Arnold Clark "Miles don't matter"

HolaNola

Hi all

So, last year I bought a Fiat 500 on PCP at one of the many Arnold Clark dealerships.

After a long discussion with the Sales Exec it was agreed that the car was ideal for my needs and a quote was sent to me. I did in fact state to the Sales Exec that the car would be used by my husband, who would be needing the car for work. I asked for a quote for 15,000 miles and once the SE returned with a quote which I thought was decent, I travelled 40 miles to test drive the car, to then travel home again with the quote. I was advised by the SE that the miles didn't matter and that to make the contract cheaper the best thing to do was to put 5,000 down on the contract. Being new to the whole PCP, having the SE ensure me on several occasions that it'd be ok AND feeling pressured into agreeing to this!! I put a large deposit down to "soften the blow".

I must add that I DID read through the contract extensively and made sure that I was happy with the terms (not only that but my BIL also read the contract and having worked for the Citizens Advice Bureau, all looked good.) So off we went to sign the contract, I have since been contacted by Fiat regarding my mileage to see if everything was ok, after telling them that my car is at 12,000 miles already there was a shocked agent on the phone!

On several occasions before, during and after the sale, the SE made sure to ensure me that the miles didn't matter and that I'd be ok if I got to 30,000 miles when I swapped the car.

Yes, I really do understand my naivety has probably caused this, however I have had several panic attacks regarding the matter and I'm extremely stressed about what it is I should or can do about this!

I have contacted 2 other Fiat dealerships, outside of the Arnold Clark group and they have both stated that this isn't the first they've heard about it!

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks
HN :eek:

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

You probably need to go to the financiers and get an estimate of what the final position will be at your current rate of knots. I suspect you will be hit by some nasty penalty for excess mileage - though it is possible that it all works out ok I suppose, depending on the contract.

The AC salesman is operating under a financial code of conduct and as such has mis-sold and therefore if you find out you are significantly worse off than you should have been had you taken out the appropriate contract then you have redress against AC who should compensate you accordingly.

Find out how much the difference is, and then if the numbers are significant, make a formal complaint to AC, and if they do not give you satisfactory response then you need to follow up either with the FCA, small claims court or both. AC should provide you with the information as to what to do if you are not happy with their response and anyway it should be documented with your finance agreement.

Any evidence you have, such as your initial quotation document for 15k miles will help.

colino

There is no chance at all that your agreement does not draw to your attention the penalty cost, per mile, of exceeding your agreed annual and/or total mileage. Either talk to AC and try and renegotiate now or deal with their lawyers about libelling them later.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

colino wrote: »

There is no chance at all that your agreement does not draw to your attention the penalty cost, per mile, of exceeding your agreed annual and/or total mileage. Either talk to AC and try and renegotiate now or deal with their lawyers about libelling them later.

The fact that the contract states one thing does not mean that AC are not guilty of mis-selling. The customer is entitled to rely on statements made by the sales person, and to be honest it is very surprising to hear that a car dealer should be playing games with finance agreements. Most either have a specialist staff member to do the finance or some other means of ensuring compliance with selling guidelines.

BJV

If you have bought the car on PCP - sop a contract where you have the option to hand the car back, pay the optional payment or part exchange the car the mileage will not make a massive difference unless you hand the car back.


If you pay the final balance no problem, if you part exchange then the car will be valued with the higher mileage. It is only if you choose to hand the car back that you will be hit with excess mileage.


Still very naughty of the SE. You could if you want call the finance company and get them to adjust the mileage??? But it may just be better to face the fact then when you come to part exchange you may not get as much as you 1st thought.

BJV

IanMSpencer wrote: »

The fact that the contract states one thing does not mean that AC are not guilty of mis-selling. The customer is entitled to rely on statements made by the sales person, and to be honest it is very surprising to hear that a car dealer should be playing games with finance agreements. Most either have a specialist staff member to do the finance or some other means of ensuring compliance with selling guidelines.

I have ran dealerships, sales teams and even to start with worked on the shop floor for many years in another life. The "specialist" so called business managers just like SE's are mostly commission based. This means that they will be financially incentivised to sell. It is not their fault and in the most they do a good job but just like any other walk of life there will be good and bad.


Finance agreements well a different matter as there will be a mileage limitation on the agreement there has to be as well as a list of possible excess mileage charges but that is not to say that the Op was advised that it would not make a difference. Very hard to prove through as TBF it is very hard for a customer to insist that they where told one thing when the dealership will have a signed agreement showing something completely different.


Also in theory it will only make a difference if they decide to hand the car back as part exchanging or paying the final payment will auto allow for any increase in mileage.

=rizla=

The mileage penalty only comes into effect if you hand the car back, if you trade in or buy the car at the end of the deal then I'm pretty sure the millage/condition of the car don't matter at all to FIAT as they wont be seeing the car again.


The mileage/condition will obviously effect the cars 'trade in' value against another car.


Also if you don't want to keep the car, or trade into a new one and you find your excess mileage cost are high (you said you were looking at 15k miles, but have signed 5k miles so over 3 years that's 30k if your cost is 10p/mile then that's £3000 bill, ignoring any damage that's out of fair wear and tear), then you can always buy the car outright at the end of the deal and sell it the next day.


It'll all depend on what the MGFV (balloon payment) is compared with what 3 year old cars are selling for, and what 'penalty' Fiat are going to charge you for going over the agreed mileage.

zappahey

IanMSpencer wrote: »

Y
The AC salesman is operating under a financial code of conduct

An Arnold Clark salesman? The pirate's code more like.

loskie

Scumbags!
NOT Sales "Executives" the word being used wholly incorrectly.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/executive
Why are people so gullible to believe a salesman and sign a completely contradictory contract?
You do have to be accountable for your own actions.

Strider590

loskie wrote: »

Scumbags!
NOT Sales "Executives" the word being used wholly incorrectly.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/executive
Why are people so gullible to believe a salesman and sign a completely contradictory contract?
You do have to be accountable for your own actions.

Salesmen, cannot stand them, these days they're all sociopaths, they seem nice and chatty and friendly, but behind the shiney exterior they'll take you for every penny you have and won't lose a wink of sleep. It's unfortunate that in western society people naturally trust/like anyone who's chatty, no matter how much bullsh1t they talk.

I swear sometimes I feel like i'm the only person around who can actually see right through their crap.

Cornucopia

HolaNola wrote: »

After a long discussion with the Sales Exec it was agreed that the car was ideal for my needs and a quote was sent to me. I did in fact state to the Sales Exec that the car would be used by my husband, who would be needing the car for work.

You bought a car for your husband's work based on your needs?

I asked for a quote for 15,000 miles and once the SE returned with a quote which I thought was decent, I travelled 40 miles to test drive the car, to then travel home again with the quote. I was advised by the SE that the miles didn't matter and that to make the contract cheaper the best thing to do was to put 5,000 down on the contract. Being new to the whole PCP, having the SE ensure me on several occasions that it'd be ok AND feeling pressured into agreeing to this!! I put a large deposit down to "soften the blow".

If you weren't happy with the terms, why did you enter into a contract based upon them?

I must add that I DID read through the contract extensively and made sure that I was happy with the terms (not only that but my BIL also read the contract and having worked for the Citizens Advice Bureau, all looked good.) So off we went to sign the contract, I have since been contacted by Fiat regarding my mileage to see if everything was ok, after telling them that my car is at 12,000 miles already there was a shocked agent on the phone!

That's not great customer service on the part of Fiat - they surely should take a little more interest if their customers and their franchised dealers are not arranging suitable finance packages.

Were they really contacting you "about your mileage" though?

On several occasions before, during and after the sale, the SE made sure to ensure me that the miles didn't matter and that I'd be ok if I got to 30,000 miles when I swapped the car.

You have 4 broad options at the end of the PCP term. One of those options would potentially see you paying a mileage penalty, two of them would involve a market appraisal of the vehicle, with the possibility of losing some value on the Fiat, and the last option (you buying the vehicle for the MGFV) would involve no penalty at all.

Are you sure that the Salesman was not just being "clever" and actually meant that?

Do you know what the difference in payments and MGFV would be between the 5k miles usage, and 15k miles usage? It would be useful to know what the potential loss was (i.e. the difference between the two deals minus the potential mileage penalty).

Yes, I really do understand my naivety has probably caused this, however I have had several panic attacks regarding the matter and I'm extremely stressed about what it is I should or can do about this!

Ignore it. It's not the end of the World. If you feel sufficiently aggrieved about it, and believe you were deliberately misled, you could complain to Arnold Clark. You *might* get a goodwill payment, and it might even be possible that the finance agreement can be changed (though the payments would obviously increase). Your chances of a goodwill payment are at their best if you can state the amount that you believe the issue will potentially cost you (as above).

Caveat Emptor.