No Car payments?

Attorneys in Kansas and Missouri have sued Chad Franklin Suzuki over "ridiculous advertising claims." For seven months, the Dealer's stores bombarded local airwaves with improbable come-ons, like "Drive a different brand new Suzuki every year and never make a single car payment" - "No money down and a brand new vehicle for $43 a month, gasoline included" and "no payments for life."

One ad claimed: "Chad Franklin will make your first year's worth of payments using special factory rebates. Then if you want, Chad Franklin will pay the vehicle off, and you'll pick out another new Suzuki, and the process starts all over again and continues year after year."
The catch? The sales contracts required consumers to buy the vehicles at the normal price.

About 650 customers took advantage of the sweet deals, some from as far away as California.

Some of the swindles worked as promised for a while. Buyers signed a standard sales contract, then got a check from the dealership to cover all or part of the monthly payments. But then, in most cases, the checks stopped coming.

According to the attorneys general, a customer typically got a Suzuki to drive for a limited time, usually six to 10 months. At the end of that time, the customer was supposed to return the car and exchange it for another Suzuki, which the customer then could drive for another limited period of time at the same low price. But when the customers returned to the dealership, they allegedly were told that the promotion had ended and that they were responsible for the terms of the original contract — a standard purchase agreement.

Kansas Assistant Attorney General Emilie Burdette said the dealership made a variety of promises in the TV ads and different representations at the point of sale. One incentive allowed the consumer to take part in a "two-, three- or four-year vehicle performance test."

Nearly identical ads, have led to problems for another Suzuki dealership: Joe Gibson Suzuki, of Spartanburg, S.C.

After more than 100 consumer lawsuits were filed, Gibson filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in South Carolina on July 16. The dealership closed in August.

Back in Kansas, some customers voluntarily repossessed their cars, dropping them off at the dealership. Both attorneys general are seeking restitution for the consumers.

"We want to get consumers to a place that makes sense, given all the unique circumstances," said Burdette, the assistant attorney general in Kansas. "But there's not going to be an easy, clean solution."