are we being conned???

sitcom321

we went to buy a new car yesterday (well used but new to us) we found a peugeot 308 at an official peugeot garage, and after a test drive part ex etc we came to an agreed price. This afternoon the guy has just rung without his boss knowing according to him, to say there is a problem with the car, its been to the workshop today and there is a problem with the ECU light, its been fixed but not properly and if it comes on again in 6 months or so it will cost us 2k to fix it and he wants us to now buy the other car we looked at. it all just sounds a bit odd. any advice anyone

Lum

Let me guess, the other car is more expensive, or is a less desirable model?

sitcom321

they are practically the same to be honest, the other car is 6 months older, the car tax on the one we bought is £95 whereas its £30 on the other car, I am just a bit confused, the car was fine yesterday when we took it out, no ECU light on then

Lum

I honestly don't know then. I've just learned over the years not to trust car salesmen.

All you can really do is ask them for more details, such as what the actual reported fault is, and also ask why their warranty doesn't cover this fault.

It is possible that the fault did just crop up after you left, it's also possible that they have found something wrong with the other car they are offering you and want to try and shift it onto an unsuspecting punter who isn't going to come back and look too hard.

sitcom321

Oh god I am worried even more now!! Can I just ask for my deposit back and not take any car? car was just over 7k which is a lot of money for us dont want to get ripped off

Trebor16

If you are not happy with the car then ask for your deposit and walk away from it. As the dealer has indicated there is a fault which they are not able to fix entirely then I see no reason why they could hold on to your deposit.

Go on to a site like Autotrader and do a search on other 308's to see what price they are going for.

The difference in road tax is because of the emissions of the car. I presume you have been looking at the 1.6HDi diesel engined varient?

Lum

To be honest, if I was in your position, I would be asking for my money back and looking elsewhere, yes.

It could be genuine, I just don't trust them as every car salesman I have had the displeasure of dealing with has been a greasy smarmy scumbag stuffed into a Burtons suit.

sitcom321

Well I think that is what we will be doing, it all seems a bit too iffy. He has said we can come in and get our deposit back or get another car, he just wanted to be honest with us that the car might not be ok!!!