Car manufacturer refuses to honour offer - what recourse do we have?

iapetus

So, I recently purchased a new car (ha!) on the basis of a great deal offered by the manufacturer - their biggest selling model with the top-end trim. Went to our local dealer, did a test drive, liked what we saw, and to cut a long story short, put down our deposit and underwent a credit check. The order went to the factory and was accepted, and all we had to do was wait for a build date. The deal advertised that we took them up on was equivalent to £3200 off the list price and 0% credit on half of the price of the car.

After a while I decided to chase the dealer on the build date. They were very cagey about the whole thing, and it wasn't until I'd chased them for a few days that they admitted that they'd been told the manufacturer had decided not to build the car after all. It was being replaced by a new model, and after taking our order, they'd decided to stop manufacture.

I then spent a month or so chasing the dealer and the manufacturer to try and find a replacement. They suggested some new/nearly new cars of the old model which were all wildly off our requirements in some parts of spec; the manufacturer provided the dealer with no flexibility in being able to change the spec of cars already scheduled for production. They suggested the possibility of taking a different model from the old range, which we looked into seriously, but the car was larger than we wanted, and came with a larger engine (higher running costs, and *much* higher road tax).

They asked us what we'd consider reasonable, and I suggested a model from the new range to a similar spec would actually come from the trim level below the one we ordered, and have a similar price. My suggestion was that they could simply honour the offer that they made on this equivalent car from the new range. Eventually, after chasing them up again and again (this manufacturer seems utterly incapable of calling back when they promise) they've said their best offer is £1,000 towards the price of the new car.

To me this seems like a no-brainer case of bait and switch. They've offered a deal that they not only should have known they couldn't honour, but that they actually decided after the event not to honour, to get customers into the showroom. Then they're offering these people (and I know we're not the only ones) a considerably worse offer on a replacement car. Am I being unreasonable, or is this illegal behaviour? If I've exhausted my options with the manufacturer, what recourse do I have elsewhere (reporting to the OFT or industry bodies, consumer rights organisations etc.)?

Epiphone

To answer your questions: nothing.

Time to find another car.

iapetus

Just to clarify; are you saying this isn't bait and switch, that bait and switch is permissible, or that in a case of bait and switch where there's been no money lost by the consumer there's no compensation available?

Because I'd probably disagree with the first two unless there's a good case for why it isn't, and am not too worried about the third. If they refuse to put things right, it's as much about seeing them taken to task for deceptive advertising as getting the car we ordered now.

Herzlos

I'd just get the deposit back and start looking for another car

GJ_WRX

By the sounds of it they were offering a great deal to clear end of line models when you paced your order, but ran out of stock between taking the order and placing out with the factory. Sadly this isn't the dealer or manufacturers fault as they can only deliver on what they are provided by the factories.

No manufacturer would offer the same deal on a new models that's just been launched. £1,000 towards the latest one sounds pretty fair. If you're not happy with that then get your deposit back as it's time to go car shopping again. Plenty of other fish in the sea our dealers willing to take your hard earned.

iapetus

GJ_WRX wrote: »

By the sounds of it they were offering a great deal to clear end of line models when you paced your order, but ran out of stock between taking the order and placing out with the factory. Sadly this isn't the dealer or manufacturers fault as they can only deliver on what they are provided by the factories.

This isn't quite the case; they took the order, they placed it with the factory, the factory confirmed it. It was after that, knowing that there were customers with orders in place that they decided not to make the cars they'd committed to. If it had been a genuine case of the car not being available when the order reached the appropriate point, and they'd come back to us and told us that when they found out, I wouldn't be as annoyed with them.

verityboo

iapetus wrote: »

It was after that, knowing that there were customers with orders in place that they decided not to make the cars they'd committed to.

You say 'cars' so are you aware that there are several people in the same situation as you?

All such offers are limited to the number of obsolete cars they have to offload (the limited nature of the offer would have been stated in the small print). It has been badly handled but there is no conspiracy. As others have said, you are entitled to be put back in the position you were in so are entitled to your deposit back. You don't mention the make/model of car but if the discount on an obsolete one was £3K then a £1K discount on a new one sounds quite good.

I think you have the right to be annoyed, you don't however have the right to demand they start the production line up again!

iapetus

verityboo wrote: »

You say 'cars' so are you aware that there are several people in the same situation as you?

This is what the dealer led us to believe.

verityboo wrote: »

All such offers are limited to the number of obsolete cars they have to offload (the limited nature of the offer would have been stated in the small print).

Again, I'd accept that this was the case if that's how the offer was presented, but they accepted and processed the order of a new car made to our spec and at the offer price. Not only at the dealership level, but at the factory. And this happened to multiple people purchasing from multiple dealerships - or so I'm led to believe by the dealer and the 'customer service' reps I've spoken to. Seems pretty clear to me that the offer wasn't limited to a small number of pre-made obsolete cars. These offers aren't always just to clear obsolete cars, they're also to keep sales going in the dead spot where people know a new model is just around the corner, and wouldn't consider buying until it's released.

Cornucopia

Legally, it depends on the terms (if any) under which you placed the deposit. Assuming that you could prove that the deposit was a legally-binding agreement for them to supply the specific car under the specific terms you've stated, then you could potentially sue for the financial disadvantage you've suffered. Assuming that (a) you are financially disadvantaged (which might be difficult to prove) and (b) their alternative(s) were not deemed to be reasonably similar in financial terms.

It seems like a lot of hassle for a situation in which you are not actually out of pocket. Go buy something nearly new and save way more than you've missed out on here.

bigjl

Bait and Switch?

Seriously?

I agree with the above.

You have made a specific order with an end of line vehicle and the manufacturer were likely unable to make the vehicle to your specs.

Big companies rarely leave them selves open in such deals.

Though the deal was actually struck with the dealer not the manufacturer.

So the dealer have acted in good faith and had the goal posts moved on them by the manufacturer.

The dealer have done what they could to secure a different deal.

But they will not have the margins on the new car to do much of a deal, you haven't said what car it is however, and manufacturers rarely discount the new model.

£1000 off a newly released model is a significant saving.

Especially if the car we are talking about is the B Class Merc or A Class Merc which were recently facelifted.

If it was a Clio then the new one is much better than the old one.

I don't see that there is any major issue to be worried about.

All very specific factory orders can be affected by trim and paint colour changes on occasion.

It was worth a shot trying to blag a much better vehicle at several thousand pounds under price but was never likely to succeed as they will have question for the new models, the deal on the old one was to get rid of the production run.

Tiddlywinks

You appear to have spent months arguing about this... don't you have anything better to do with your time?

Sorry to sound harsh but... just choose another dealer and manufacturer and vote with your feet.