returning a new vehicle

[Turk]

If the scratches were there when you took delivery of the car, they should have been pointed out. The offer to remedy them to your satisfaction should have been gotten in writing.

The service department has no way of knowing if the cosmetic repairs were as a result of your negligence. I have seen more than a few cars and trucks that looked like they have been on a Safari or two within days of the purchase.

Shrubbs, tree branches,and many other landscaping plants will scratch the hell out of a car. Especially a new vehicle which may be larger than the vehicle traded in or driven prior to the new acquisition.

Dealers make some money on the sale, but not enough to buy back a vehicle that may have been damaged by the consumer or may indeed be defective from the factory. That is the manufacturer's call.

Upon the sale of the vehicle, sales taxes, incentives (rebates 0%available to the new purchases) are all exhausted. Sometimes the DMV fees are not recovarable. Neither is the contract to the bank or other lending institutions.

You can't just park a vehicle you just bought, and say you don't want it any more. If you have good cause for this, the manufacturer can be convinced to buy the vehicle back.
Many states do have Lemon laws that are there to protect the consumer, not the dealer or the manufacturer.

There is often an arbitration process availabe to you, that is binding on the dealer/manufacturer but not necessarily on you.

There is a right way of seeking help with this unfortunate purchase. Parking it at dealers lot and telling them you are not going to make payments on it for service related complaints is not one of them.That is why they have warranties.

If you are not lucky, the dealer can elect to charge you storage on the vehicle. Parking YOUR vehicle on the dealer lot does nothing. If you are going to stop making payments on it, you may as well park it on the street or on a shopping center parking lot.
It will make it easier for the repo man to tow it.

It is not all that unusual for a dealer not to have enough loaners on a given day. Average size dealership may work on 50-60 customers cars on a given day. The ones under warranty may be half that amount. I doubt it that they would have 25-30 loaners available to meet every need.
Someone who left their Escort for repairs maybe driving around in a Lincoln Town car.

TURK