new car not ready

mrniallcameron_2

Hi,

I ordered a new car for my wife on the 30th of August from Arnold Clark.
I paid £1000 deposit and was given a copy of the sale and finance agreement.
The car is supposed to be ready for collection around the 8th of October.
I just contacted the salesman to find out the registration plates so I could organise an insurance policy, only he told me ™ I've been meaning to speak to you, I'm afraid I your car hasn't been ordered yet. There isn't a slot available until November so it probably won't be ready until December

From my point of view they have basically taken my money and have done nothing to inform me of the problem. I've been invited to the showroom on Saturday to see if we can reach a deal on another spec of the same car.

What are my rights?
What should I be asking?
Can I ask for my money back?


Thanks for any help in advance .


N Cameron

Hintza

Start searching for the car elsewhere and check delivery times etc so that when you go in you prepared. Cheeky sod for not calling you.

If I could find the car elsewhere I would be demanding my money back at least.

somethingcorporate

Yep, you could ask for your money back as they would not have not incurred any costs as of yet.

I probably would if they cannot be bothered to be polite for their customers.

Equaliser123

Have you suffered any other losses? e.g. agreed to sell an existing car and are now without transport?

rustyboy21

Cheeky B****rs !

If I was to forget to order something for one of my customers, then the first thing I would be doing is to offer something as compensation.

Arnold Clark are a bit of a nightmare TBH. I have bought 2 cars from them in the past. One of them packed up just as I was driving into my road, after picking it up. The gearbox had gone.

If I was you and you are willing to wait until December for the car, I would get them to up spec your car free of charge. I would also say you need the car straight away and if they cannot supply it, then they should offer you a high spec loan car FOC until yours comes in. They shouldn't be making you pay more out for a higher spec that will come in sooner, it's their fault that they didn't order it.

The problem you may have going elsewhere is that more than likely, you will have to wait the same time ofr it and you have already had your finance arranged, so another credit check wouldn't go down well with another finance co. If you failed that one, then the original one may rescind their offer. They are weird like that. You also need them to get the finance co, to delay payments until you get the car.

Good luck. Be firm but level headed and polite and don't accept something that isn't to your benefit. They want your business, so make them work for it.;)

missile

Arnold Clark oh dear .........

unholyangel

Salesman must not have needed more commission this month. Personally I'd give it to someone who wants it and is willing to provide a good service AFTER they have my money (everyones full of promises before). I dont expect to be treated like a princess, but if they dont care that I'm giving my custom to them, why on earth should i care to give it to them in the first place.

You could write a letter of cancellation. You could write a letter making time of the essence (although essentially pointless if they're saying December at earliest) and in the meantime you could scout other garages to see if one can give you an earlier delivery date. You could ask for a reduction in price/upgrade in specs for their error.

Whats your ideal realistic (no "i want the car free" :P) solution? Is there any solution you definitely dont want or would rather avoid?

neilmcl

The only thing worth avoiding is Arnold Clark. I'd be inclinded to cancel and look elsewhere, there'll be plenty of decent dealerships out there willing to take your cash.

Have you tried looking on the internet at sites such as Drivethedeal.com?

mrniallcameron_2

Thanks all who suggested advice, I will let you know what transpires today.

Niall Cameron

bod1467

They're not known colloquially as Arnold Shark for nothing.

mrniallcameron_2

Ok,

So today I learned a valuable lesson. Never ever ever buy a car from Arnold Clark.

Whilst the salesman admitted he was at fault for not contacting me sooner to alert me to the delivery delays, the best they could offer was to give me the next model up, for an extra £1000 or a 2nd hand ex demonstrator with 400 miles on the clock, full specs though. For an extra £1100.

Needless to say I declined the offers, cancelled the agreement and got my money back. They didn't put up a fight. Which kind of made me even more mad.

I then went into VW and bought the wife a brand new Up!.
I got everything the citigo I ordered with Arnold Clark had. It cost me £100 more in total cost, but the low rate finance meant I'm saving £4 a month per payment.

Total savings £144, so I'm £44 better off.

The difference with customer service was like chalk and cheese.
I will never ever recommend Arnold Clark to anyone, or skoda for that matter as they were partly to blame as they had no production weeks available for 3 months.

I should get the wife's VW Up! In about 6 weeks or earlier. Plus i only needed a £200 deposit.

Thanks again for all the helpful advice, I think I had a very close shave with a terrible terrible company.


Thanks again,

Niall Cameron