Bridgecrest DriveTime Everyone's approved to be SCREWED Nationwide

Part of your conclusion is exactly right:  you should have taken the funds you had and applied it to your outstanding debt to get your score into a range for better financing.

From what I have seen, the subprime lenders charge extremely high rates for extended periods of time for two reasons:

1. Cover their risk of lending to borrowers that have a history of late payments or no payments
2. Increase their return on their investment by front loading the vehicle loan + collecting as large a deposit as possible. In fact, it is my opinion that the deposit they collect can in some/many instances buy the car outright at another dealership.  

Continue to pay your loan so you end up with a good tradeline with payments made on time. Vow to never go back to any dealer that operates the way DriveTime does and get your financing from a traditional lender (like a credit union).  If you do this, then it will save you thousands whenever you finance a vehicle. Do your research first so you know where to go and more importantly, where not to go. 

A class action lawsuit only helps the attorney and the lead plaintiff - everyone else gets a token check for a few dollars. It isn't worth the effort. Take this negative experience and learn from it. JMO

YOU signed the paperwork. YOU agreed to the terms. YOU screwed up your credit in the first place. Did they hypnotize you into signing the paperwork, I don't get it. WHAT is the basis for your lawsuit?????

No, negative equity should not be illegal. You made your choice and now you are suffering from buyer’s remorse. There is no scam and there are no grounds for a lawsuit.