Like I said, If it sounds too good to be true...

[stevewushu]

I stated in the 05/06/07 vantages thread that if a car appears too good to be true then it probably is!

For example...

I was browsing Autotrader for another vantage, this time for the mrs!

A new ad posted today-
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2012...

So I called them
Polite gentleman, loads of info on the car. FAMSH, just about to be serviced at main dealer, new pads, new clutch, premium sound, new seat etc etc. 20k miles.
£26,990!!!!

So I made an appointment to drive down tomorrow morning with a view to purchase!

Literally 20 seconds after I put the phone down...

"Mr Coleman?, yes we have ACCIDENTALLY put the price up wrong, it should be £36,990!"

"Ah, so don't worry about it", I said...
"I've seen other similar spec vehicles for less"

Then he hung up.

Guess what?
The price is advertised the same on their website AND autotrader!

hmmmm....
OF COURSE IT'S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!!!

moral of the story?
don't pick a car on the first page of the autotrader search!!!

[stevewushu]

And i was just doing a bit of sketchy research...

But I discovered that by law, if an item is advertised at a certain price to the public then it has to be sold for that price.
Apparently you cannot just go and increase it when people go to buy it!?

Please correct me if i'm wrong, but this certainly seems to be how it is?

[Vantagefan]

For some reason that rings a bell too but I've also been pulled up for having the same view and have been told that 'of course they can correct a pricing error - image if Rolex missed a couple of zeros off a watch by accident...'

Did you get any proof they were advertising at that price?

[steveatesh]

stevewushu said:

And i was just doing a bit of sketchy research...

But I discovered that by law, if an item is advertised at a certain price to the public then it has to be sold for that price.
Apparently you cannot just go and increase it when people go to buy it!?

Please correct me if i'm wrong, but this certainly seems to be how it is?

You are wrong, the advertised price is only an offer to sell and this offer can be withdrawn at any time. The contract is formed when you agree to buy the product at a price the seller wants to actually sell it to you at. This is the same whether the product is in a shop window or advertised online.

Happens from time to time on the Internet and usually you'll find that the mistake is identified if a human is involved somewhere before the money is actually accepted, or there will be a disclaimer about mistakes somewhere, and the transaction is stopped.

[stevewushu]

Well the fact that I asked him within the first 20 seconds of the call if the price of the car wash £26,990, and he replied with "yes it's £26,990" and it's advertised as such on two website both requiring separate admissions to complete the listing...

And a car dealer, who sells many cars (one would assume), wouldn't want to make an error between £26k and £36k now would they?
AND he boasted about the fact they get many DB9s and V8Vs in and this is a stunning example... So surely his experience in their sales would send a flag up at the sound of £26k.....???

[killingjoker]

Sorry but according to the law the vendor is not obliged to sell the item at all. Thus, any price error items on their part do not have to be sold...

However, i wonder where the law stands on false advertising!?

[johng39]

killingjoker said:

Sorry but according to the law the vendor is not obliged to sell the item at all. Thus, any price error items on their part do not have to be sold...

However, i wonder where the law stands on false advertising!?

what he said

[LordBretSinclair]

The advert now says £37,990

[snuffy]

stevewushu said:

And i was just doing a bit of sketchy research...

But I discovered that by law, if an item is advertised at a certain price to the public then it has to be sold for that price.
Apparently you cannot just go and increase it when people go to buy it!?

Please correct me if i'm wrong, but this certainly seems to be how it is?

You are corrected - that is wrong.

No one has to sell anything to anyone. They could advertise it for £1 and when you go and say you want it, they can just say "I'm not selling it to you". It's not your legal right to be able to buying anything at all.

But, what is illegal, is using misleading prices to entice people in to a shop, when you clearly don't have what you are claiming for sale. For example, you stick a sign in your shop windows that says "Super-duper TVs - £50.00". In you pop, only to be told "Well, we dont have any of those TVs you saw in the window, but we do have one of these for £1000". Now that is not legal.

[snuffy]

Judging by the price now of £38k, judging by what I paid for mine just 2 months ago, I'd say that was around the going rate for the age and miles. If I saw that car at £26k I would have assume it was a mistake. Or, as is sometimes to case when something is way too cheap, is that buried away you'll find the words "Cat D" !

[michael gould]

Perhaps they just made a mistake......it happens