Am i within my rights to reject this car?
Discussion
I went to look at a car recently. It was a 320d and i liked it, and paid a deposit.
It had a few things wrong with it. Mainly, it had an engine light on, but the car drove fine. It had a few things it failed it's most recent MoT on, and it needed a little bit of paintwork doing to it. Despite these issues, it did seem like a nice car, and i liked it, so agreed a sale. I also got a lot more for my part-ex than i had been offered elsewhere, so was happy to use this additional cash to put anything right myself when i picked it up. I must admit, i was a little cautious, and i knew it was a git of a gamble, but the figures were right, and i wasn't spending huge amounts of money so took the punt.
I knew a lot needed doing, they said they would like to keep the car for about a week and a half to make sure everything was sorted. To my mind, this seemed reasonable.
I got a call last Friday from the salesman, stating it might be ready this week. It's now Wednesday, and i've not had a call. I expect a call on friday offering another stall.
I view/drove and paid the deposit for this car (albeit a small deposit) 3 weeks this Sunday.
Unless he rings me in the next 2 days telling me i can collect this weekend, I assume i can legally tell him to f
k off and to refund my deposit?
It had a few things wrong with it. Mainly, it had an engine light on, but the car drove fine. It had a few things it failed it's most recent MoT on, and it needed a little bit of paintwork doing to it. Despite these issues, it did seem like a nice car, and i liked it, so agreed a sale. I also got a lot more for my part-ex than i had been offered elsewhere, so was happy to use this additional cash to put anything right myself when i picked it up. I must admit, i was a little cautious, and i knew it was a git of a gamble, but the figures were right, and i wasn't spending huge amounts of money so took the punt.
I knew a lot needed doing, they said they would like to keep the car for about a week and a half to make sure everything was sorted. To my mind, this seemed reasonable.
I got a call last Friday from the salesman, stating it might be ready this week. It's now Wednesday, and i've not had a call. I expect a call on friday offering another stall.
I view/drove and paid the deposit for this car (albeit a small deposit) 3 weeks this Sunday.
Unless he rings me in the next 2 days telling me i can collect this weekend, I assume i can legally tell him to f
k off and to refund my deposit?Why don't you just call them?
Explain that you are keen to get the car ASAP and remind them of the points you agreed and what you are expecting to see when you pick it up, and ask for a reliable timescale.
Its in the dealers interests to get the car paid for and picked up ASAP. Quite often they are delayed by third party contractors. But it falls down when they sound like excuses when explaining any delays.
Personally I always prep my cars prior to sale, to save all this hassle and get the cars picked up quick. Often on the day of sale.
Lots of dealers don't prep the cars in advance in case they have to trade them on if they don't sell and they save money by not prepping them until sold.
Have you got something in writing agreeing exactly what prep will be done and when? If not I don't think you can expect your deposit back.
Explain that you are keen to get the car ASAP and remind them of the points you agreed and what you are expecting to see when you pick it up, and ask for a reliable timescale.
Its in the dealers interests to get the car paid for and picked up ASAP. Quite often they are delayed by third party contractors. But it falls down when they sound like excuses when explaining any delays.
Personally I always prep my cars prior to sale, to save all this hassle and get the cars picked up quick. Often on the day of sale.
Lots of dealers don't prep the cars in advance in case they have to trade them on if they don't sell and they save money by not prepping them until sold.
Have you got something in writing agreeing exactly what prep will be done and when? If not I don't think you can expect your deposit back.
kentmotorcompany said:
Why don't you just call them?
Explain that you are keen to get the car ASAP and remind them of the points you agreed and what you are expecting to see when you pick it up, and ask for a reliable timescale.
Its in the dealers interests to get the car paid for and picked up ASAP. Quite often they are delayed by third party contractors. But it falls down when they sound like excuses when explaining any delays.
Personally I always prep my cars prior to sale, to save all this hassle and get the cars picked up quick. Often on the day of sale.
Lots of dealers don't prep the cars in advance in case they have to trade them on if they don't sell and they save money by not prepping them until sold.
Have you got something in writing agreeing exactly what prep will be done and when? If not I don't think you can expect your deposit back.
I have it in writing what they need to do to the car, however the timescale agreement was verbal.Explain that you are keen to get the car ASAP and remind them of the points you agreed and what you are expecting to see when you pick it up, and ask for a reliable timescale.
Its in the dealers interests to get the car paid for and picked up ASAP. Quite often they are delayed by third party contractors. But it falls down when they sound like excuses when explaining any delays.
Personally I always prep my cars prior to sale, to save all this hassle and get the cars picked up quick. Often on the day of sale.
Lots of dealers don't prep the cars in advance in case they have to trade them on if they don't sell and they save money by not prepping them until sold.
Have you got something in writing agreeing exactly what prep will be done and when? If not I don't think you can expect your deposit back.
Yep just pick up the phone and call them.
Most used car order forms (I am assuming you have got one?) state what is to be done, how much you are paying and an approx delivery / collection date.
If the form is of standard wording it will likely say that the dealer cannot be held responsible for any delays or losses incurred by the purchaser (you) but that they will do their best to deliver on time if they can!
Obviously it's in the dealers interest to get the car to you so he can get paid! So call and find out whats not done yet and then stipulaste that as long as delivered by .....the deal is still on but if it goes beyond that you will expect you deposit back.
Good luck and don't forget most dealers are also decent human beings as well!
Most used car order forms (I am assuming you have got one?) state what is to be done, how much you are paying and an approx delivery / collection date.
If the form is of standard wording it will likely say that the dealer cannot be held responsible for any delays or losses incurred by the purchaser (you) but that they will do their best to deliver on time if they can!
Obviously it's in the dealers interest to get the car to you so he can get paid! So call and find out whats not done yet and then stipulaste that as long as delivered by .....the deal is still on but if it goes beyond that you will expect you deposit back.
Good luck and don't forget most dealers are also decent human beings as well!
fjord said:
Well, i'm not going to ring them, he promised me a call this week and he can stick by it. I'll let you know what is said when/if he rings.
Yet another seemingly pointless Thread.....Do you actually want to reject the car now? This would apparently be the case as are not willing to make a simple 5 minute phone call to find out the current status......
If so you are going to need to actually speak to the dealer to ask for your money back, and if he says no, rightly or wrongly, you may have a long and costly battle to get the deposit back, which you will have to endure and front the cost of.
I am pretty sure that Legally the deposit can not be withheld, but if you signed a contract stating that it will be then you will have to argue your way out of it, especially given that as you say, no written timescales were agreed with the dealer for delivery, so in effect the dealer hasn't actually done anything wrong....
Edited by big_boz on Wednesday 21st November 14:00
Time of performance is not of the essence in a contract for the sale of goods unless it is expressly stipulated to be so. What this means is that you could not lawfully reject the car just because the delivery is later than expected. You can, however, give a notice making time of the essence. Having said that, you would be far better off talking it through with the dealer, as suggested above.
fjord said:
Well, i'm not going to ring them, he promised me a call this week and he can stick by it. I'll let you know what is said when/if he rings.
Well that isn't a childish stance is it. Well done 
BTW - you not being proactive to help yourself will reduce your legal rights should it come down to it. For example, what if they've lost your number or have been phoning the wrong number?
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