TL;DR Grandmother is on social security and was manipulated into a $50k car loan on a used 2023 Kia Soul in Florida. Has made no payments yet. Can this car loan be cancelled by the credit union, and what will happen to her if so?
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My grandmother (71) recently informed my brother and I that she went to the dealership she got her last car from (also a Kia Soul) for routine maintenance and an oil change on May 1. She left with a used 2023 Kia Soul that has less than 1,000 miles on it and a car loan for $50,000 that is way outside of her budget. Between the car payment ($545/mo for 84 months) and the insurance, the car eats up about 40% of her income.
She is miserable and regrets buying the car, and says she was pushed consistently during the four hours she was there to look for new cars. She struggled to afford her last car and was promised by the salesman that this car would have a cheaper payment. It does not.
She struggles daily with depression and claims she was too ashamed to tell us she got the car during the 72 cool down window that she had.
I understand that she’s an adult and she ultimately failed to say “no” and walk away, but she also says that she repeatedly told them no and that she couldn’t afford the car. The salesman told her she would afford the car because the financing went through. I guess I’m clueless here, but I’m not sure how that happened since she makes $1,800 a month and has bad credit. She doesn’t even own a credit card.
I’m also frustrated that the people she spoke to were aware of her finances and not only convinced her to trade in her car, but the get this one at what I feel is a truly exorbitant price ($36k + interest), based on what the going rate of Kia Souls appears to be when I search them online. This is an elderly woman who did not understand the contract she was signing (a fact that is apparent when you talk to her), she is on pain medications and had taken some while waiting for her oil change, and she simply cannot afford a $50k loan. She said the manager told her that he “wasn’t proud of this” after she signed the paperwork.
At this time she is within the 45 day “no payments” period, so she hasn’t yet paid anything.
I am unsure what can be done, if anything, to resolve this. If I contact the credit union who finances the loan and they meet with her and find she is unable to pay, will they cancel the loan? What happens then to her? She is worried she will be in legal trouble for “cancelling the contract”. What about the car she traded in?
Any insight is appreciated, thank you!