Car finance query

craigskel

Hi there

First post so please move if i'm posting in the wrong section.

I wonder if anyone can help me... I signed finance documents on Monday for a Hire Purchase car but have since been contacted by the salesman advising he did forgot to include the cost of the metallic paint and wants me to re-sign updated documents which works out £365 more expensive. I do have a signed invoice stating the cost of the car and it also mentions the colour of the car... but the cost of metallic paint is not individually specified.

Does anyone know where I stand? The salesman won't budge, but am I legally entitled to the car at the original price?

Thanks for any advice

daveyjp

For a contract you need an offer and an acceptance and consideration. He made an offer, you accepted it and signed agreeing to the cost.

There are hundreds of cases on the law when a mistake is made.

I'd be pushing for the car at the price, if he won't do it you are within your rights to cancel adn get any deposit back, but of course if you go elsewhere you will have to pay for the metallic paint anyway.

He'd be a fool to lose a deal for £365.

craigskel

Hi Davey, thanks for your response. I'm hoping the dealer will back down but i'm not so sure.

Is the dealer legally bound to sell me the car at the original price? I don't want to pull out of the deal you see lol. If it was the other way round, i'd have to stand by an agreement if it was me missing out.

Lemonade_Pockets

The dealer does not have to honour the deal but he would of course have to return your deposit.
If the dealer doesn't back down the choice is yours. I would suggest meet half way if it was a honest mistake. You get something for your troubles and he has to contribute for f#cking up.
I don't know the situation but the dealer is probably just trying to call your bluff as in reality they wouldn't want to loose the sale, unless its a particularly common model and colour and they weren't making any money on it.

Unless your buying a rare collectable car (I'm talking ferrari 250 GTO) a court would never order specific performance (force the dealer to perform the contract) by way of resolution if you were lucky you may get a small amount of compensation. A lot of hassle for £365.

Hintza

I'm surprised he didn't come on grovelling and offering to meet you in the middle. So he has cocked up but doesn't offer to take any of the pain? How ballsy do you feel? You could just ask him for your deposit back and you will take your business elswhere if you were so inclined.

craigskel

Lemonade_Pockets wrote: »

The dealer does not have to honour the deal but he would of course have to return your deposit.
If the dealer doesn't back down the choice is yours. I would suggest meet half way if it was a honest mistake. You get something for your troubles and he has to contribute for f#cking up.
I don't know the situation but the dealer is probably just trying to call your bluff as in reality they wouldn't want to loose the sale, unless its a particularly common model and colour and they weren't making any money on it.

Unless your buying a rare collectable car (I'm talking ferrari 250 GTO) a court would never order specific performance (force the dealer to perform the contract) by way of resolution if you were lucky you may get a small amount of compensation. A lot of hassle for £365.

I feel hard done by so if they want to lose a sale (especially at the end of the month) then I might just look elsewhere. I was hoping i'd have the law behind me tho. Is the deal only legally binding once money has transferred then?

craigskel

exactly hintza... it's totally the dealers fault but he is saying there is no way they could take the bill for it. I am very tempted to walk... but it's a good deal!

vikingaero

Same thing happened to us once on a car invoice. The salesman rang up, apologised for the error, and offered to go halves on the paint which was fair enough. If he had said that we had no choice but to take it then we would have cancelled but as he went halfway that was good enough.

Lemonade_Pockets

Once you have paid the money and driven off in the car then the deal is done no going back (there are alway exception to the rule).

Up until that point i believe (but wait to be corrected) that they can simply give you all your money back and call it off. You may if you took it to court get some damages for this, but the court would not order the dealer to complete.

Thats the problem with standard form contracts is that they are weighted in favour of the people who contructed them. As obviously if you were too back out of a deal you'd lose your deposit or at least part of it. This is generally accepted by everyone because it is dealer who incurs measurable costs when supplying a car rather than the customer.

I'm pretty sure if you read the T+C's on your order form and or invoice you will find that they have bases covered if they want to pull out for any reason.

Lemonade_Pockets

As the others have pointed out the dealers attitude sucks, but that doesnt change the legallity of it.

I made a few mistakes in my time and i always either let it go or if there simply wasn't room tried to meet at a halfway house.

craigskel

I've spoken to the dealer and they are willing to meet me half way... I'm holding out for more tho! I spoke to consumer direct and they said they are in breach of contract... so I'm going down that route... will keep you informed!