Deal Jackets - What They Are and Where to Find Them Every time you purchase or lease a car, you will be compelled to sign a few documents, with the purchase or lease agreement being the principal ones. As usual, the car dealer will hand over to you the exact copies of the documents you just signed. But things never end by the dealer handing over to you your copies of the documents. While they do so, they will also be completing their own files, usually known as the Deal File or the Deal Jackets. This is one of the most important files the dealership will have in relation to selling or leasing a motor vehicle, and it contains vital information that the dealers need to have for their F&I offices. Most dealers will have different kinds or types of deal files, and with the advent of technology, there are some dealers who now use electronic deal files as opposed to the traditional deal files that have been in use over the years. The information contained in the deal jackets may vary from one dealer to another, but there are specific kinds of information that will always be maintained in the files, irrespective of the vehicle or the dealer. In a typical deal file, you will not fail to find information such as a sales summary or a recap sheet that details the nature of the transaction the dealer made, including the profit or loss accrued from the deal. The deal files will also contain information about the vehicle invoice, repair history of the car, trade-in calculations, the papers used to secure financing, information on the DMV, documents about the after-market items, and any other document that the dealer may have used during the transaction that is worth keeping in the official files. It is important to note that the documents referenced in them are rarely shown to the customers, and will always remain in the custody of the dealers. So, what makes the deal file such an important document for the customer? In the motor vehicle purchase and lease industry, proper documentation is imperative. There are so many cases of fraud, and either the dealer or the customer may be on the receiving end, and without the right documents to prove one's case, a lot of money may end up getting lost. For example, if a customer suspects a dealer fraud, the deal file is where such forgery, if any may be proved. Even though the dealers are in the business to make profits, the deal file can reveal if there were any forms of deception on the part of the dealer. A scrutiny of the dealer jackets may reveal add-on products and extras that may have had nothing to do with the vehicle you purchased or leased, or you may even find that your purchase included a "theft protection gadget" that costs $47 in the open market, but you ended up paying hundreds of dollars for it. A scrutiny of the deal file by an experienced attorney can reveal such discrepancies which may end up saving you thousands of dollars for the transaction. For more information,view source.
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