Mazda & Dealership will not honour New Car Agreement

katken

Wondering if anyone can help with this..

In Oct 2019 i placed an order with a major car dealer for a new Mazda 6. They agreed to the order and also to the part exchanging of my old car with them as it would be at the end of its pcp contract. They also required a cash deposit.

It was a good deal, but they said the production time for my new car would be 3 months and that it would not be ready until Jan 2020. I was okay with that as my current pcp contract does not end until end Jan 2020. So I paid a small deposits and they sent through the contract which laid out the New PvP agreement and monthly payments.

However yesterday I received an email from the dealership to say that Mazda will not honour the agreement as they are now into a new financial quarter and can no longer apply the same discounts.
It's now too late to order another car before my pcp ends and I may well have to buy my current car as a result because I cannot be without a car.

Does anyone know if they can just cancel a contract like that? They knew their car would not be ready until Jan 2020 so why did they agree to it? My brand new built car is currently just sitting in a factory

bigisi

katken wrote: »

Does anyone know if they can just cancel a contract like that?

Well that depends on what the contract says on the matter. Have you read it?

m0bov

You could sue for the difference, have you pointed that out to the dealer?

I'd only be dealing with the dealer, you have a contract with them, not Mazda. Don't let the dealer fob you off.

You could approach another dealer, ask for a price for the same car and PX, then send a LBA to the original dealer and tell them you will be suing for this amount. If you have paid the deposit then you do have a valid contract that can't simply be nulled.

katken

Yes, I read it, but it's not clear. The contract says
"Sellers declaration
We accept and confirm the above order and undertake to supply the above Vehicle upon and subject to the terms and conditions of this order. The estimated delivery date may alter. This order form replaces any any previous order form signed by us in respect of the same vehicle"

BoGoF

So it's subject to Terms and Conditions......what do they say in relation to when a Contract is formed?

katken

2. Formation of the Contract
Any quotation is given on the basis that no contract exists between the Seller and you until each of (i) you; and (ii) a duly authorised employee of the Seller, has signed the Vehicle Order Form. Neither payment of any amount by you in respect of the Vehicle(s) nor receipt by you of an acknowledgement of order e-mail/message will be taken as acceptance of an order or formation of the Contract.
* The above was signed electronically by both the dealer and myself.

10.5 If there is a failure or delay by the Seller in supplying the Vehicle or performing any of its obligations under the Contract, that is caused by an Event Outside Our Control, the Seller may cancel the Contract by giving written notice to you and will return your deposit so far as it relates to a Vehicle(s) not delivered or work not done. You will remain liable to pay for Vehicle(s) delivered and work done prior to the date of cancellation.
*I would argue that this was not out with their control as they were always fully aware of how long the car would take to make.

AdrianC

You say the car is "sat in a factory"? So it's still in Japan?

If it is, then it simply ain't getting delivered to you and registered during January. Even February is pushing it, and March is far more likely. To be certain of arriving with you this month, it really ought to be in or very near Zeebrugge already, if not Purfleet - especially given the potential for cross-channel delays at the end of this month.

Have a read of these for some ideas of timescale and logistics between the Hiroshima factory and your dealer...
http://www.insidemazda.co.uk/2016/01/18/getting-the-right-cars-to-the-right-customers-at-the-right-time/
https://www.insidemazda.co.uk/2016/05/20/special-delivery-how-mazda-supplies-british-drivers-with-new-cars/

So, with that in mind, it IS going to be delayed, so they're well within their rights. Do they have any new unallocated 6s in UK stock they could put you in instead? Sure, the spec may well be different, but...

katken

The issue seems not to be that they can't make/deliver the car. They are saying that they have a confirmed delivery date of 12/02/20. But in Oct Mazda were offering a £5250 deposit contribution (discount off of new car). They carried this on until the end of December. However as of the 6th of Jan 2020, they are now only offering a £2500 discount and I would be expected to pay the difference. The dealership says they will not uphold the agreement because Mazda are refusing to stick to the original £5250 discount which was available when the contract was signed.

AdrianC

katken wrote: »

The issue seems not to be that they can't make/deliver the car. They are saying that they have a confirmed delivery date of 12/02/20

12th February. OK, so it's not in the factory - it's on the seas. Add time for registration and PDI, and you're into the second half of Feb. Assuming there's no transit damage or other issue with it.

That's not January.

It's far from unusual for offers to have a cut-off date as to when a vehicle must be registered by. Still marketing the offer in December would not be incompatible with requiring cars to be registered by the end of Jan - they'd just need to be stock orders, rather than factory.

Looking at Mazda UK's current "retail offers" webpage, it does say £2,500 for cars registered between 1/1/20 and 31/3/20.
https://www.mazda.co.uk/offers/retail-offers/

The only historic version of that page on archive.org is from April last year, and restricted the offers to cars registered between 1/4/19 and 31/6/19.
https://web.archive.org/web/20190404121400/https://www.mazda.co.uk/offers/retail-offers/

katken

Apologies, it was originally meant to be delivered at the end of Jan, but got delayed to the 14th of Feb. They then contacted me again to say it would be 12th of Feb. I'm reasonably confident it's on route, it's just all about the original prices they quoted and wanting to back out of the quote and contract because these prices have changed.

m0bov

Its not beyond their control, they can still supply the car, it exist. The issue is the payment, they want more money, the price has been agreed so its not a dispute over the car or "event", its that they won't honour the price.

I'd call up the Dealer Principle NOW and politely point this out and say if they will not honour the deal then you will will source a car elsewhere can claim the different. You could also say you will make your experiences known on social media and how disappointed you are.

Let us know how you get on. It seems the dealer was negligent and should have pointed out the deal was ending so they have undersold the car. The situation is well within their control, they can honour the legally binding agreed sale price.