New car ordered, can I cancel?

johnfarquhar74

Short Story
Ordered a new car, now want to cancel, can I without recourse?

Long Story
This isn't exactly a classic MSE post as I was trying to spend money but am looking for advice all the same.

I ordered a brand new car 2 months back. I negotiated what I thought was a decent price for the car, cash, and secured the sale with a £200 deposit. The dealership emails me every fortnight confirming that the manufacturer has accepted the order but no build date has been given. Bearing in mind the build date is just that, not the delivery date, I'm not looking at getting the car until summer time. I've tried pushing for a confirmed build date but neither dealership nor customer services can help.
I'm now thinking of cancelling my order, I'm aware I will lose my deposit but feel I'd be better off getting a pre-registered car as I wouldn't have to wait, it may also work out cheaper.
So, can I cancel the order without recourse from the dealership?

eschaton

johnfarquhar74 wrote: »

Short Story
Ordered a new car, now want to cancel, can I without recourse?

Long Story
This isn't exactly a classic MSE post as I was trying to spend money but am looking for advice all the same.

I ordered a brand new car 2 months back. I negotiated what I thought was a decent price for the car, cash, and secured the sale with a £200 deposit. The dealership emails me every fortnight confirming that the manufacturer has accepted the order but no build date has been given. Bearing in mind the build date is just that, not the delivery date, I'm not looking at getting the car until summer time. I've tried pushing for a confirmed build date but neither dealership nor customer services can help.
I'm now thinking of cancelling my order, I'm aware I will lose my deposit but feel I'd be better off getting a pre-registered car as I wouldn't have to wait, it may also work out cheaper.
So, can I cancel the order without recourse from the dealership?

Doesn't the new car order form tell you what you can and can't do?

colino

Deposits are generally non-refundable, so check your paperwork and find your getout clauses.

Flyboy152

johnfarquhar74 wrote: »

Short Story
Ordered a new car, now want to cancel, can I without recourse?

Long Story
This isn't exactly a classic MSE post as I was trying to spend money but am looking for advice all the same.

I ordered a brand new car 2 months back. I negotiated what I thought was a decent price for the car, cash, and secured the sale with a £200 deposit. The dealership emails me every fortnight confirming that the manufacturer has accepted the order but no build date has been given. Bearing in mind the build date is just that, not the delivery date, I'm not looking at getting the car until summer time. I've tried pushing for a confirmed build date but neither dealership nor customer services can help.
I'm now thinking of cancelling my order, I'm aware I will lose my deposit but feel I'd be better off getting a pre-registered car as I wouldn't have to wait, it may also work out cheaper.
So, can I cancel the order without recourse from the dealership?

Short answer

Technically, all the dealer can retain is any provable reasonable costs incurred in processing your order. If there is no build date, those costs will be very small.

Long answer

Have you spoken to the dealer to express your concerns? It may be helpful to emphasise your need for urgency and the thought of a cancelled order might give the dealer added impetus to encourage the manufacturer to prioritise your build. A strongly worded letter, to the customer relations department of the manufacturer, reiterating your concerns and plans, wouldn't do any harm either. You also might want to consider a compromise on things like colour and specification that might help the dealer to locate an already build car for you.

The thing to remember is, this is not the dealer's fault, it is the manufacturer who hasn't built your car.

What car have you ordered, by the way?

10JH

If it's a car being built in Japan it may have been delayed by the problems they have been having.

johnfarquhar74

Flyboy152 wrote: »

What car have you ordered, by the way?

I have ordered a Skoda Octavia Scout, petrol drivative.
It was cheaper to buy new than to buy nearly new or up to 2 years old because of the VAT free offer.
Skoda, part of VAG, have been struggling to produce enough diesel units and it looks like the pressure has boiled over to the petrol option as well.
I knew, or at least expected the car to take between 3-4 months but we're already 2 months down the line, no build date has been intimated by the manufacturer at all and delivery will be another 4 weeks on top.
I have pressed the dealer as much as I'm willing to as I know it is out of their hands.
So, with no imminent delivery, I'm thinking of looking elsewhere, the car has to be petrol and we always tend to go for estate style cars. Currently thinking about going back to Ford for a 1 yr old Mondeo estate, that is if the Skoda dealership will let me walk away from the deal?!?

Flyboy152

Sadly, since the economic downturn, global manufacturers have scaled down their build plans. This leaves the dealers with little or inappropriate stock levels. They have cut down on investment in expansions and this has resulted in worldwide shortages for a lot of manufacturers.

Have you considered any compromises, or will only the car of your choice do?

If you're determined to cancel, the dealer will not be able to hold you to your order and your deposit can only suffer from any losses the dealer has incurred.

Kilty_2

Is it a 1.4 TSI?

VAG have had problems building enough of these for a fair old time now.

johnfarquhar74

Kilty wrote: »

Is it a 1.4 TSI?

VAG have had problems building enough of these for a fair old time now.

The Octavia Scout only comes in the 1.8 TSI, that wasn't a problem this time last year but as Flyboy says, manufacturers don't mass build now. This put a lot of strain on the production of diesel units, this in turn leading to a run on the petrols. Some units are easy to come by, like the 2.0 TSI for the VRs but the 1.8 is shared with the Superb. Having had a look at some specialist forums it doesn't look like I'll get the car I wanted any time soon.
I'm now looking elsewhere for something similar, preferably pre-reg.
As for the deposit, I'm prepared to lose that if need be but I was just wanting to make sure the dealership couldn't tie me to the new car yet keep me waiting for an unknown length of time!

Kilty_2

Does the dealer have anything pre-reg / in stock that you want?

johnfarquhar74

Kilty wrote: »

Does the dealer have anything pre-reg / in stock that you want?

Alas, no.
The dealership is very small with not much stock. It's a shame really as it's the best sales experience I've ever had, no pressure whatsoever, agreeing a price was pain-free, just a shame that through no fault of theirs, they can't seem to deliver the car in either an agreed timescale or offer a delivery date at all!

My wish list is a petrol estate style, nearly new or new, with a reliable marque. Although I'm running a french marque just now I will be staying well clear from them in the immediate future. So, if I can't find a decent spec Skoda I'll probably go back to an ex-fleet Ford.