Unusual problem with car dealership

thegoons

Hi all,

I've just paid £300 deposit for a car which was priced at approx £12.5k with a pretty well known car dealership, deal went through well enough, no hassle.

An hour later, the branch manager phoned me up and said the car was priced wrongly, apologised and said if I still wanted the car, it will be approx £15k or else my £300 will be refunded. He admitted it is fault at their side of things to have the car priced wrongly.

At this point, I already have the agreement with them in black and white. What do you think I should do? argue with them so they will honour the agreement? Because if it is their fault and have agreed to sell the car to me at £12.5k, I shouldn't be punished for somebody else's mistake.

To be fair, the reason I opted for them was because their price was cheaper by quite a bit compared to the rest priced at approx. £15k.

Any opinions what are my options? Or is it a no brainer, I have all the legal rights for them to honour the agreement.

Cheers!

DUTR

I would just take my deposit back, as to be honest I wouldn't trust them afterwards to honour the the deal . If the car was at a dealers then the mark up is in either of the two prices and you may find a similar model at the same or less price.

motorguy

I cant see how you can force them to sell you the car at that price, and they're giving you your deposit back.

I would imagine theres something in the contract small print that will give them a get out option.

I guess see if they will do you a preferential deal under the circumstances - maybe meet you half way?

ukjoel

Would be useful to name dealership and also details of car.


My view would depend very much on is the car genuinely overpriced or not.

If its a main dealer for them to have a car mispriced by so much and then sold without a salesman or manager picking it up is a bit of a shocker as 90% of the stuff they do will be bread and butter pricing.

I often see dealer stickers the wrong way round so £9995 is £5999 and thats laughable but obvious.

I suppose what I am asking is for enough detail to asses whether they are selling a £15k car cheap or if its worth 12.5 in the first place..

tia86

This is an interesting thread - I have a similar situation though haven't put any deposit down. Was looking for advice on whether dealers must honour the quote they gave you, but it seems from the replies that isn't the case. Sorry OP for jumping on, but thought I would add that it seems to happen to others, though feel your frustration over believing your getting a bargain to find out you won't.

thegoons

it's the 2012 Automatic Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDi 105 Match 5dr DSG Hatchback. Gone approx 20k miles. still have 2 years warranty left with VW. And the dealership is Arnold Clark.

It is a shocker how companies like that can do such rookie mistake, and expecting me to pay the difference in order for the deal to go through. They should at least pay for their mistake cause similarly, if i were to buy an overpriced product and i went back in the store and ask for the price difference, i will be seen as a nut case.

I'm not sure if @£15k the car is considered over priced, but that seem to be the asking price that i've seen so far.

If they were to meet me half way, i will consider myself lucky, but if they choose to honour the agreement. even better! (fat chance!) surely, with a paperwork in place, they cannot just ask for additional money and expect to get away with it and not honour the agreement?

spacey2012

Do you have any form of contract for the deposit ?
If so this may not be like a shop refusing to sell at the till, if they have contractual obligations in relation to forfeiture of deposits you may have a claim for the contract to be honoured and a right to compensation if not.
Dig out your paper work and get reading.

thegoons

As quoted on the 'agreement' / contract

'This is a vehicle order agreement. you should read its terms on this page and the accompanying terms and conditions carefully. sign it only if you want to be legally bound.
1. I the customer agree to pay to Arnold Clark the Balance due which is the total of the balance due from the finance company plus the balance due from the customer in section C.I agree to pay the balance due as soon as the vehicle has been completed for delivery and notification of this has been given to me...and so on.'

Section C is where the balance is stated.

They have agreed and surely will return my deposit, but what about the agreement we had before they realise their mistake? Considered void?

motorguy

thegoons wrote: »

they cannot just ask for additional money and expect to get away with it and not honour the agreement?

Technically they're not asking for extra money. They're opting to cancel the contract and giving you the option to purchase at the correct price.

I dont think you can 'force' them to do the deal, in the same way as if you found the car £2,500 cheaper elsewhere you wouldnt be honouring the contract you have signed.

Ask to meet with the sales manager, see if you can negotiate a better deal than you would otherwise get. Probably all you can do really.

motorguy

thegoons wrote: »

It is a shocker how companies like that can do such rookie mistake

I dont see how its a shocker - mistakes happen. Thats life.

motorguy

thegoons wrote: »

it's the 2012 Automatic Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDi 105 Match 5dr DSG Hatchback. Gone approx 20k miles. still have 2 years warranty left with VW. And the dealership is Arnold Clark.

Same car from a main dealer for £13,480?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201305136727773/sort/default/usedcars/maximum-age/up_to_2_years_old/maximum-mileage/up_to_20000_miles/engine-size-cars/1-4l_to_1-6l/fuel-type/diesel/quantity-of-doors/5/transmission/automatic/model/golf/make/volkswagen/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/page/1/radius/1500/keywords/match/postcode/bt622hb?logcode=p