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Chrysler Capital LLC is being sued in an auto loan class action lawsuit, which alleges the financial department of the Chrysler Group LLC uses local dealerships to get around usury laws while exploiting New York’s low income consumers by financing high interest rate car loans.
Plaintiff Franklyn C. Garcia is pursuing this Chrysler Capital class action lawsuit in order to represent himself and a Class of potentially thousands of New York consumers. Garcia claims that he and other consumers in this Class were targeted by Chrysler’s “predatory conduct,” which allegedly includes using local New York dealerships and ambiguous phrasing to skirt state usury laws. The Chrysler Capital auto loan class action lawsuit also alleges that Chrysler, through the dealerships, issued auto loans featuring annual interest rates that are higher than 16 percent—New York state’s maximum allowable auto loan interest rate.
According to the auto loan class action lawsuit, “Chrysler Capital targets vulnerable, low-income consumers like Mr. Garcia who desperately need a car to go to work and take care of their family and who have essentially no bargaining power. Knowing the fundamental importance of automobiles in these consumers’ lives, Chrysler Capital takes advantage of them by imposing interest rates that are unreasonable, unfair and illegal under New York law.”
Garcia allegedly earns a yearly income of $34,000 a year. In March 2014, he visited Eastchester Chrysler Jeep Dodge, who has been named as codefendant in in this auto loan class action lawsuit, and bought a used 2011 Dodge Durango for $26,000. However, the New York dealership allegedly sold the car to Garcia with an auto loan interest rate of 23.67 percent, an abusive rate. According to the Chrysler Capital class action lawsuit, the plaintiff will have paid $54,000 for his vehicle by the end of the 72-month auto loan period.
According to Garcia’s class action lawsuit, Chrysler Capital employs retail installment contracts that allow the financial arm of Chrysler Group to conceal auto loan transactions that are above the 16 percent state maximum. He further alleges that Chrysler Capital does not give the money directly to consumers, and instead gives this auto loan money directly to the local dealerships like Eastchester Chrysler Jeep Dodge. Consumers like Garcia then make payments for the vehicle with these abusive interest rates in place.
After this is complete, Santander Consumer USA, Chrysler Capital’s controlling member, allegedly secures the subprime auto loans like Garcia’s for sale to investors.
The Chrysler Capital auto loan class action lawsuit alleges: “Chrysler Capital uses the form of the retail installment contract as an artifice to disguise its usurious intent. Upon information and belief, Chrysler Capital has intentionally charged illegal interest rates to thousands of New York consumers, directly causing them financial harm.” The plaintiff claims he and the Class are entitled to full restitution of all interest they have paid on their auto loans beyond the New York legal limit of 16 percent a year.
The plaintiff is represented by Christopher B. Dalbey and Robin L. Greenwald of Weitz & Luxenberg PC and Karla Gilbride of Public Justice PC.
The Chrysler Capital Auto Loan Class Action Lawsuit is Garcia v. Chrysler Capital LLC, et al., Case No.1:15-cv-05949, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
UPDATE: The Chrysler Capital Sued in Auto Loan Class Action Lawsuit was dismissed on September 30, 2017.
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103 thoughts onChrysler Capital Sued in Auto Loan Class Action Lawsuit
Sir,
Chrysler capital has given me the complete run around, avoiding my questions, refusing me pertinent information, repossessed my vehicle without notice, and have jacked up my rates and refused me the opportunity to refinance. Could you please reach out to me or let me know where to reach you? I’ve just lost my job because Chrysler capital refused me timely service in the recovery of my vehicle.
Thank you,
I too have a huge interest rate, on a new 2013 town and country i purchased in 2014, with crystler capital. took a huge extra insurance through them, now engine failed. owe so much more than car is worth.
Reading all of these comments make me feel a little better, knowing I am not the only one dealing with this…. I got a 2014 Dodge Charger love the car but by the time I pay for it i could of purchased a home. I don’t know what the max interest rate is for Arizona so definitely going to look into it… I trusted them being that my sales person is a friend.. known her going on 22 years …. well thought was my friend… I am pissed because I have a car that’s had problems since I drove it off the lot Brand New at that…… my husband is a disabled veteran my income came from being his care taker, last month they took us out the program. .now. have no income and a 700 car payment …And by the looks of all these I have read they ain’t gonna work with …. Any advise. ……
I have a 2014 Dodge Dart SXT financed with Chrysler Capital on March 12, 2014 with only 9 miles. I had to get a new transmission 2 months later and the dealer repaired it for free. A month later i had to purchase tires bc the dealer repaired the car and didnt realign it. I got no satisfaction from arbitration. I pay 471 monthly at a 19.9% interest rate. I have been paying and still owe my principal balance of 20000.00. I am disabled since April 2015 and havent worked since i got sick April 29, 2014. They are aware and still call me 3 or 4 times a day about my account. My account is only 30days past due. I xan make a payment and they would call the same day inquiring about th we next payment. I have phone records and this is sicken bc my car still has mechanical issues from the transmission that is unresolved. How can i get help. They sold me a 20000.00 without any proof of income and poor credit score and im still shock bc my income was only 600 monthly. Im also wondering if they did something fraudulent to get this car for me. They never even called and verified employment or references.
I also have this problem and I am in the process of sueing them also. My interest rate is 26% and I have paid over $7000 in 2 years. I cant refinance my vehicle anywhere since I owe so much. if anyone has any help with this, that would be great…thanks
Updat: To make matters worse, now I have obtained service records from Lexus that show that the vehicle was previously involved in a substantial accident which should have totaled the vehicle. The Lexus Dealership and Insurance Company at that time did everything under the table to not report the collision or change the title, as they were required to by law. (This explains the constant severe problems with the vehicle, which are a safety hazard.) The previous Lexus Dealer failed to submit service details, list the accident, list the damage, and update what type of repairs were even attempted. Lexus Corporate are assisting to try and obtain the damage report and invoices of work. Currently I am working along with many different governing offices in order to return the vehicle on the grounds of misrepresentation and fraud. The vehicle was purchased as a 1 owner, clean title, no accidents. Now with the new info discovered, the vehicle has had at least 3 owners, a serious accident, and now by law it has to be reported so the title will be changed to a rebuilt or salvaged title. —- I am hoping that everything goes smoothly and I don’t have to pursue this in court. Fortunately I believe I have the law on my side though. I gope this nightmare ends soon.
I have also faced the same issues with this company. I had a Chrysler 200 that was purchased in May2014. My interest rate was at 14.93% on a 20 thousand dollar vechile. After Adding extra interest and fees my balance came up to 34thousand in total payoff. Chrysler Capitial also lied on my credit application. My notes were 702.43 monthly. Which is too much for this car. I paid my carnote for one year. Thenafter i could not maintain it any longer and they repossed my car. Nevertheless the refused to help me in lowering my carnote. So i just let them have their car back.
After reading this article it has given me hope that something may be able to be done concerning these loan-shark lending practices by Chrysler Capital. In August 2014 I began to do some online browsing for vehicles (in the Chicago area). I was contacted by Sherman Doge/Jeep/Chrysler/Ram and the Saleman asked me to come by to see if he could help me out. I made an appointment and went in. When I arrived I was herded into a back room. While I felt slightly uncomfortable, I assumed it was because my husband was not available to go with me to the appointment. I had a particular vehicle in mind as well as a budget. I told him what payment I was comfortable with and I was not willing to budge. I test drove a 2009 Lexus is250. They showed me a copy of the car fax that it was a one owner, maintained records, no accidents, etc. I agreed to a sales price and after over 5 hours being at the dealership I was exhausted. I had not eaten anything, had not been offered anything to drink….I was miserable. So I was led to the finance office to sign papers. The lady was not going through anything, she was saying sign here, initial here, etc. She tried to get by with not even telling me my interest rate. When I happened to see it I almost choked! 21%!!! While my credit wasnt perfect, it was better than a fair and definitely poor status. I told her that I wasnt interested if it was going to be that high of interest. Then she told me that it was just a first year preliminary interest rate to help establish my credit with Chrysler Capital. She told me that after a year all I had to do was call in to refinance and then they will cut my interest to a single digit interest rate. I was still hesitant, but chose to go ahead and sign because I was absolutely exhausted and trusted that what she was telling me was the truth. My payments are taken out automatically each month, so I have never been late of course. At a year into my loan I did as I was told and called to do my refinancing. I explained everything to the representative and that is when she said that they do not offer refinancing and I will be stuck paying this loan out through them. I was told this vehicle at a little over $18k. At 21%, paying almost $515/mo (which is about $150 more than what I told them that I was comfortable paying each month – but yet again they told me it was only for a year) in total for 72 month…..I will have paid more than $37k after all is said and done. 15 months ago my vehicle was worth the $18k, now the value on my car is only about $12k if I am lucky. I will end up paying over three times what my vehicle is worth after all is said and done. Thus far I have paid more than $8k on my car and while when I log in it shows my balance as $18,160 – the pay off is over $19k. In 15 month pretty much my entire $8k has all went towards their interest. I have become diligent when it comes to my credit and determined to get out of debt. THIS however, I have no clue how to make this right. I feel like I was deliberately lead into this deal falsely.—— I am looking at contacting an Attorney now after reading this article in hopes they may be able to help renegotiate a fair interest rate. I cannot imagine paying another 57 months of these payments. I have been trying to come up with extra money to pay towards just the principle, but they have my payment so high that it is impossible. They have backed me into a corner – a no win corner. This MUST be against the law on some level. I want to continue to pay for my vehicle. I do not dispute the sale price and I am prepared to continue paying the same payment amount as long as the interest rate is reduced to an amount that is legal and fair.
I financed a 2007 Chevy Cobalt at a local dealership through Chrysler Capital in 2013. I have a lot of medical issues and on disability and a single mom of 2 who’s daughter has medical issues also. We can travel up to 4 hours from home for medical appointments. We also depended on this car for transportation to and from work and school. It was bad enough that I got a bad deal with the dealership when I got this car. Now this last Wednesday morning a flat bed truck came and reposessed the vehicle from me without warning. I have been sick was in the er a few nights before and still having pain and issues with my health. I called chrysler capitol about this and they said on 4/11/13 I was financed for $9917.53 and I have not even touched the principal yet just been paying on the interest for 2 years. They told me the estimated payoff amount is $11,204.04 good until 12/2/15. I can never speak to a supervisor no matter how many times I asked to speak to one. They said I had exhausted all my options and when I asked what options I was told they gave me the maximum 8 deferments which is all you can get for the life of the loan. I remember 2 or 3 because of medical issues but even then I don’t remember receiving anything in writing about it. They told me not to worry about it the last time when I asked how many times they do this and they told me not to worry about that. I never asked for the deferments or whatever they called it, they always insisted when I was calling them about my account. I have gotten many messages for a Forest Whittaker by them on my voicemail. Recently I have had some messages left by an Amanda to call her at (855)563-5635 but not saying who she was with. When I asked Chrysler Capital about what information they leave if they leave a message. They told me they are suppose to leave the name of the person they are contacting, their name, they are calling from Chrysler capital, and hours they can be contacted. I get so many scam and telemarketers calling and leaving messages and have been scammed too many times I try to verify who they are and the company they are with. I can’t just trust anybody any more. I have lost too much money and even a scammer threatening to have me arrested if I didn’t send them $400 to them within 30 minutes and I would be put in jail the next morning. I have reported any scammers I come across but that doesn’t stop them from continuing to call or however they communicate. I also block as many as I can after I try to verify who they really are. I have had so many health issues and losing my vehicle makes work, school, and medical appointments from 1 to 4 hours away for the 3 of us and I don’t have anyone to help me. To add to any financial problems my 2 kids father works at alcoa and is behind $400 to over $600 depending on if I get a check each week. This adds more stress on top of what stress Chrysler Capitol has put on mine and my 2 kids lives making things much more difficult to take care of our health situations. I don’t know if anyone can help me with this situation but Chrysler Capitol gave me until 11/28/15 to pay $1844.00 to be able to get my car back before they sell it. That is impossible for me to do and I told them that. I told them I don’t get my next monthly ssdi check until December 9th and would not let me talk to a supervisor or anyone else. We have many medical appointments to go at least an hour away from home if not more and some are unexpected so it makes it even harder to get to them without our car they took away unexpectedly. It doesn’t really make it any better to know there are other people going through similar situations as we are with Chrysler Capitol.
I have faced the same deceptive auto loan financing and uncooperative behavior from Chrysler Capital Santander. I am a disabled person with medical issues and they have not done anything to help resolve issues. I am retaining a lawyer and have filed a class action law suit against them. I encourage you to do the same.
On 8/21/15 I purchased a Mazda3 from Five Star Dealership in Macon,Ga.I was told by the saleperson that Chrysler Captial was going to be the lienholder,paid the deposit, signed allof the paper work and they gave me the keys and I drove off. On 9/14/15 @8:45p.m. a tow truck from the dealership backed up to my door and towed my car away without any warning. The tow truck driver stated that the dealer asked him to pick up my car because Chrysler Captial would not finance it, yet when I left the dealership with all of the paper work,it stated that Chrysler Captial was the lienholder. Please advise.