To be honest, I feel so naive that I doubt of my own judgement. I have believed them every single time, and looks where that has gotten me!

    I am really too stupid to be able to survive in this shark tank!

    At this point, I already know that whatever comes out from Renault's mouth is just to please me and doesn't mean they will keep their word.

    Surely they won't give us back 100% of the money "en blanco". The notary's fee was about 500 USD and that won't be returned, plus there will be surely something more to pay.


    If we get a few hundreds out of over a thousand en blanco, we will be lucky.