Non refundable deposit
Discussion
My daughter is 21. She has never bought a car before and it's very inexperienced in any kind of large purchases, contracts etc.
She went to look at a vehicle on the spare of the moment while passing the garage and try it out and liked it. They told her it was a 1.3 which she already had had insurance quotes on.
They got her to sign a form and pay £100 to hold on to it. On the form it does not give the full model name nor the engine size, just "SWIFT", nothing else. The registration number is on it but it is very hard to read and very ambiguous.
When she got home we played around with the different letters and numbers of the reg and eventually managed to get the car up and it was a1.5 GLX VVTS, which is hugely expensive insurance, probably not affordable.
The form says if she does not make the purchase she will lose the £100 and will be liable for all the preparation costs getting the vehicle ready for sale, but there is no record of what was agreed to be fixed before purchase.
It seems to me that any dealer that has the interests of their client at heart, would see a young 21 year old girl and know that the purchase of the car is a drop in the ocean compared to insurance and that the exact model and spec would be a key topic of conversation. Also it being very clear she had never bought a car in her life before and was inexperienced, they would have protected her very obvious interests rather than encourage her into parting with money so quickly before she knew about tax insurance etc.
What do you recommend. Go and appeal to the dealer's graciousness? Raise the fact that what is bound to in her case be the most important piece of financial information, the cc and model (I can't think of an argument to say it's not) was left off the car details? The reg hardly legible? The unlisted and unsigned for preparation costs?
Thanks.
She went to look at a vehicle on the spare of the moment while passing the garage and try it out and liked it. They told her it was a 1.3 which she already had had insurance quotes on.
They got her to sign a form and pay £100 to hold on to it. On the form it does not give the full model name nor the engine size, just "SWIFT", nothing else. The registration number is on it but it is very hard to read and very ambiguous.
When she got home we played around with the different letters and numbers of the reg and eventually managed to get the car up and it was a1.5 GLX VVTS, which is hugely expensive insurance, probably not affordable.
The form says if she does not make the purchase she will lose the £100 and will be liable for all the preparation costs getting the vehicle ready for sale, but there is no record of what was agreed to be fixed before purchase.
It seems to me that any dealer that has the interests of their client at heart, would see a young 21 year old girl and know that the purchase of the car is a drop in the ocean compared to insurance and that the exact model and spec would be a key topic of conversation. Also it being very clear she had never bought a car in her life before and was inexperienced, they would have protected her very obvious interests rather than encourage her into parting with money so quickly before she knew about tax insurance etc.
What do you recommend. Go and appeal to the dealer's graciousness? Raise the fact that what is bound to in her case be the most important piece of financial information, the cc and model (I can't think of an argument to say it's not) was left off the car details? The reg hardly legible? The unlisted and unsigned for preparation costs?
Thanks.
Tell him to get knotted. He would need to prepare it anyway for someone so why charge your daughter ? He told her the wrong info about the car so it's only right that he gives her the money back.
Keep things polite but if he is not playing ball take a more aggressive stance. Standing next to one of his cars with a key should get him to bend over backwards for you.
Keep things polite but if he is not playing ball take a more aggressive stance. Standing next to one of his cars with a key should get him to bend over backwards for you.
I can't prove what was "said" of course, but I can prove that the deposit form just says
Make
"Suzuki"
Model
"Swift"
Nothing else. Certainly if she was signing something that said 1.5 G..... I'm sure she would have noticed that.
Why would they insist on cash?
Regards insurance:
a) I think a lot more than the cc can impact it, i know in general some car models with the same engine, but more desirable or more likely to be driven a certain kinds of drivers have higher insurance.
b) I have given up trying to understand the Alice in Wonderland world of insurers perceived risk.
Make
"Suzuki"
Model
"Swift"
Nothing else. Certainly if she was signing something that said 1.5 G..... I'm sure she would have noticed that.
Why would they insist on cash?
Regards insurance:
a) I think a lot more than the cc can impact it, i know in general some car models with the same engine, but more desirable or more likely to be driven a certain kinds of drivers have higher insurance.
b) I have given up trying to understand the Alice in Wonderland world of insurers perceived risk.
If you have 'guessed' at the reg number, how do you know your looking at the right car?
Most models of cars, ie. generically, Swifts may have consecutive numbers if they have come from the same dealer region.
I would ask for confirmation of the number and then check what is showing.
Or even better, ask for an emailed copy of the V5.
If it has been missold as a 1.3, then yes you should just cancel and be refunded.
There order form system sounds junk if you ask me.
Most models of cars, ie. generically, Swifts may have consecutive numbers if they have come from the same dealer region.
I would ask for confirmation of the number and then check what is showing.
Or even better, ask for an emailed copy of the V5.
If it has been missold as a 1.3, then yes you should just cancel and be refunded.
There order form system sounds junk if you ask me.
The owner wasn't there, but says no over the phone unless she buys another car from him at full displayed price or he sells the other one at full displayed price.
Interestingly he did admit they had been unsure of the exact "model" of the car when they took it in.
However ended up chatting informally to another older member of staff, who I think picked up on the genuineness of the circumstances and seemed sympathetic. He said he would chat with the owner (his own idea, not mine) and see what happened, no promises.
So just waiting to hear from him.
Interestingly he did admit they had been unsure of the exact "model" of the car when they took it in.
However ended up chatting informally to another older member of staff, who I think picked up on the genuineness of the circumstances and seemed sympathetic. He said he would chat with the owner (his own idea, not mine) and see what happened, no promises.
So just waiting to hear from him.
Edited by hardya99 on Saturday 30th September 18:22
Edited by hardya99 on Saturday 30th September 18:23
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