Agreed a sale with dealer, can they pull out??

[BigRichi]

Looking for a bit of advice

I went to look at a car today....had a look over it....couple of small issues wich the dealer agrees to put right.

He has a look over my car....happy with condition and mileage and we agree on a value for mines which is 700 over the value of the car I am buying so he agrees to pay me cash or cheque the value of the difference (ie I take his car and 700)

We are both happy with the deal so I pay him 100 deposit as a sign of commitment before he MOT's it and valets it which he will refund when I go to pick the car up, he rights up an invoice detailing the figures which we both sign.

I then receive a phone call from him a few hours later saying we need to renegotiate as the car has came up as a Cat D insurance write off in 2007.

I was unaware of any damage to the vehicle, I bought it in October last year so seems I have stupidly bought a pup last year.

Question is this.....as we both agreed a deal, signed for a deal and he has taken deposit is he now committed to the deal?? or can the sale be pulled at any time??

Cheers

Richi

[MX7]

If you went home and did a check, and the car you are buying came up as CatD, what would you say?


Edit: Is it worth running a check on your present car just to see if it's true?

Edited by MX7 on Thursday 6th October 18:49

[LukeSi]

Are you sure he meant your car? Perhaps he means he has only just found out the car he is trying to sell is cat D and is (doubtful) trying to save you money

[D1bram]

I dare say he will have had a caveat in the paperwork about being subject to HPI check.

If the boot were on the other foot though I'm sure you'd feel the same.

Fairs fair really, your car is worth less being a Cat D

[BigRichi]

LukeSi said:

Are you sure he meant your car? Perhaps he means he has only just found out the car he is trying to sell is cat D and is (doubtful) trying to save you money

No, he definitely means his car is clear, My car has came up on the HPI

[Actus Reus]

What, if anything, was signed?

[BigRichi]

D1bram said:

I dare say he will have had a caveat in the paperwork about being subject to HPI check.

If the boot were on the other foot though I'm sure you'd feel the same.

Fairs fair really, your car is worth less being a Cat D

I understand its worth less and the guys has been great.
Just seems he was more interested in getting my deposit and a signature than checking what he was buying.

[LukeSi]

BigRichi said:

No, he definitely means his car is clear, My car has came up on the HPI

Have you run your own HPI on it just incase he is trying to pull a fast one?

[BigRichi]

MX7 said:

If you went home and did a check, and the car you are buying came up as CatD, what would you say?


Edit: Is it worth running a check on your present car just to see if it's true?

Edited by MX7 on Thursday 6th October 18:49

I would say the same, but I'm not a trader, surely its his job to do these checks before agreeing a deal

He showed me the HPI report, was a lot of stuff on there I didnt understand but it said about an accident in 2007 so seems genuine

[Bebee]

Had I have been the dealer, I would HPi your car before even talking about a deal, dealers normally have an account with HPi.

If I was a buyer I would HPi his car before even talking about a deal.

If I was you, I would expect the dealer to pull out and give me back my deposit.

Always take your time finding the car and dealing, and HPi the car.

[BigRichi]

Actus Reus said:

What, if anything, was signed?

A sales invoice for the dealership

Has his details, his cars details, mileage, value, what warranty is included

Has my details, my cars details, mileage

It has comments on about the jobs which he will rectify before delivery and also about the 700 my way.

I signed by both of us and has the

and on the back is the terms and conditions of the sale.....stating stuff from Sale of Goods Act and Unfair Contract Terms act.

In the T&C's I dont see anything about subject to HPI

[BigRichi]

Bebee said:

Had I have been the dealer, I would HPi your car before even talking about a deal, dealers normally have an account with HPi.

If I was a buyer I would HPi his car before even talking about a deal.

If I was you, I would expect the dealer to pull out and give me back my deposit.

Always take your time finding the car and dealing, and HPi the car.

If I buy private I would HPI but as a dealer is he not legally bound to tell any potential buyer that the car they are looking at is registered a write off??

[BigRichi]

I'm sure he is within his rights but I just wondered as he seemed very keen to give me back the deposit and end the deal

[Actus Reus]

Can you scan it? Might be a binding contract 'sold as seen'. However, he'd be seriously upset if you played that card, and there may well be get-outs...

[Deva Link]

There will (unless he's stupid) be something in his T's & C's that say he can pull out for pretty well any reason.

It's this clause that also makes it car sales contract unfair to consumers and, if push comes to shove, ought to prevent dealers from keeping your deposit if you decide to pull out.

In this particualr the case the fact is you mis-represented the car. You did it unknowingly, but you did it nonetheless. The fact that you were trading down might make people suspicious that you were trying to offload the car.

[confused_buyer]

The contract was presumably for the car as presented. If you subsequently stuffed your car into a tree would you still expect them to buy it?

I think you're into a loser here - you've got a Cat D car which is your problem and now you know it is I hope you don't try and sell it on to anyone else without declaring it.

[Frog Dog]

Unless they're being sneaky and have sold the car to someone else for more money..... Which is unlikely.

HPI yours, if it is Cat D I'm sure you don't really have a case. There's not really any way you can 'make' them sell you the car.

[BigRichi]

Actus Reus said:

Can you scan it? Might be a binding contract 'sold as seen'. However, he'd be seriously upset if you played that card, and there may well be get-outs...

Dont think so but I will try.
I know he would be upset but the T&C's explain about the consequences if I dont fulfil my part of the contract....so I dont see why he shouldnt.

[Eggman]

Meanwhile in a parallel universe, there's a thread on 'MotorTraderHeads':

'OMG, like he didn't know!  Run!'
'+1, scam'
'As others have said, blah blah blah...'
'+1 LOLOLOL'
'^^^ this'
'+1'
etc

I'd hate to be a car dealer.

[BigRichi]

Cant scan the invoice, have taken a couple of close up pics which I could email to anybody who is interested