NoSSN - NoSSN NewsLetter

NoSSN NewsLetter
issue 6.2
Auto Leasing Escapade
February 24, 2006

Time for another NoSSN NewsLetter

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I mentioned in the last newsletter that I would tell you about my auto leasing escapade. Well, this is it.

Last Spring my current automobile was giving me some issues. It's a 1996 Oldsmobile Achieva. I purchased the car brand new and I have had relatively few problems with it. Back then I hadn't sworn off the socialist security system so I had a loan through GMAC. I paid it off years ago.

Back in the Spring the clutch started going and the slave cylinder was leaking and it was going to cost more to fix it than the car than it is worth. I decided it was time to get something new.

Following my philosphy of own nothing but have exclusive use of stuff, I decided to try leasing through the business which I run.

I went back to the same dealership where I purchased the Oldsmobile, Cloverleaf Chevrolet in Westboro, Massachusetts http://www.cloverleafchevy.com/. I asked for the same salesman that sold me the Oldsmobile. I was pleasantly surprised to find that he still worked there. His name is Santos Cruzado. I do highly recommend purchasing a car from Santos. He is one of the few that won't try to get you to buy "today" if you are not ready. Most car salesman don't even want to talk to you unless you want to buy right now.

Santos could not believe that I was still driving the car he sold me. Yes it was still running. 136,000 miles and counting. Yes, it needed a clutch.

Well, my wife and I test drove a few of the new cars and we really liked the new Monte Carlo. They had an LS model in red with a sun roof and the sport appearance package. Very nice. Unfortunately, the Monte Carlo doesn't come with a standard transmission. That's a story for a different newsletter. We decided we wanted the Monte Carlo.

We were ready to make a deal. I had the title for the Olds, the registration, my license, a letter from GMAC thanking me for paying off the loan and a copy of my credit report. We filled out the paperwork to lease the Monte Carlo to the business.

Since the business has not been in existence for five years, the lease required a co-signer. I signed it sans SSN. Problem; they couldn't pull a credit report without a SSN. I know that's a lie, you only need a name, D.O.B. and previous address to get a credit report. That's how I do it. Besides, I gave them a copy of my credit report.

No use in arguing, my wife tried co-signing. Problem; insufficient credit. Not bad credit, just not enough credit.

I asked others to co-sign but to no avail.

I told them to try putting it through with my information but without a SSN. I won't sign anything with an SSN. The manager offered to put the SSN on after I sign it. He said he could get it from my previous purchase of the Oldsmobile. I told him he could go ahead and do that if he wanted, however, if I need to talk to GMAC leasing and they wish to verify my SSN, I won't be able to and he will be guilty of fraud if not identity theft. Well, that put a damper on that idea.

He took another look at my credit report and he couldn't see a problem. He tried to put it through for me without the SSN.

I bet you are on the edge of your seats now wondering what the outcome was. Let's recap. I'm at the same dealership I bought the Olds from and I'm trading it in. I'm dealing with the same salesman who remembers me. I have the title in my name, registration in my name, a letter from GMAC addressed to me, my credit report and a Massachusetts drivers license with my name on it.

GMAC Leasing says.......

Drum roll please........

Denied!

Could not verify identity.

I know it's a crock but I don't make the rules.

1) How does a SSN verify anyone's identity?

2) They most certainly know who I am. I had more means of identitification than most people buying new cars.

3) If I gave them a number, how do they know it's mine?

4) Why must anyone particpate in federal welfare entitlement programs in order to lease a car?

It makes no sense at all.

No lease for me at this time.

I had my Oldsmobile towed to a garage. I had the clutch and slave cylinder done. I detailed it and gave it a nice wash and wax. It's now like a brand new car. I'm still driving it and it runs great. There are no car payments, no lease payments. I think I'm better off. Sure it cost almost $1,000FRN to fix it. It's a great car, it's worth it.

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money
from the Public Treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the Public Treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy always followed by dictatorship." ..."The Decline and Fall of the Athenian Republic", by Alexander Fraser Tyler

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