Deposit con by main dealer - help!

Altarf

MarkyMarkD wrote:

When you pay a deposit on a car purchase, you are legally committed to go through with the deal. If you "change your mind", the dealer is legally entitled to pursue you for lost profit on the deal.

But since the dealer will have a responsibility to mitigate their loss if they want to sue for damages, the amount they could sue for would be the difference between the loss of profit between what he would have made when he sold the car the first time and what he did eventually sell the car for, plus any additional cost in selling the car. It is very likely the resulting 'loss' the dealer suffered will be zero.

MarkyMarkD

I don't agree at all that it's likely to be zero.

He will at the very least have had to hold the car in stock for a period of time, which incurs a notional (or real) interest cost.

He may have had to advertise it in Auto Trader or his local paper.

He may have had to reduce the price to sell it to the next customer, or give them an enhanced part exchange value.

There are honestly loads of ways in which he's likely to have a valid claim for loss of profit.

Altarf

MarkyMarkD wrote:

There are honestly loads of ways in which he's likely to have a valid claim for loss of profit.

But they might be hard to demonstrate to a court.

A few days extra interest, if they have an overdraft. They cannot leave the car lurking at the back of the lot for the next 6 months, they will have to demonstrate to the court that they mitigated their losses by actively trying to sell the car.

Do dealers really advertise every car they have in stock in Autotrader. Most dealers seem to advertise a selection of their stock to get the customers in, unless they are advertising all their stock in a single advert. So they would need to demonstrate to the court why they advertised this car. Possible if it was not selling, not if it was a popular car that would sell to the first customer that saw it.

As for the price, how on earth are is the dealer going to demonstrate that they gave an enhanced trade in. Trade in prices never have any relation to the real value of the car, and are moved around to either make the customer think that have a good deal, to fiddle the finance figures so the customer is accepted, or to minimise the VAT cost. So how is the dealer going to prove that they paid £500 over the top on this one, when the amount they pay for a trade in varies between -£1000 and +£1000. Same applies for the sale price, how are they going to demonstrate that they didn't lower the price but give a reduced trade in.

So it might be worth it for the dealer if we a talking an expensive oddball car that takes months to sell, but for a run of the mill car, the loss is likely to be so small and the time and trouble to put together the evidence that it is not worth it.

MarkyMarkD

Oh, I agree that it's unlikely but legally it is the case that you are liable - that's all I was saying.