Buying a New Car

nigelk2

New Member
Apr 8, 2009
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I ordered a new car yesterday over the telephone having phoned a reputable dealer. I gave the dealer the detailed specification for the car. He came back to me later in the day and we agreed a price and I paid a deposit of £1,000 over the telephone via credit card. The dealer stated that the car would be delivered to me in a maximum of 3 months as it will be required to be factory ordered. The dealer then called me back again and confirmed that the car had been ordered from the manufacturer. I have received a telephone call today from the dealer to advise that he made a mistake on the price quoted i.e he has underquoted and cannot do the deal for the price agreed. He also advised that he has refunded the £1,000 deposit to my credit card. I have advised him that this is not acceptable and that I expect him to honour our agreement (nothing was signed as everything was done over the phone). The dealer confirmed that he accepted the deal in good faith but simply got the price wrong and has now cancelled the contract (according to him). Where do I stand legally? Can I force the dealer to supply the goods ordered for the price originally agreed? How should I proceed? Many thanks
 

Tony

What Consumer Founder
Apr 7, 2008
18,307
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Bolton
Hi Nigel,

The answer is "it depends". Had offer and acceptance taken place and was there a contract - it sounds like this has happened but you may need to take legal advice. Also as it was all verbal the contract is as good as the paper it is written on i.e. difficult to prove.

Cheers,

Tony
 

Tony

What Consumer Founder
Apr 7, 2008
18,307
3
38
Bolton
If you are interested in a new car you should weigh up the cost of leasing when you take into account depreciation it is often a cheaper way of doing it and you can get a new one every few years. Have a look at lingcars.co.uk
 

nigelk2

New Member
Apr 8, 2009
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Thanks Tony.

I have written to the company demanding that they deliver up the goods in accordance with our agreement, failing which I will pass the matter to my solicitors. I will let you know what happens, but would also welcome the views of any other members in the meantime.
 

ExSalesman

New Member
May 10, 2011
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www.carbuyingguide.org.uk
I know this thread is old and my reply is a bit off beam but...

Are you mad? Buying a car over the phone! Without seeing it, without looking into the salesman's/salesmanager's eyes and negotiating...!

"Yes - I would like to buy (whatever spec) car... what is the best deal you can do me? Oh, ok here is my credit card number..."

Delivery in three months? THREE MONTHS?

This must be a joke/spoof post, surely!

If this post is genuine...

Reputable dealer? They don't exist!

Any car dealer has one thing in mind... making as much profit from you as they possibly can. They are expert in making you feel like you got the best deal in the world.

I can't imagine any dealer thinking about a deal and then "getting back to you later in the day" with a deal and then, later, saying that they made a "mistake" etc.

They have just used some clever tactics on you: getting you to commit to a "deal" and therefore taking you out of the market (stopping you shopping around further!)

They have kind of got you hooked. Then "Oops, we made a mistake, we can't do the deal at that price but if you come down we can talk about it etc etc."

Legally, I don't know where anyone would stand under these circumstances - I am sure there are people on this forum better qualified to answer that - but you need to learn about car dealer's/salespeople's tactics and be able to negotiate properly.

Sorry, life is hard and car dealers are harder!