On March 7, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office (AG) announced that it had filed a complaint against two so-called “Buy Here-Pay Here” auto dealerships, alleging that they targeted vulnerable consumers by selling them high-mileage, used autos at grossly inflated prices; financed the sales through in-house loans with high interest rates that created a high risk of default; and reclaimed and then resold the same vehicles to other consumers. The AG alleges that, in some cases, the financing terms locked buyers into making weekly payments that ultimately totaled up to seven times the value of the vehicle. The dealerships also required buyers to agree that they would not keep any personal possessions in their vehicles and if they obtained new keys for the vehicles that they would provide the dealer with a copy of the keys within seven days of purchase. The AG requested that the Court close the dealerships and permanently ban the owner from auto sales and lending.
