Interest in a car sparks garage price change

p1x1dust

Last night I expressed an interest in buying a car. Miraculously, this morning after I had them book me for a test drive, they up-ed the price online by £500. Luckily I have both before and after screenshots but I wanted to know - is this legal? I am hoping it will help me with negotiations if/when it comes to hammering down a deal.

nobbysn*ts

p1x1dust wrote: »

Last night I expressed an interest in buying a car. Miraculously, this morning after I had them book me for a test drive, they up-ed the price online by £500. Luckily I have both before and after screenshots but I wanted to know - is this legal? I am hoping it will help me with negotiations if/when it comes to hammering down a deal.

It's legal. Whether you want to buy from someone that is so clearly trying to take you for a ride is another matter though. If you have a problem later, what aftersales service would you expect if he's trying tricks like this before he's even sold it?

colino

Is this a one-man-band selling one car, or is there another reason that you think a bona fide trader would adjust the prices (up or down) on the strength of your mild interest?

nobbysn*ts

I had the same thing. Very cheap car, £300 start on ebay, and I offered £400 to finish the auction. He said no, and by the time I got home the start price was up to £400. It was on twice more, and finally sold for £300. (not to me, I'd bought another by then) I had a chuckle at that.

macman

An advertised price is merely an 'offer to treat'. They don't have to sell at at that price. Nor, of course, do you have to buy it at a higher price, so walk away.

dodders

That happened to me last year when I was looking for a golf for my parents.
Had spoke to the dealer and all set to go and see it then the price increased, lost interest in the golf and the dealer so looked elsewhere.
Plenty more golfs (or other cars) out there.

AdrianC

macman wrote: »

An advertised price is merely an 'offer to treat'. They don't have to sell at at that price. Nor, of course, do you have to buy it at a higher price, so walk away.

^This.

It doesn't matter what the number on the screen is. You go and have a look, if you like it then you offer what you think it's worth, and if the seller agrees, you shake hands. If he doesn't, you walk away and buy a different car from somebody else. THAT's the only relevant price.

nobbysn*ts

AdrianC wrote: »

^This.

It doesn't matter what the number on the screen is. You go and have a look, if you like it then you offer what you think it's worth, and if the seller agrees, you shake hands. If he doesn't, you walk away and buy a different car from somebody else. THAT's the only relevant price.

Only if you expect nothing from the dealer afterwards. Then you may as well save even more and buy privately, rather than finance his summer holiday.