Advice Needed re. Car Purchase deposit

dawnpatrol

I looked at a car at a dealer last Thursday. It's a model I've been after for a while. Anyway in a classic case of letting the heart rule the head I went and put down a small deposit via cheque on the basis that some minor things would be fixed on the car before I purchase it outright on wednesday next.

I drove the car and it's very clean, no issues with the engine AFAIK

I ran a check on the car on 'cartell.ie' earlier and discovered that it wasn't taxed for 15 months between 2006 and 2008. This has put me off completing the deal.

I intend to call the dealer tomorrow morning and tell him and cancel the cheque. I'm unclear as to where I stand legally if he tells me I've committed to buying it.

Anybody got any advice?

Cheers
D

irishpartyboy

Your not obliged to proceed. A car purchase can fall through for various reasons, lack of funds, change of mind, whatever. You may lose your deposit... however approached in the right way, he may give you your deposit back.

dawnpatrol

cheers Partyboy,
he wanted cash but I gave him a cheque. I checked my bank account online earlier and it hasn't been lodged yet. So I reckon I can cancel it before I contact him first thing tomorrow.

Just wondering if anybody else has been in a similar situation and what the legal position is. Is it up to the dealer to know the whole history of a car and disclose it to a muggins like myself? Or is it always buyer beware and use cartell or motorcheck etc before agreeing to anything?


D

Atomic Pineapple

why would the car not being taxed put you off?

CharlieCroker

i wouldn't let the fact it wasn't taxed worry you. ASk the seller if he knows why. I had my car off the road for a similar time, the reason was i had a company car but love my own one so didnt want to sell it.
As for the deposit, there's not much the dealer can do if you cancel the cheque. but if its a car you've been looking for ages for and the car itself is ok and checks out, i'd say work away

dawnpatrol

why would the car not being taxed put you off?

Because the car wasn't taxed for 15 months up to it going to the dealers. I think the dealer then taxed it for 3 months from April this year in an effort to sell it.

If a car isn't taxed for 15 months it's more than likely it was off the road with a problem / recurring problem for at least a year. That's enough to make me walk away.

D

CharlieCroker

dawnpatrol wrote: »

why would the car not being taxed put you off?

Because the car wasn't taxed for 15 months up to it going to the dealers. I think the dealer then taxed it for 3 months from April this year in an effort to sell it.

If a car isn't taxed for 15 months it's more than likely it was off the road with a problem / recurring problem for at least a year. That's enough to make me walk away.

D

Then get a mechanic to take a look at it and see how he gets on.

colm_mcm

there are plenty cars out there, why take the chance?

dawnpatrol

Thanks for the advice.

Just to update y'all on what happened:

I phoned the dealer back last Tuesday and told him I wasn't going ahead with the purchase. He wanted to know why I didn't tell him sooner then roared "do ya know what you can do ******? You can F*ck Off!!" then he hung up. Just before he tolf me to f*ck off I heard the phone line change (you know when someone switches you to speaker).

Makes me glad I walked away. I think I'll stick to SIMI approved dealers from here.

cheers,
D

seasam

Sounds like you had a lucky escape if that was his attitude I wouldn't want to have any warranty issues with him !! What good is a simi dealer really ?

daveharnett

dawnpatrol wrote: »

Just wondering if anybody else has been in a similar situation and what the legal position is. Is it up to the dealer to know the whole history of a car and disclose it to a muggins like myself? Or is it always buyer beware and use cartell or motorcheck etc before agreeing to anything?

Well, if you didn't specifically ask "Has it been on the road it's whole life", he'd be under no obligation to tell you. He'd also be quite entitled to keep his deposit. After all, if it mattered to you, you should have asked about it before putting money down.

Sorry, but this is a case of buyer beware.

dawnpatrol

daveharnett wrote: »

Well, if you didn't specifically ask "Has it been on the road it's whole life", he'd be under no obligation to tell you. He'd also be quite entitled to keep his deposit. After all, if it mattered to you, you should have asked about it before putting money down.

Sorry, but this is a case of buyer beware.

There are loads of specific questions that the average car buyer wouldn't ask. Consumer legislation is there to protect the consumer who isn't an expert on car history investigation or even car mechanics.

I guess the lesson to be learned here is if your a car sales person with a short fuse and tourettes syndrome, get cash as a deposit, not a cheque.

An uncommon case of dealer beware.