Don't Fall For The Arbitration/Rebate Scam - The Podcast

"SteveLehto" (stevelehto) 10/15/2015 at 09:00 • Filed to: None

11

49

I wrote a week ago about how Chrysler might offer you a $200 rebate if you’re willing to waive your rights to sue them in the future. As you might guess I am against it. Now, you can hear me explain it in podcast form.

Next time you are car buying, read everything they put in front of you before you sign it. It might be that the $200 in “factory” money you are getting !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! attached. And if you choose not to read what you sign, then that’s on you.

But now I must point out (and thank you for) this: My pod/videocast is now entering its second year. In honor of this, I have a new logo. And, in the last 52 weeks, Lehto’s Law has logged over 100,000 cumulative views and listens on the various platforms. Who knows what the coming year will bring?

That year starts now. Here is the audio:

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

And the video:

Oh, the driver in the top pic? Just a little confused on how drive-through banking works. She can only manage “Drive up and park banking” at this point.

Follow me on Twitter: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Hear my podcast on iTunes: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Steve Lehto has been practicing law for 24 years, almost exclusively in consumer protection and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! He wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

This website may supply general information about the law but it is for informational purposes only. This does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not meant to constitute legal advice, so the good news is we’re not billing you by the hour for reading this. The bad news is that you shouldn’t act upon any of the information without consulting a qualified professional attorney who will, probably, bill you by the hour.

Colddeadfinger > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 09:17

3

Bet good money this is a Florida tag

SteveLehto > Colddeadfinger 10/15/2015 at 09:18

4

And I was trying so hard to keep this from being stereotypical!

Colddeadfinger > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 09:21

6

Having just moved back to Florida - the stereotypes are true. All of them. Every. Single. One.

Who knew?

dore > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 09:22

1

In defense of the lady, she did find an ATM with a really convenient parking space.

SteveLehto > dore 10/15/2015 at 09:27

3

I wouldn’t have cared except that I was next in line. But I have seen them do this at the drive up mailboxes in front of the post office as well. Once, I saw a guy park his car and get out. He tried putting a box into the mail box and when it wouldn’t fit, he locked his car and walked over to the main building and went inside. With his car parked in the only lane that ran by the three mailboxes outside the post office.

Shiz The Snorlax > Colddeadfinger 10/15/2015 at 09:33

0

This irritates me to no end. I see this too many times here in NJ.

Ducky > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 09:33

9

I’ll be honest, when I see this happen at those stupid drive up ATMs, I can’t even blame the driver. Most of the time the ATM isn’t at the right height, and even if it was, it’s like they expect your arms to have a NBA player’s wingspan. I lose 20 IQ points watching drivers pull gingerly as close to the curb as possible and still have to struggle to reach the ATM, so I just pull into the lot and go inside the bank...

graham > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 09:43

1

Congrats on the podcast milestone! But in that little ‘ol lady’s defense, I gotta say that some drive-up ATMs are almost impossible to use without exiting the car, or at least opening the door. To wit, I have a “normal” car that does not fall into the ever popular “soccer-mom crossover/SUV” category with unnecessarily tall ride height, nor is it a small penis-compensating F-250 Cowboy Edition Whatever. So most newer drive-up ATMs appear to be designed with only those vehicles in mind, and with the keypad and card slot so high up that unless your PIN is “0000”, you ain’t gonna be withdrawing those crisp bills from the comfort of your own seat.

drdude > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 09:44

1

And this is why I want to own a towing company that exclusively tows cars from fire zones, loading zones and illegal parking that blocks peoples driveways.

SteveLehto > graham 10/15/2015 at 09:46

4

But there was a walk-up ATM 20 feet from this one.

Lars Vargas was hoping 2020 would be quieter > Colddeadfinger 10/15/2015 at 10:23

1

Wait. What? You moved AWAY from Florida and now you’re BACK? Please tell me it’s for a job that pays obscene amounts of money or that you’re using the local fauna (and seasonal fauna) to collect source material and other inspiration for a book / movie ... that will pay you obscene amounts of money.

I used to live in Florida. My wife, God bless her, wants to move back. I told her that her second husband will love it there, but not me. She shot back that she’ll wait until I get dementia or Alzheimer’s and we will move then, telling me that Colorado just got humid.

dmat > dore 10/15/2015 at 10:32

0

I gotta do this too, I dont have the 4 foot double jointed arms that are required to reach from my window to the atm. it takes less time anyways as im not struggling to slowly contort myself inside my car to reach the thing.

Colddeadfinger > Lars Vargas was hoping 2020 would be quieter 10/15/2015 at 10:38

1

Funny you should mention Alzheimer’s, moved here to care for elderly in-laws with - you guessed it.

The thing is - I moved from Atlanta. I’ll take Florida over that hot mess any day!

Lars Vargas was hoping 2020 would be quieter > Colddeadfinger 10/15/2015 at 10:53

0

I’m sorry to hear about your in-laws. I kid in my post, but Alzheimer’s is no joke. I wish you and your family well. Some parts of Florida are tolerable, especially the parts close to the Gulf or Atlantic.

I did have one exception to the “no Florida” rule, and that was we buy a dilapidated trailer somewhere in the Keys, and I would get to stay drunk (as in slurring speech falling down drunk) 100% of the time.

Atlanta is a great city as long as you don’t have to drive any where.

Colddeadfinger > Lars Vargas was hoping 2020 would be quieter 10/15/2015 at 10:55

1

No worries mate - life is good! Crystal River area is not bad at all and a great job to boot.

Lars Vargas was hoping 2020 would be quieter > Colddeadfinger 10/15/2015 at 11:03

0

I’ve got good friends near-by (Lecanto) and have spend a good deal of party time near the water up there. Crystal River is a decent place indeed. So a good job in CR? At “the plant”?

TheAnswerIsAlwaysCitroën > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 11:18

0

Wait, you guys actually have drive-through ATMs? Wow. Are they common?

drdude > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 11:24

0

Steve, in theory, if I took a part of a document, like the arbitration part of a document... and crossed it out, single line, the whole paragraph. then initialed and dated next to it... would that carry any legal weight?
Basiclly, I agree to all of this, except this part.

e holder > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 11:55

0

Why is the tag blocked out?

sklooner > Ducky 10/15/2015 at 11:55

1

I have to do this, my car is too low and the ATMs are mounted for BRO trucks apparently

e holder > dmat 10/15/2015 at 11:57

0

Why don't you pull up close to it, as you're supposed to? There's no force field around it.....

e holder > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 12:01

0

A thought occurred to me toward the end of your segment, re: acknowledging reading the RV warranty. If there's something like that that is so incredibly long that it would take days to read (I suspect you were exaggerating just a little), would it be a show-stopper to refuse to sign that piece of paper? I presume it would be up to the dealer's or the manufacturer's policy as to whether they would "agree" to sell me the vehicle without signing this or that document.....

e holder > TheAnswerIsAlwaysCitroën 10/15/2015 at 12:03

1

I presume you're not joking, and that you are not in the US. Yes - they are very common here, as are drive-through fast food joints.

Urambo Tauro > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 12:06

1

I am willing to be the “asshole” who reads the forms before signing.

Having only ever purchased used cars, I’m trying to imagine what that encounter would be like... I suppose they would put the papers in front of me and I would pretend to be shocked and say, “wow, you really expect me to read all this?”.

It’s a yes or no question. If they say yes: problem solved, they can wait while I check it out. If they say no: that’s an opportunity to have a very interesting conversation..

SteveLehto > TheAnswerIsAlwaysCitroën 10/15/2015 at 12:36

0

You guys? Americans? Yes. Writers on Jalopnik - some.

SteveLehto > drdude 10/15/2015 at 12:37

0

Depends on if the other side signed it. They wouldn’t let you do that, however. (In other words, they wouldn’t sign it.)

SteveLehto > e holder 10/15/2015 at 12:38

5

Because I am messing with DeMuro. He said there is no reason to block out tags - so I block them out of every picture I post (whether they need it or not).

SteveLehto > e holder 10/15/2015 at 12:39

0

I am not exagerrating. The banker’s boxes would easily take 8 - 12 hours to read if you were to actually try to read every piece of paper they give you.

But they would simply refuse to sell you the vehicle.

SteveLehto > Urambo Tauro 10/15/2015 at 12:40

1

You are an American Hero. They will sit there and watch you, tapping their fingers on the desk and saying “This is all standard. Just sign it,” every few minutes.

xsmooth69x > Colddeadfinger 10/15/2015 at 12:43

0

Dosent have enough color for florida. Ill bet Texas. The vw torag in front of it is not “whited/censored” out and you can see that the plate is white. So I say TX

Urambo Tauro > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 12:47

1

Probably. Maybe someone’s got a more creative idea...

Onlooker707 > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 13:18

3

I hate that most contracts have this as part of their terms of use or terms of hiring. Not only are you signing something that only benefits one party but limits any form of legal recourse if you are wronged.

drdude > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 13:36

1

lets say you did that, they didnt notice.

Is the whole document void? (yay for me) or is just that clause void? Clearly I did not sign to consent... so is it just like I didnt sign it?

drdude > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 13:39

2

When they do this, and they will, lean back with the papers and put your feet on their desk. Look at them and prepare to remind them that if they’re going to be annoying, you can be too.
Then immediately take your feet down, because your wife is about to slug you. She will not be amused. The word mortified comes to mind.
(this is a true story from my BRZ purchase last year. the asshat was acting impatient that I didnt just sign it all.... I had them drop off a few things, since we agreed to buy the car before they added shit to it. I just wish I noticed the dealership decal.. I would have made them remove it)

Vince P. > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 13:46

3

points to Lehto for messing with DeMuro!

SteveLehto > drdude 10/15/2015 at 13:57

0

If you sign it and they sign it - it works both ways. But Chrysler would argue in THIS case that the dealer was not authorized to let you alter the contract and therefore, they are not obligated under it. Still, it would be fun to see someone try it.

SteveLehto > Vince P. 10/15/2015 at 13:58

2

Well, I’m not really messing with him (in the sense of the guys who mess with Sasquatch while enjoying delicious beef-jerky). But he did write a post saying this was unnecessary - a point I disagree with whole heartedly.

Maybe I’ll do a piece on that one of these days (Blurred License Plates - Yay or Nay?)

ronmler3 > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 14:24

0

Please do - I’d like to hear the reasoning. These are public shots.

I presume it has something to do with them being used in a “commercial” article.....

ronmler3 > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 14:30

0

So, you're implying that no purchaser has ever read the warranty.....

SteveLehto > ronmler3 10/15/2015 at 14:42

0

There’s no reason to have done it here (I just did it for the fun of it). The woman is standing in public and cannot complain about me taking her picture.

SteveLehto > ronmler3 10/15/2015 at 14:44

0

I doubt that anyone actually has read all of the RV warranties BEFORE the purchase took place.

Colddeadfinger > Lars Vargas was hoping 2020 would be quieter 10/15/2015 at 14:58

0

Nope. Job is in Ocala. Financial industry. Lecanto - even more laid back than Crystal River!

TheAnswerIsAlwaysCitroën > e holder 10/15/2015 at 15:32

0

Only half joking, and you’re correct, I’m from Denmark. I can’t remember seeing them when I went to the US some years ago, but I may just have forgotten about them. And we do have drive-through fast food (mostly McD) here as well; I’m just not used to drive-through anything else... There are jokes about America having drive-through everything, hence why I found it funny.

TheAnswerIsAlwaysCitroën > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 15:35

0

Yup, I mean Americans. To these European eyes it looks almost like a caricature of the US... Though no doubt they are coming to the EU soon as well, if they haven’t already.

SteveLehto > TheAnswerIsAlwaysCitroën 10/15/2015 at 15:54

0

I seem to recall someplace with a drive-through funeral home. You could pull up and pay your respects to the decesaed without getting out of your car. Have no idea how well that went.

Tohru > SteveLehto 10/15/2015 at 15:58

1

Spiffy logo. :D

SteveLehto > Tohru 10/15/2015 at 16:23

1

It rocks. Although my prior one rocked too!

Rykilla303 > sklooner 10/15/2015 at 17:26

0

I’m no bro... but i enjoy my tasteful 6” lift and 35’s. and they are all too low for it and I have to get out.

msmola2002 > Ducky 10/15/2015 at 19:47

0

Had to do this as well with my shitbox jeep cos the window regulator was broken.