Car purchase - price change

Spanner68

I recently put down a deposit on a used vehicle at an official manufactuer dealer. I explained that it would take approx a month for the required money to arrive, and they were happy to accept a £500 non-refundable deposit to 'remove the vehicle from sale'. I signed and received a copy of a vehicle order form showing the price of the vehicle, the paid deposit and the balance due. Since then I have noticed that the vehicle remains advertised for sale both on Autotrader and the dealer's website. That does not concern me, as I'm sure the vehicle is reserved for me, but I note that the vehicle has been reduced in price by £500 on the websites. My question is, as they have advertised the vehicle for a reduced price do they need to honour that price for me, or does the vehicle order form constitute some sort of contract so I have to pay the price we originally agreed? Thanks for any advice.

Ayr_Rage

As you have signed the agreement then that is the price you have agreed.

Read that contract!

I'd be asking the dealer why they still have it for sale and at a lower price.

Aylesbury_Duck

No, if the car isn't for sale then the price on the website is irrelevant.  No one else can buy it.

Could it be an unintended glitch where the advertised price has updated automatically to reflect the £500 you've paid?  Or possibly that after x weeks on sale, the price automatically drops on the websites. 

The first and obvious thing to do is to ask the dealer what's going on.

ButterCheese

It's not unusual to use the "sold" vehicle as free advertising.  They have already paid to advertise it so they might as well keep it on there.  That way, if someone else enquires about it, they can say it's sold but they have these other cars that the customer might be interested in.  It also looks good if customers ask about cars that are already sold, because I've experienced this a few times, the dealer/salesman can then say "we sell at very good prices to move our cars quickly".  They encourage you to buy quick before someone else snaps up their bargain cars.  Which is largely rubbish, but it's a common line I've heard a lot

visidigi

They've dropped the price as they already have £500 from you coming in for it. So in reality, they haven't dropped the price, they've just accounted for your deposit.

I think its quite good of them to keep the car a month waiting for your money, most dealers wouldn't.

Kim_13

Presumably they have left the car on Autotrader in case you decide to forfeit your deposit and back out, as they would then know who might be interested via enquiries coming in rather than having to start from scratch.