Dealership refused to sell new car

Scirpt

My father agreed a trade-in deal for a VW Tiguan in January of this year and handed over the deposit.

The car was supposed to be delivered by February but was delayed, and due to COVID-19 was delayed even further until he received a call in mid June saying that the car was ready. He received no information prior to this about the car.

He requested that the car be registered for July in order to get the new reg which the dealership reluctantly agreed to since the car delivery was delayed for so long.

He went last week to collect the car and the dealer would not agree to sell the car for the original price agreed in January and told him that he needed to pay extra as there was additional mileage on his trade in and the new model car is more expensive (Surely it's the same car and is just registered for 202?). How could you be expected to not drive your own car due to delays with the delivery of the new car? He requested his deposit back which he received.

Is this even legal? Does he have any recourse at all or would there be any possibility of a refund from Volkswagen as he has now gone to another dealer to buy the same car for 1,500 more than the deal he had with the original dealer.

cruizer101

Given he got the deposit back I can't imagine the is any legal recourse. Was there anything signed?

It's pretty crappy and I'd be inclined to complaint to VW Ireland but wouldn't hold out too much hope.

Scirpt

I thought as much.

Yes there was a contract signed. I'll try and get a copy of it off of him and have a look through. I will certainly be getting in contact with VW about it.

bazz26

Two things here:
1. Unfortunately your father's existing car has lost some resale value since January due to both mileage and age. Dealer can do nothing about this. Normally the dealer might absorb some of that loss (meet the customer half way) but I'd say they have so many customers in a similar situation with Covid-19 that it maybe too much of a hit for the dealer when you combine all those customers together. In saying that second hand car sales are apparently doing very well so unless your father racked up mega miles in the last 6 months the dealer may not lose too much on your father's existing car when reselling it.

2. VW like most brands raise their prices every year and it's usually around June or July afaik. The dealer should have told your father of this when they reopened or at least when he contacted them to rearrange registration in July but I think they didn't want he to cancel and hoped that having waited this long for it that he would accept the revised pricing.

I'm no solicitor but I really don't see any grounds to challenge this as they refunded the deposit straight away and I'm sure it's mentioned somewhere in the small print of the documents signed that cover price increases/delays, etc. The unprecedented Covid-19 thing would also cover VW in that it was a situation outside of their control.

Was it a custom factory order or just a stock car on back order?

daheff

I think it's bad form for the dealer. They should have honoured their agreement. It's not the customers fault the car was not available as agreed.

punisher5112

If I were him I would have gone elsewhere straight away anyway and even better go for a different make a d model.

GavMan

I'd imagine he'd have lost his deposit if it was a factory order

whippet

A deal was done for a 201 model car with a trade in of a specific car. Your father then wanted to change the deal to a 202 model car with a trade in 6 months older and with more mileage. Covid moved the goal posts on the dealer - however your Father moved the posts even further by wanting the 202 plate.

Returning the deposit seemed to be the reasonable response for the dealer - considering your father still had to fork out an additional €1500 at another dealer it seems that the first dealer was probably being honest.

The title of the thread isn't accurate - the dealer didn't refuse to sell the car - there was changes from both sides to the original agreement.

Scirpt

whippet wrote: »

A deal was done for a 201 model car with a trade in of a specific car. Your father then wanted to change the deal to a 202 model car with a trade in 6 months older and with more mileage. Covid moved the goal posts on the dealer - however your Father moved the posts even further by wanting the 202 plate.

Returning the deposit seemed to be the reasonable response for the dealer - considering your father still had to fork out an additional €1500 at another dealer it seems that the first dealer was probably being honest.

The title of the thread isn't accurate - the dealer didn't refuse to sell the car - there was changes from both sides to the original agreement.

If you read the original post you'll see that the car was bought in January, with the agreement that it would be delivered the first week of February. This was delayed (nothing to do with COVID) and he received absolutely no contact from the dealer.

Fair enough COVID delayed it further but should a customer be expected to purchase a 201 model car in the middle of June when it should have been received on the 1st February? It wasn't delivered by early February, which was no fault of the customer.

The honest thing to do would be to simply register the car for 1st July which they agreed to do. It is only when he went to collect the car he was informed of the change in price. Pretty shady behaviour if you ask me.

There would've been no changes in the agreement from our side if the dealer had delivered the car by the date agreed. It's not like we refused the car in February due to some circumstances on our side.

Rx713B

daheff wrote: »

I think it's bad form for the dealer. They should have honoured their agreement. It's not the customers fault the car was not available as agreed.

Terrible form from the dealer - Like any sale your father entered a contractual verbal agreement and thus left a deposit on this basis. The epidemic or delays was of no fault of your fathers - The deal should have been honored.

whippet

Scirpt wrote: »

If you read the original post you'll see that the car was bought in January, with the agreement that it would be delivered the first week of February. This was delayed (nothing to do with COVID) and he received absolutely no contact from the dealer.

Fair enough COVID delayed it further but should a customer be expected to purchase a 201 model car in the middle of June when it should have been received on the 1st February? It wasn't delivered by early February, which was no fault of the customer.

The honest thing to do would be to simply register the car for 1st July which they agreed to do. It is only when he went to collect the car he was informed of the change in price. Pretty shady behaviour if you ask me.

There would've been no changes in the agreement from our side if the dealer had delivered the car by the date agreed. It's not like we refused the car in February due to some circumstances on our side.

so your father never contacted the dealer from Feb to June ? Delays happen at the best of times - Covid was just a total side swipe to the industry. I assume the fact that he didn't contact the dealer was due to the fact that he knew there was no chance of the car arriving in the middle of a global pandemic when all factories were closed and only essential services working ?

I had a car on order from late January - due in late april. Obviously this didn't happen - I spoke to the dealer close to the anticipated delivery date and the only response I got was that they didn't have a clue when I might see the car as it hadn't been built.

When the dealers opened up again I contacted them and decided to do a deal on a similar car they had in stock. If I didn't take that car i'd still be waiting and probably until October time.

The fact of the matter are the deal has changed from both sides - so your father had the option to strike a new deal or walk away - he chose to walk away.

Communications probably could have been better from the dealer - but you have to realise that most staff in dealerships were laid off during the lock down so there was no one to communicate to anyone

Scirpt

whippet wrote: »

so your father never contacted the dealer from Feb to June ? Delays happen at the best of times - Covid was just a total side swipe to the industry. I assume the fact that he didn't contact the dealer was due to the fact that he knew there was no chance of the car arriving in the middle of a global pandemic when all factories were closed and only essential services working ?

I had a car on order from late January - due in late april. Obviously this didn't happen - I spoke to the dealer close to the anticipated delivery date and the only response I got was that they didn't have a clue when I might see the car as it hadn't been built.

When the dealers opened up again I contacted them and decided to do a deal on a similar car they had in stock. If I didn't take that car i'd still be waiting and probably until October time.

The fact of the matter are the deal has changed from both sides - so your father had the option to strike a new deal or walk away - he chose to walk away.

Communications probably could have been better from the dealer - but you have to realise that most staff in dealerships were laid off during the lock down so there was no one to communicate to anyone

Different circumstances completely, as the car he ordered did indeed arrive. He asked if it could be registered for 1st July which they agreed to. Had they said at that point that he could either take the car as it is on that date OR have his deposit back OR pay extra for it to be registered in 1st July then it would be a different story, but they agreed and registered it.

To get him to come up and collect the car only to say in person that it will cost more is just timewasting and may also have been a cheap money making tactic.

Sam Russell

I would disagree with that.

The deal was for a new car delivered in Feb with an agreed price and a trade in car The registration is not part of the deal. The deal was frustrated by the late delivery of the new car. This is the responsibly of VW or the dealer but it is the dealers sie of the agreement. Contract is enforceable. Demand specific performance, do not go to another dealer for a replacement deal..

However, the purchaser accepted the deposit back and the deal is at an end. What if the dealer relented and said the deal can proceeded as per originally drawn?

The deal is cancelled.

whippet

Sam Russell wrote: »

Contract is enforceable. Demand specific performance, do not go to another dealer for a replacement deal..

Specific performance can only be directed by a court - and the court will take in to consideration all the factors.

So if the dealer's cost price has risen due to a price rise from the manufacture it can be argued that specific performance isn't equitable and thus can't be forced.

Also - the terms of the contract have significantly changed - the sale is happening in June - not Jan or Feb when the deal was agreed. And this deal has changed significantly by both parties.

The OP's father now wants a 202 model not a 201 model as was the original deal and the trade-in (part consideration) is worth less than it was when the deal was struck.

So if you are looking for specific performance you'd have to consider that the OP's father can't fulfill his end of the contract under as the trade-in is now 6 months older and more mileage etc.

There may have been a couple of week delay originally from the Feb delivery date .. which isn't unreasonable in this market place - and the delay due to covid is something which neither party could have done anything about.

While I would suggest that communications from the dealer as outlined by the OP has been poor - I don't see how the dealer would have to 'honor' the original agreement when there has been significant changes to the terms of the agreement by both parties.

Sam Russell

whippet wrote: »

Specific performance can only be directed by a court - and the court will take in to consideration all the factors.

So if the dealer's cost price has risen due to a price rise from the manufacture it can be argued that specific performance isn't equitable and thus can't be forced.

Also - the terms of the contract have significantly changed - the sale is happening in June - not Jan or Feb when the deal was agreed. And this deal has changed significantly by both parties.

The OP's father now wants a 202 model not a 201 model as was the original deal and the trade-in (part consideration) is worth less than it was when the deal was struck.

So if you are looking for specific performance you'd have to consider that the OP's father can't fulfill his end of the contract under as the trade-in is now 6 months older and more mileage etc.

There may have been a couple of week delay originally from the Feb delivery date .. which isn't unreasonable in this market place - and the delay due to covid is something which neither party could have done anything about.

While I would suggest that communications from the dealer as outlined by the OP has been poor - I don't see how the dealer would have to 'honor' the original agreement when there has been significant changes to the terms of the agreement by both parties.

The deal was done in Jan with completion in Feb which was delayed by the dealer. As consequence, the trade in aged (as is the case with all things) and if this concerned the dealer, he could have requested the purchaser to hand over the car and have it replaced with a courtesy car. However, the dealer persisted with the deal until the purchaser asked for a two week delay in registering the new car after being forced to wait 4 months.

The dealer cannot change the terms unilaterally because of increased costs or for any reason. For example, if there was a foreign exchange cost, or freight cost, he would not be able to change the terms unless it was in the contract.

It is all moot because the purchaser accepted the cancellation of the deal.

whippet

Completion was in June .. not feb ... it was supposed to happen in Feb but circumstances changed well beyond the fault of anyone.

I’ve bought plenty of new cars and I’ve always had a contract at the time of order which stated that any price increase from the manufacturer would be passed on ... maybe the OPs father didn’t get this.

Im actually in a similar situation, difference in my case it the dealer asked me if I would give them the car at the time we made the deal earlier this year which I agreed to.

I thought this was odd at the time but contacted someone in the business and they said that this would be common practice and they would usually lend you a car to drive in between as your car would depreciate if they couldn't sell it.

In my case the car wont arrive until October which I was told last week and I told them outright I wont register the car in October and I will wait for January and this was no problem. Im not sure why the dealer in your case was reluctant to register the car for second half of the year, it makes no odds to them i would have thought.

That happened me with a different dealer and all the salesman told me was that my extra 10,000km was their problem and they stood over the price. Very poor form from this dealer in the OP.

Sam Russell

whippet wrote: »

Completion was in June .. not feb ... it was supposed to happen in Feb but circumstances changed well beyond the fault of anyone.

I’ve bought plenty of new cars and I’ve always had a contract at the time of order which stated that any price increase from the manufacturer would be passed on ... maybe the OPs father didn’t get this.

Completion was to be in Feb. The fact that it was not completed on time is up to the dealer and VW, not the purchaser. The initial delay was up to VW and the dealer. If that was completed on time, then the Covid delay would not have happened, and so is consequent on the original delay.

The extra time before the trade in was taken is again up to the dealer. He could have offered a courtesy car if he had a buyer for the trade in. Again up to the dealer. Any increase in price is again up to the dealer as this was not communicated to the purchaser.

When the car is registered is of no concern to the dealer - or should not be. It certainly should not be used for leverage.

Dealer welched on the deal - bad form. The purchaser could have taken him to court, but chose instead to retrieve his deposit and walk from the deal.

SchrodingersCat

I don't see how taking the deposit back removes the seller from any responsibility. The seller broke the contract before this.

cannotlogin

Both your father and the dealer unintentionally altered the original contract through no fault of their own, father by increasing mileage and dealer by delay.

It looks like there was a legitimate cost given your father also has experienced and increased cost via another dealer.

Yoir father didn't like the new position so he got a refund which seems fair.

It would have been interesting to see if the dealer would have agreed for them to split the difference on the cost increase - it probably would have been a better outcome for both sides.

ForestFire

whippet wrote: »

I’ve bought plenty of new cars and I’ve always had a contract at the time of order which stated that any price increase from the manufacturer would be passed on ... maybe the OPs father didn’t get this.

Hold on there... Why would you agree a deal to buy a car where the seller can increase the price if they like? You shake hands on a deal and sign the paper work with the agreed price.

I've bought 2 factory order cars from skoda and Seat.

With the skoda the price increased from first viewing to signing contract but they agreed to give me origional agreed price, where I agree they did not have too.

When I bought the Seat, and when almost everything agreed they advised me of a price increase that was coming at the end of month, which I could avoid by placing order before then (not a pressure tactic as this was early in month and they knew I was buying car at that stage).

Car arrive 12/15 weeks later (delayed from 8 weeks). With not one cent difference from the signed contract.

If I saw a class use like you described (and I'm sure they would have to make you aware of it). I would be going elsewhere....

Also agree vw should have honored op's deal. All delays where vw issues, and the op did not request a 202 car instead of a 201, its the same car the dealers delayed. They asked to delay registration by a few weeks, which the dealer agreed to.

whippet

When I order my car earlier this year I was told that there was likely to be a price increase in July

EmptyTree

ForestFire wrote: »

the op did not request a 202 car instead of a 201, its the same car the dealers delayed. They asked to delay registration by a few weeks, which the dealer agreed to.

This.

whippet wrote: »

When I order my car earlier this year I was told that there was likely to be a price increase in July

But if you paid for your car earlier in the year why would you expect to incur costs due to a price rise in July?? I'd tell the dealer that I'm paying now and if there's a price increase in July the it must suck to buy the car in July. Paying for the car and delivery of the car are two different things.

JoeA3

As far as I know, the dealers don’t pay the distributor (VW Ireland) for the cars until some time after they take delivery. So any price increases on the car since (and VW always bump the prices in May/June) are on the dealer. Sometimes this can work in the customer’s favour, as they often tweak the specs a bit too in mid-year so you might get extra spec/features that weren’t standard a month ago.

EmptyTree

@joeA3 - thanks for the info, I wasn't aware of this. Bit I'd still try to ask all the questions up front and try to avoid a scenario like this like the plague.... Or like a pandemic or something

whippet

EmptyTree wrote: »

This.

But if you paid for your car earlier in the year why would you expect to incur costs due to a price rise in July?? I'd tell the dealer that I'm paying now and if there's a price increase in July the it must suck to buy the car in July. Paying for the car and delivery of the car are two different things.

I only pay for the car when I take delivery.

The dealer was informing me when I was doing the deal - before I ordered that the pricing was likely to increase in July. Call it a 'sales' tactic to get me to place the order if you will but it's the dealer being honest.

ForestFire

whippet wrote: »

I only pay for the car when I take delivery.

The dealer was informing me when I was doing the deal - before I ordered that the pricing was likely to increase in July. Call it a 'sales' tactic to get me to place the order if you will but it's the dealer being honest.

As I've said I've had the complete opposite experience.

I was told if I agree purchase and the dealer enters the order in the system (Ire/factory) the price is locked at the price on that day. Contracts are signed with all the agreed sales details, trade-ins and finance aggrangments.


Maybe different dearerships are different to others?

Or maybe there is a difference if you ordering a specific build vs waiting for the next standard stock model car to arrive off the boat?

Pkiernan

Now he knows what that dealer would have been like to deal with in the long run.


I'd pop a letter to VW telling them why you're now looking at a competitors car.

millington

That sounds like bad form to me. I don't buy the trade in value excuse as used cars have gone up in value since the lockdown and good stock is very difficult to come by. The dealer should have stood by the original deal, no question about it. Also I doubt the dealer would be paying July prices for a car ordered & delivered before July.

Rx713B

millington wrote: »

That sounds like bad form to me. I don't buy the trade in value excuse as used cars have gone up in value since the lockdown and good stock is very difficult to come by. The dealer should have stood by the original deal, no question about it. Also I doubt the dealer would be paying July prices for a car ordered & delivered before July.

Correct -

Sam Russell

It was a mistake for the OP's father to walk away from the deal, but if the dealer was prepared to do that, maybe he was better out of it anyway.

L-M

Coming from the other side of the table.

Cars did go up in price in May, about 1000 quid on the Tiguan, also if he was financing the contribution changed from 1500 to 1000. This doesn’t really apply because he had his car ordered so Vw would of stood over that.

I had a good few deals that lingered over from March, anyone that wanted the Origional deal took the cars in May/June, which a good few did. Anyone that wanted to wait until July we agreed new figures, which was fine. The reality of the situation is that in 2 years time a 202 will have absolutely 0 extra value over a 201, bar the novelty factor.

What your Vw dealer did was completely wrong in the sense that they should of let your Father know back in May that the prices were going to change if he waited to July, so that’s really really bad form on their part.

At the same time, he got his deposit back. The fact that he paid 1500 euro more in a different dealer is irrelevant, that couple of happened day one if he didn’t shop around.

You’re only going to upset yourself by chasing this, nothing positive will come from it only you and your friends and family will probably never deal with that Vw garage again, which is their loss.

millington

L-M wrote: »

Coming from the other side of the table.

Cars did go up in price in May, about 1000 quid on the Tiguan, also if he was financing the contribution changed from 1500 to 1000. This doesn’t really apply because he had his car ordered so Vw would of stood over that.

I had a good few deals that lingered over from March, anyone that wanted the Origional deal took the cars in May/June, which a good few did. Anyone that wanted to wait until July we agreed new figures, which was fine. The reality of the situation is that in 2 years time a 202 will have absolutely 0 extra value over a 201, bar the novelty factor.

What your Vw dealer did was completely wrong in the sense that they should of let your Father know back in May that the prices were going to change if he waited to July, so that’s really really bad form on their part.

At the same time, he got his deposit back. The fact that he paid 1500 euro more in a different dealer is irrelevant, that couple of happened day one if he didn’t shop around.

You’re only going to upset yourself by chasing this, nothing positive will come from it only you and your friends and family will probably never deal with that Vw garage again, which is their loss.

So are you saying that a car ordered before the price increase, costs more because the price goes up afterwards?

L-M

millington wrote: »

So are you saying that a car ordered before the price increase, costs more because the price goes up afterwards?

No, I’m saying that Volkswagen should have stood over the initial price since the customer ordered prior to the announcement. It says that in my post....??

David Geary

Scirpt wrote: »

My father agreed a trade-in deal for a VW Tiguan in January of this year and handed over the deposit.

The car was supposed to be delivered by February but was delayed, and due to COVID-19 was delayed even further until he received a call in mid June saying that the car was ready. He received no information prior to this about the car.

He requested that the car be registered for July in order to get the new reg which the dealership reluctantly agreed to since the car delivery was delayed for so long.

He went last week to collect the car and the dealer would not agree to sell the car for the original price agreed in January and told him that he needed to pay extra as there was additional mileage on his trade in and the new model car is more expensive (Surely it's the same car and is just registered for 202?). How could you be expected to not drive your own car due to delays with the delivery of the new car? He requested his deposit back which he received.

Is this even legal? Does he have any recourse at all or would there be any possibility of a refund from Volkswagen as he has now gone to another dealer to buy the same car for 1,500 more than the deal he had with the original dealer.

The first thing I would do is to contact the SIMI and make a formal complaint about the way the dealer has handled the sale of the car to your father.

I would then seek to contact the sales manager of the dealership and point out to him in writing that when your father agreed to purchase a new car he paid a deposit and entered into a formal contract of sale for purchase of the car at an agreed price which included a price for his trade in. It is not your fathers fault that the dealer has been unable to fulfil their part of the contract. Therefore any additional costs incurred by the delay in supplying the new car to your father should be borne by the selling dealer.

David Geary

David Geary

Scirpt wrote: »

My father agreed a trade-in deal for a VW Tiguan in January of this year and handed over the deposit.

The car was supposed to be delivered by February but was delayed, and due to COVID-19 was delayed even further until he received a call in mid June saying that the car was ready. He received no information prior to this about the car.

He requested that the car be registered for July in order to get the new reg which the dealership reluctantly agreed to since the car delivery was delayed for so long.

He went last week to collect the car and the dealer would not agree to sell the car for the original price agreed in January and told him that he needed to pay extra as there was additional mileage on his trade in and the new model car is more expensive (Surely it's the same car and is just registered for 202?). How could you be expected to not drive your own car due to delays with the delivery of the new car? He requested his deposit back which he received.

Is this even legal? Does he have any recourse at all or would there be any possibility of a refund from Volkswagen as he has now gone to another dealer to buy the same car for 1,500 more than the deal he had with the original dealer.

The first thing I would do is to contact the SIMI and register a complaint with them regarding the way the dealer has handled the sale of the car to your father.

Then I would write to the sales manager /general manager reminding them that your father entered into a formal contract with them and was quoted a price for purchasing a new car which included a trade in price for his own car.He paid a deposit which shows good faith on his behalf. The fact that the dealer has been unable to supply the new car at the price agreed in the contract is not your fathers fault. In my opinion the extra costs incurred by the delay in supplying the new car should be borne by the dealer not the purchaser.

L-M

David Geary wrote: »

The first thing I would do is to contact the SIMI and make a formal complaint about the way the dealer has handled the sale of the car to your father.

I would then seek to contact the sales manager of the dealership and point out to him in writing that when your father agreed to purchase a new car he paid a deposit and entered into a formal contract of sale for purchase of the car at an agreed price which included a price for his trade in. It is not your fathers fault that the dealer has been unable to fulfil their part of the contract. Therefore any additional costs incurred by the delay in supplying the new car to your father should be borne by the selling dealer.

David Geary

I think there’s a bit of give and take David, it’s not anyone’s “fault” garages had to close for 8-10 weeks either, and the factories.

Darc19

Remember that there's the op's version of the story, there's the dealer's version of the story and then there's the real story.

Why did the op's father not make contact with the dealer from Feb all the way til June.?

Was he hoping he'd get a 202 Reg AND the same value for his trade in? 5 months later?

Seriously?

delly

Just to add my own story, my car was ordered in Nov '19. Standard spec, but factory order for the colour. Absolutely ridiculous good deal on trade in for a 171 old model, with the new one arriving mid February. I of course like a kid in the candy shop was hassling the dealer, but it all went back to factory delays. I got the call the day before Paddys day to say it was ready, I said to hang onto it as I was not going anywhere. Fast forward to the first week of July and I have a 202 for the same figures agreed in Nov '19. The dealer wasn't the best with comms, but he stuck to the figures. No deposit was made for this order.

Mjolnir

Legal? Absaloutly, material terms of the contract have changed(through no ones fualt)
Not great customer service, but from their point of view your dads car is now older with higher mileage and the value a 202 reg has over a 201 etc.
Personally if they weren't willing to bend and do a decent deal I'd move on to another dealer. Check the t&c's of the contract as well as exclusions.
Caveat as there is no longer consideration the contract ceases to exist, so walk off to the next dealer tell them what happened, most will do a decent deal to take the business.

L-M

Darc19 wrote: »

Remember that there's the op's version of the story, there's the dealer's version of the story and then there's the real story.

Why did the op's father not make contact with the dealer from Feb all the way til June.?

Was he hoping he'd get a 202 Reg AND the same value for his trade in? 5 months later?

Seriously?

To be fair, I had a few customers that didn’t contact me (Which is highly unusual as normally when someone is waiting they want it yesterday) and i rang them I got the “Oh I assumed because it was this late it would be a 202” line. So you’re not wrong there either

Markcheese

Well if the new car wasn't ready till mid / late June I think I'd hang on till July as well , unlikely that major mileage was added during lockdown ( not impossible though ) ,and the dealer would most likely have been selling the trade in during 202 anyway ...
But they must have had a reason for not going through with the sale ,
What's the story with an ordered car that the sale falls through , is it the dealers problem (or opportunity) or can it go back to the importer ?

Bass Reeves

Darc19 wrote: »

Remember that there's the op's version of the story, there's the dealer's version of the story and then there's the real story.

Why did the op's father not make contact with the dealer from Feb all the way til June.?

Was he hoping he'd get a 202 Reg AND the same value for his trade in? 5 months later?

Seriously?

It's amazing the amount of people who do not read the OP's original post. It quite clear he ordered the car in January and paid a deposit. It was due to be delivered in February and was delayed. The car was only ready for collection in mid June. People making presumptions that OP's father did not contact garage are making presumptions. We have to assume he did but contact is a two way street.

So was it unreasonable for OP's father to ask for a delay of two weeks. I do not think so. A deposit formalize's a contract. When he requested the delay the dealership should have informed him of any prices increases or changed to pricing of delaying to a 202. They could have said yes we can do that but you have to hand over your car and we will rent you a replacement for 2 weeks.

I imagine OP's father is a quite man also he may be aged and unaware of his rights. If there was price rises the dealership should have informed VW Ireland before the price rise and indicated any contract's in place. I be surprised if VW Ireland would not honour the contract in such s situation but I imagine it was carelessness by the dealer.

A deposit secures an item. Even builders have stopped the shoddy practice of trying to increase prices when a contract is in place.

If OP's father was an aged person this could amount to elder abuse by the the dealership

antix80

Devil's advocate but:
1/ Your dad agreed to buy a 201 and then demanded a 202.
2/ what if your dad arrived with a wreck on the back of a truck saying, well i crashed it a few months ago but it's still the same car

In this case the dealer still should have honoured it even if it meant not making a profit (as he didn't make one anyway)

ba_barabus

Bass Reeves wrote: »

If OP's father was an aged person this could amount to elder abuse by the the dealership

:rolleyes:

Sam Russell

antix80 wrote: »

Devil's advocate but:
1/ Your dad agreed to buy a 201 and then demanded a 202.
2/ what if your dad arrived with a wreck on the back of a truck saying, well i crashed it a few months ago but it's still the same car

In this case the dealer still should have honoured it even if it meant not making a profit (as he didn't make one anyway)

The deal was for the purchase of a new car at an agreed price with an agreed trade in price for the purchasers current car. Deposit paid - contract in place.

Dealer failed to deliver car in Feb as agreed due to VW failing to build it and deliver it. Car was ready (or would be ready) in May/June.

Dealer tries to increase price on two spurious grounds - one trade in is now older (doh - of course due to dealer's delay) and an increased price from VW. He hangs this on the purchaser's request to delay registration - which is not really his business. Purchaser could buy the car and register it as and when.

Dealer is wrong on every count. If he was worried about the trade in car he should have supplied a courtesy car or agreed a rental car as the delay was VW's fault. Failing that, he should have covered the car with insurance against any loss in value caused by accident or other risk.

Bass Reeves

ba_barabus wrote: »

:rolleyes:

While you may think it funny or think I am stretching reality there's is an issue here if OP's father was in his 70's. One dose not have to be senile for advantage to be taken of them. OP indicated in his original post that his father paid 1500 extra elsewhere for the same car.

From that we can assume that his father's car had not got excessive mileage or was seriously devalued since January other than by the time factor involved due to the dealerships delay in supply. Therefore the question is why did the dealer look for extra money or not inform the OP father of extra costs at the delay stage he requested.

A number of incidents have happened where courts too similar situation as elder abuse the ones most know was where banks and insurance companies sold incorrect products to older customers. The question you ask and I am unaware of OP father's age it may not be an issue but would a dealer expect to get away with the same con trick with a younger customer.

I know I have insisted on fulfillment of the contract. I imagine that there was no extra cost to the dealer for the car from VW but his issue was with resale value if ops father car. The 1500 difference suggests that the resale value was purely a time factor

ba_barabus

Bass Reeves wrote: »

While you may think it funny or think I am stretching reality there's is an issue here if OP's father was in his 70's. One dose not have to be senile for advantage to be taken of them. OP indicated in his original post that his father paid 1500 extra elsewhere for the same car

I think it's fair to say your fear is irrational at best. There is absolutely no indication of what you've suggested and a person who works in main dealer car sales has explained the situation.

Markcheese

What's the likelihood that the dealer already had another customer for thay car? And so was "happy"for the sale to fall through .

L-M

Markcheese wrote: »

What's the likelihood that the dealer already had another customer for thay car? And so was "happy"for the sale to fall through .

Considering it’s a Volkswagen Tiguan and not a bespoke Ferrari I very much doubt it.