How long until I can have my car.

anon322

So I bought a car from a dealer on Friday it is a used car if that makes a difference. Anyway I paid him by cheque and he said it will take a few days to get it serviced and valeted before we can drive it away. I rang him today and he still didn’t have any idea of when it will be ready. I don’t really know what to do here I’ve never bought a car from a dealer before and I am wondering if this is a normal practice. I thought once I bought the car that I could just take it away , I am kind of worried that he is stalling me for some reason and thinking about just ringing him and saying that I want the car tomorrow or I want the money back. Has any body ever had this experience before ? Sorry it’s a long winded question but just want to know my rights here really.

Stheno

anon322 wrote: »

So I bought a car from a dealer on Friday it is a used car if that makes a difference. Anyway I paid him by cheque and he said it will take a few days to get it serviced and valeted before we can drive it away. I rang him today and he still didn’t have any idea of when it will be ready. I don’t really know what to do here I’ve never bought a car from a dealer before and I am wondering if this is a normal practice. I thought once I bought the car that I could just take it away , I am kind of worried that he is stalling me for some reason and thinking about just ringing him and saying that I want the car tomorrow or I want the money back. Has any body ever had this experience before ? Sorry it’s a long winded question but just want to know my rights here really.

He's probably waiting for the cheque to clear

Meeeee79

Im guessing they wont release the car firstly until your cheque has cleared so Id allow at least 5 days for this.

Secondly, Id ring again and tell him you need a definite day, it cant be that hard for them to estimate. You're the buyer so remember you are the one who is handing over the money and have every right to know when you can pick it up.

did the car have a valid NCT? Often they advertise them as with an NCT rush them through the NCT once bought.

anon322

Meeeee79 wrote: »

Im guessing they wont release the car firstly until your cheque has cleared so Id allow at least 5 days for this.

Secondly, Id ring again and tell him you need a definite day, it cant be that hard for them to estimate. You're the buyer so remember you are the one who is handing over the money and have every right to know when you can pick it up.

did the car have a valid NCT? Often they advertise them as with an NCT rush them through the NCT once bought.

Hi yeah I checked it up on the ncts website and it’s valid and the tax is too so hopefully that’s not it I hope , thank you for the reply.

anon322

Stheno wrote: »

anon322 wrote: »

So I bought a car from a dealer on Friday it is a used car if that makes a difference. Anyway I paid him by cheque and he said it will take a few days to get it serviced and valeted before we can drive it away. I rang him today and he still didn’t have any idea of when it will be ready. I don’t really know what to do here I’ve never bought a car from a dealer before and I am wondering if this is a normal practice. I thought once I bought the car that I could just take it away , I am kind of worried that he is stalling me for some reason and thinking about just ringing him and saying that I want the car tomorrow or I want the money back. Has any body ever had this experience before ? Sorry it’s a long winded question but just want to know my rights here really.

He's probably waiting for the cheque to clear

It was a credit union cheque but he put it down on the receipt as a bank draft I don’t know the difference if I’m honest

anon322

Just to say I asked him for a definite day and he didn’t have an answer , I am quite new to all this I’m 27 and it’s embarrassing to say the least but I’ve only ever had one car before this that I bought from someone on done deal

Toyotafanboi

At this time of year, depending on the dealer, it can be busy.

Some dealers service, valet and NCT a car as soon as it comes into stock. Others won't do any of the prep work until a deal is done on the car. Nothing wrong with either process, but it sounds like you're dealing with the latter.

I wouldn't pressurised them too much as you don't want the car rushed through. I'd say 5 working days would be normal enough this time of year to progress a nearly new car through a main dealer.

What year is the car? Are you buying from a main dealer?

anon322

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

At this time of year, depending on the dealer, it can be busy.

Some dealers service, valet and NCT a car as soon as it comes into stock. Others won't do any of the prep work until a deal is done on the car. Nothing wrong with either process, but it sounds like you're dealing with the latter.

I wouldn't pressurised them too much as you don't want the car rushed through. I'd say 5 working days would be normal enough this time of year to progress a nearly new car through a main dealer.

What year is the car? Are you buying from a main dealer?

See that’s the thing when I was looking at it it was valeted and looked to have all new tyres and that , it’s only an 09 fiat bravo and it’s from a Skoda dealer

Hitman3000

anon322 wrote:

So I bought a car from a dealer on Friday it is a used car if that makes a difference. Anyway I paid him by cheque and he said it will take a few days to get it serviced and valeted before we can drive it away. I rang him today and he still didn’t have any idea of when it will be ready. I don’t really know what to do here I’ve never bought a car from a dealer before and I am wondering if this is a normal practice. I thought once I bought the car that I could just take it away , I am kind of worried that he is stalling me for some reason and thinking about just ringing him and saying that I want the car tomorrow or I want the money back. Has any body ever had this experience before ? Sorry it’s a long winded question but just want to know my rights here really.

You bought the car with a cheque last Friday. Normally 5 working days for it to clear. So you should have the car either this Friday or Monday any longer than that I'd want a proper explanation from the dealer.

bazz26

Probably not high on their priority list given all the new cars they are prepping and sending out the door at this time of year.

anon322

Hitman3000 wrote: »

anon322 wrote:

So I bought a car from a dealer on Friday it is a used car if that makes a difference. Anyway I paid him by cheque and he said it will take a few days to get it serviced and valeted before we can drive it away. I rang him today and he still didn’t have any idea of when it will be ready. I don’t really know what to do here I’ve never bought a car from a dealer before and I am wondering if this is a normal practice. I thought once I bought the car that I could just take it away , I am kind of worried that he is stalling me for some reason and thinking about just ringing him and saying that I want the car tomorrow or I want the money back. Has any body ever had this experience before ? Sorry it’s a long winded question but just want to know my rights here really.

You bought the car with a cheque last Friday. Normally 5 working days for it to clear. So you should have the car either this Friday or Monday any longer than that I'd want a proper explanation from the dealer.

That would be fine if he just told me that at the beginning but it’s blatant dishonesty telling me other reasons

Tenigate

I'd say he's waiting on the cheque to clear. I know it's from the credit union, but am I right in saying credit union drafts/cheques look a bit crap and are treated like personal cheques?

There could be something else holding it up. He might be waiting on the spare key or log book from the person who traded it in, or any other reason. Best just ring him up and say you're relying on the car and what's the hold-up. Maybe he could lend you another car in the meantime.

I bought 2 cars from dealers in the past. First one took a day to get the car ready. Next one I paid with draft and it was ready to go as soon as he peeled off the sticker.

anon322

bazz26 wrote: »

Probably not high on their priority list given all the new cars they are prepping and sending out the door at this time of year.

It will be high on his list tomorrow because he will be sick of dealing with me.

anon322

Tenigate wrote: »

I'd say he's waiting on the cheque to clear. I know it's from the credit union, but am I right in saying credit union drafts/cheques look a bit crap and are treated like personal cheques?

There could be something else holding it up. He might be waiting on the spare key or log book from the person who traded it in, or any other reason. Best just ring him up and say you're relying on the car and what's the hold-up. Maybe he could lend you another car in the meantime.

I bought 2 cars from dealers in the past. First one took a day to get the car ready. Next one I paid with draft and it was ready to go as soon as he peeled off the sticker.

Yeah I get ya, I wouldn’t mind waiting a week I have a car there I can use but I want the real reason no point in telling me lies , if it takes time to clear it takes time to clear which is fine but I’d like to know is all

2Mad2BeMad

anon322 wrote: »

Yeah I get ya, I wouldn’t mind waiting a week I have a car there I can use but I want the real reason no point in telling me lies , if it takes time to clear it takes time to clear which is fine but I’d like to know is all

He probably doesn't want to offend you by saying it, some people would consider it rude. Even though its common sense that a cheque takes that long to be processed.
If anything i'm surprised cheque's are still being used.
Just ring up thursday/friday OP
You know it's going to take at least 5 business days, why keep ringing looking for an answer that is obvious and annoying the chap.
He certainly won't do you any favours or make life really difficult for you if something is wrong with the car.

Mech1

Ask him straight out if that is the reason for the delay.

anon322

2Mad2BeMad wrote: »

anon322 wrote: »

Yeah I get ya, I wouldn’t mind waiting a week I have a car there I can use but I want the real reason no point in telling me lies , if it takes time to clear it takes time to clear which is fine but I’d like to know is all

He probably doesn't want to offend you by saying it, some people would consider it rude. Even though its common sense that a cheque takes that long to be processed.
If anything i'm surprised cheque's are still being used.
Just ring up thursday/friday OP
You know it's going to take at least 5 business days, why keep ringing looking for an answer that is obvious and annoying the chap.
He certainly won't do you any favours or make life really difficult for you if something is wrong with the car.

You see that’s the thing , I know it is going to take time to clear , you know it and he knows it , if it was to take a month to clear all good if I know that is the reason , we are all adults at the end of the day. I will give him another day or two but that’s all I’m willing to give him unless he tells me the reason first e the hold up. I can make his life 100 times more difficult than he could make mine

anon322

Mech1 wrote: »

Ask him straight out if that is the reason for the delay.

I did and he was quite obviously lying I could hear it in his voice

Tenigate

Calm down!
He might have it ready tomorrow.

Mickiemcfist

anon322 wrote: »

You see that’s the thing , I know it is going to take time to clear , you know it and he knows it , if it was to take a month to clear all good if I know that is the reason , we are all adults at the end of the day. I will give him another day or two but that’s all I’m willing to give him unless he tells me the reason first e the hold up. I can make his life 100 times more difficult than he could make mine

You're being a bit immature, you're buying a cheap enough car at the busiest time of year for a dealership, the guy doesn't want to offend you by saying he's waiting on the cheque to clear/or lads are booked up prepping other cars.

I wouldn't be so sure about who can make who's life more miserable, hope you don't need to go back with warranty issues....

anon322

Tenigate wrote: »

Calm down!
He might have it ready tomorrow.

He wasn’t hopeful of that

anon322

Mickiemcfist wrote: »

anon322 wrote: »

You see that’s the thing , I know it is going to take time to clear , you know it and he knows it , if it was to take a month to clear all good if I know that is the reason , we are all adults at the end of the day. I will give him another day or two but that’s all I’m willing to give him unless he tells me the reason first e the hold up. I can make his life 100 times more difficult than he could make mine

You're being a bit immature, you're buying a cheap enough car at the busiest time of year for a dealership, the guy doesn't want to offend you by saying he's waiting on the cheque to clear/or lads are booked up prepping other cars.

I wouldn't be so sure about who can make who's life more miserable, hope you don't need to go back with warranty issues....

I never said it was cheap

Mickiemcfist

anon322 wrote: »

I never said it was cheap

It's a 9 year old Fiat Bravo from a Skoda garage...

Tenigate

Mickiemcfist wrote: »

You're being a bit immature, you're buying a cheap enough car at the busiest time of year for a dealership, the guy doesn't want to offend you by saying he's waiting on the cheque to clear/or lads are booked up prepping other cars.

I think you're being too kind.. car dealers are pretty shrewd and if he didn't mention upfront that cheques take 5 days to clear, it's because he was afraid to lose the sale.

Then again, I do think the op is being a *little* immature about it. So hopefully this will be one of life's lessons in patience... particularly if the op has never bought a house, he'll definitely need a lot more patience for that transaction.

anon322

Mickiemcfist wrote: »

anon322 wrote: »

I never said it was cheap

It's a 9 year old Fiat Bravo from a Skoda garage...

And ? I work hard for my money just because it didn’t cost 50 k doesn’t mean it’s cheap to be fair

anon322

Tenigate wrote: »

Mickiemcfist wrote: »

You're being a bit immature, you're buying a cheap enough car at the busiest time of year for a dealership, the guy doesn't want to offend you by saying he's waiting on the cheque to clear/or lads are booked up prepping other cars.

I think you're being too kind.. car dealers are pretty shrewd and if he didn't mention upfront that cheques take 5 days to clear, it's because he was afraid to lose the sale.

Then again, I do think the op is being a *little* immature about it. So hopefully this will be one of life's lessons in patience... particularly if the op has never bought a house, he'll definitely need a lot more patience for that transaction.

I realise I’m coming across as immature but I just can’t stand being lied to , I can wait for as long as it takes if I’m given the truth , thankfully I’ll never need to buy a house

Mickiemcfist

anon322 wrote: »

And ? I work hard for my money just because it didn’t cost 50 k doesn’t mean it’s cheap to be fair

To a main dealer it is cheap. It's cheap in comparison to their usual stock & they'll be making less profit on it than their other cars.

I drive an 850 quid car, I'm not having a go at cheap cars

Tenigate

anon322 wrote: »

I realise I’m coming across as immature but I just can’t stand being lied to , I can wait for as long as it takes if I’m given the truth , thankfully I’ll never need to buy a house

ya going to live in the car?

Seriously though. Just take it on the chin. If you don't have it by Friday you can burn the garage down, ok?

anon322

Mickiemcfist wrote: »

anon322 wrote: »

And ? I work hard for my money just because it didn’t cost 50 k doesn’t mean it’s cheap to be fair

To a main dealer it is cheap. It's cheap in comparison to their usual stock & they'll be making less profit on it than their other cars.

I drive an 850 quid car, I'm not having a go at cheap cars

Yeah that’s fair enough , I don’t mean to be a dick I’m just stressed about it really I hate being lied to

anon322

So I rang the dealer today , I asked him again was he waiting for the cheque to clear to release my car , he said no it already has cleared but the parts we needed only came in today. I said what parts did it need and he said brake pads. I understand that this isn’t a fiat dealer but I find it hard to believer that they are waiting four working days for brake pads. I bit my tongue and asked how long until the brake pads are done and he says maybe Friday. I am getting highly suspicious at this point . Am I too late to tell him I just want my money back at this stage ?

everlast75

I completely understand the OP's point and don't understand some of the snarky comments by some on here.

He paid for a car and is entitled to a straight answer to a straight question. It's not unreasonable when you pay for a good or service to know when you will get it. 1 or 2 follow up calls maybe but anything more than that is ****ty customer service.

Unfortunately there's not much you can do. You could escalate it but as someone pointed our it could cause an issue if anything goes wrong with the car the sales guy might not want to help.

Perhaps you could call him and tell him you have a loan car at the moment and you're being asked on a daily basis when you can give it back. That doesn't make you out to be unreasonable and applies a little bit of pressure