Location: California On 06/27/2026 I traded in my car which had a loan on it to a name brand dealership and financed another vehicle using the equity and put an additional amount down. I agreed on terms I liked and signed the paperwork and turned over the trade in to them like any usual car buying process.
Yesterday I was contacted by the finance company for my trade in asking if I was going to make another payment since they hadn’t received the pay off from the dealership. I called the dealership and was given the run around on the status of the trade in. I called again a few hours later and was told the finance manager that signed my paperwork no longer works there and someone from the finance department would be contacting me in a few days. Now they’re out right ignoring my calls when I try calling again.
I pulled up the vehicle history on my trade in and found that the dealership listed it for sale 2 days after I traded it in and sold it already. I contacted the bank that my finance contract was through and they said they don’t have a finance contract for me.
What could have happened? What steps do I need to take to protect myself? What do I tell the finance company for my trade in? I’ve never experienced something like this. It’s been 13 days since I traded in my car and left with the new vehicle which is still in my possession.