Bought car, overcharged, what car my rights?

Suzykd

I've bought a car today from a dealer, who reduced the price, offered me a lot of freebies then only completed part of the figurework on the receipt.
I was so confused by the figures, that I signed the agreement in the showroom thinking it was correct.
I am paying cash for the car, have paid a deposit by credit card, and have only just realised that I have been 'overcgarged' by £300. Basically a 'freebie' that has been added to a separate part of the receipt.
I will challenge the invoice in the morning, but what are my rights?
If they don't amend the price, can I cancel?
The overcharge is for GAP insurance, which they said they would include. I have also been charged for 6 months road tax which I thought they said they would include.
I'm prepared to let the road tax go, but not the GAP.

McKneff

Wait till tomorrow to see what is sorted between you, then come back on here.

marlot

Is the final price the price you agreed?

If so there is no problem.

Often these things are separated out on the receipt as they attract no VAT (car tax) or lower VAT (insurance). So by listing them separately the dealer keeps his VAT bill down. As long as the total is what you agreed there isn't a problem - though obviously it would have been better had he told you what he was doing.

Suzykd

Hi Marlot.
I'm not quite sure what I am paying for.
Basically, the car was on sale at £3991.
They gave me a quote for that price, with a paint protection kit added at £299, and GAP insurance at another £200, making a total of £4589.00
Then, when I said I wanted to shop around, they offered to reduce the price, especially as I was offering a cash sale with no trade in.
I refused the paint kit, but was sold the GAP.
The salesman talked so fast about so many different things he was going to give me that I was totally confused, in fact, I'd got a migraine coming on by the time he was finished.
I thought I was getting the following:
Car discounted to £3791 + 6 months tax at £77
Warranty extended from 3 months to 6, and breakdown cover
MOT
Service
Discounted GAP (half price)
They give the MOT and service free as standard anyway

This morning I queried the invoice, as I couldn't make the figures add up last night, and have been told that I have been charged £3691 for the car, a figure which was never mentioned to me yesterday, and £299 for the GAP. Total £3990, which is what's on the invoice.

BUT on the invoice there is no base price for the car, the GAP is shown with the free items under accessories to be fitted, and the road tax is shown as a charge, so the part of the invoice with the amount payable only shows the road tax and the total price of the car.

I have also just discovered that the car has an outstanding loan on it,
but the HPI company have asked me to check again tomorrow, as it may be cleared, and they can't confirm what the mileage should be, they have no record of it.
Also, I can apparently buy the same GAP cover myself for just over £100.

So, my questions are:
Can I cancel the purchase? There is no mention of a cooling off period and I signed the agreement in their showrooms.
Can I just cancel the GAP? I have not been given any information on the GAP cover, only what the salesman told me.
I am usually up to speed on my rights, but just don't know where I am with this one.

johnnyreggae

Read post 3 again and think about what you say you agreed to in post 4

Your invoice says £ 3990 and the things you say you agreed to total at least £ 3968 so where's the problem ?

OddballJamie

I'd ditch the GAP, hardly worth paying £300 on a car worth less than £4k.
Most of the depreciation will have already happened.

maninthestreet

"Basically, the car was on sale at £3991"

"Total £3990, which is what's on the invoice"

So you got it for £1 less than you had agreed to pay in the first place?

IainHL

OddballJamie wrote: »

I'd ditch the GAP, hardly worth paying £300 on a car worth less than £4k.
Most of the depreciation will have already happened.

That was my thinking too. Why would GAP insurance be needed on what is presumably a second hand car that you are paying cash for?

Also, personally I have never particularly noticed the difference that a paint protection kit is supposed to make.

So I would get them to sell me the car for £3691, with service, MoT, 6 months warranty and breakdown cover, plus £77 for the 6 months vehicle licence.

InsideInsurance

IainHL wrote: »

That was my thinking too. Why would GAP insurance be needed on what is presumably a second hand car that you are paying cash for?

As there are 4 types of GAP:

1) Financial - covers the shortfall on any finance

2) Return to Invoice - covers the difference between settlement and invoice price

3) Vehicle Replacement - covers the cost of a getting the same as you originally bought it (ie if you buy a 3 year old fiesta and 2 years later its written off they give you the gap between settlement and getting another 3 year old fiesta)

4) Agreed Value - same as above but a set value that can be a little more than the purchase price

2-4 can also include financial gap insurance and you then get paid the greater of the two gaps.

fivetide

I would say, as GAP insurance is really about covering the value of the car versus outstanding finance. Agreed it can be used on a new car you will take a big depreciation hit on but in this case, as pointed out, the depreciation has happened.

Given that's the case, and you have no finance it's bordering on mis-selling.

Salesman will be making a nice commission on it.

InsideInsurance

fivetide wrote: »

as GAP insurance is really about covering the value of the car versus outstanding finance

That is Financial GAP. Other classes of GAP are so that if your car gets written off in 3 years time you can go out and rebuy what you originally had (eg a 1 year old Golf)