Car spec not as advertised

meath4sam

So bought a 2nd hand car from a dealer and realised the spec is not as advertised on the on website and car sale sites
Due to covid and viewing restrictions the car was bought via why’s app videos videos and pics etc.
Car is 100% and very happy with it and want to keep it but the advert listed keyless entry, stop start button and sun roof which were not included.
Car is a 20 25k purchase.
I have informed the dealer and waiting for response but he has admitted it was advertised wrong and prob a copy and paste job. Not looking to cause a fuss but it’s not good enough to advertise an incorrect product.
What should I expect from the dealer and what rights do I have?

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

What remedy would you be satisfied with? Those particular items won’t be retrofitted, that’s for sure. If you pushed, he’d probably return your money, but you want the car anyway. So that just leaves you with possibly a free service, or similar goodwill gesture.

Toyotafanboi

If you're happy to keep the car, i'd say you need to go in qith an idea of what you want yourself? An amount of money back or a reduction in payments would probably be best?

mickdw

meath4sam wrote: »

So bought a 2nd hand car from a dealer and realised the spec is not as advertised on the on website and car sale sites
Due to covid and viewing restrictions the car was bought via why’s app videos videos and pics etc.
Car is 100% and very happy with it and want to keep it but the advert listed keyless entry, stop start button and sun roof which were not included.
Car is a 20 25k purchase.
I have informed the dealer and waiting for response but he has admitted it was advertised wrong and prob a copy and paste job. Not looking to cause a fuss but it’s not good enough to advertise an incorrect product.
What should I expect from the dealer and what rights do I have?

Im not sure but distance selling consumer rights should apply so look at that.
Buying a used car unseen is to my mind nuts. I would never to happy to do that.

meath4sam

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy wrote: »

What remedy would you be satisfied with? Those particular items won’t be retrofitted, that’s for sure. If you pushed, he’d probably return your money, but you want the car anyway. So that just leaves you with possibly a free service, or similar goodwill gesture.

I understand reto for not an option but wondering what would be satisfactory in the situation in general. I would prefer to send to the main dealer for service, that was mentioned on the phone, I wouldn’t trust car dealer services if not main dealer.

meath4sam

mickdw wrote: »

Im not sure but distance selling consumer rights should apply so look at that.
Buying a used car unseen is to my mind nuts. I would never to happy to do that.

I made sure warranty in place 12 months and cartell check complete will have my own mechanic do a full once over this week.
To be honest even looking at the car I wouldn’t know what to be looking for.

Cerveza

My neighbour did similar, sales rep told her it was 4wd turns out it’s only front wheel drive. It was a jeepy car thing good enough for her.

mickdw

meath4sam wrote: »

I made sure warranty in place 12 months and cartell check complete will have my own mechanic do a full once over this week.
To be honest even looking at the car I wouldn’t know what to be looking for.

Is it an insurance company warranty like 'car protect' or 'mapfre'?

meath4sam

Cerveza wrote: »

My neighbour did similar, sales rep told her it was 4wd turns out it’s only front wheel drive. It was a jeepy car thing good enough for her.

Why good enough for her if you advertise something and it’s not what the dealer advertised, he must be responsible, we are not all experts in cars and specs or mechanics

meath4sam

mickdw wrote: »

Is it an insurance company warranty like 'car protect' or 'mapfre'?

6 months with dealer 12 months car protect. Still has a few month manufacture.

User1998

On something like a 20k VW or Audi, keyless entry and a pan roof would easily add 1k to the value of a 20k car. In my opinion a refund of 1k is a reasonable request. I know you like the car and you want to keep it but I wouldn’t just accept a goodwill free service

meath4sam

User1998 wrote: »

On something like a 20k VW or Audi, keyless entry and a pan roof would easily add 1k to the value of a 20k car. In my opinion a refund of 1k is a reasonable request. I know you like the car and you want to keep it but I wouldn’t just accept a goodwill free service

Thanks for feed back this is what I’m looking for.

Sleeper12

meath4sam wrote:

So bought a 2nd hand car from a dealer and realised the spec is not as advertised on the on website and car sale sites Due to covid and viewing restrictions the car was bought via why’s app videos videos and pics etc. Car is 100% and very happy with it and want to keep it but the advert listed keyless entry, stop start button and sun roof which were not included. Car is a 20 25k purchase. I have informed the dealer and waiting for response but he has admitted it was advertised wrong and prob a copy and paste job. Not looking to cause a fuss but it’s not good enough to advertise an incorrect product. What should I expect from the dealer and what rights do I have?

If you look for too much he might be happy to take the car back & refund you. If you want to keep the car then you need to be realistic in what you expect from the dealer

mickdw wrote:

Im not sure but distance selling consumer rights should apply so look at that. Buying a used car unseen is to my mind nuts. I would never to happy to do that.

Not distance selling if op collected the car or if car was delivered & op had a chance to inspect it before paying

meath4sam

Thanks for all reply’s

I hold my hand up and say ok I didn’t do a full once over, but I do believe the blame is more in the dealers court
I am just wondering what a good compromise would be in the situation.

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

Sounds like you’d like a partial refund most. You’re not being unreasonable. Ask and see.

Esse85

meath4sam wrote: »

Thanks for all reply’s

I hold my hand up and say ok I didn’t do a full once over, but I do believe the blame is more in the dealers court
I am just wondering what a good compromise would be in the situation.

Absolutely the sellers mistake.

Good not as described.

bazz26

Isn't there a cooling off period when it comes to distance selling?

User1998

Sleeper12 wrote: »

If you look for too much he might be happy to take the car back & refund you. If you want to keep the car then you need to be realistic in what you expect from the dealer

Agreed. As I said previously €1k would not be an unreasonable amount of money to request to have refunded but I think the dealer would rather refund the total amount and get the car back, rather than just refunding €1k. But OP does want to keep the car so its a bit of a tricky one

meath4sam

User1998 wrote: »

Agreed. As I said previously €1k would not be an unreasonable amount of money to request to have refunded but I think the dealer would rather refund the total amount and get the car back, rather than just refunding €1k. But OP does want to keep the car so its a bit of a tricky one

Understand, I have left with the dealer to return offer in writing will see what he comes back with but I’m sure it will be a service.... will give them a chance to sort it hence not mentioning car type dealer etc.

kermitpwee

User1998 wrote: »

On something like a 20k VW or Audi, keyless entry and a pan roof would easily add 1k to the value of a 20k car. In my opinion a refund of 1k is a reasonable request. I know you like the car and you want to keep it but I wouldn’t just accept a goodwill free service

There is nothing to say that the car wasn't sold at the correct price for the spec it actually has.
It was advertised with a different spec. I don't think a 1k refund is reasonable, a full refund perhaps but not 1k

meath4sam

kermitpwee wrote: »

There is nothing to say that the car wasn't sold at the correct price for the spec it actually has.
It was advertised with a different spec. I don't think a 1k refund is reasonable, a full refund perhaps but not 1k

Just to confirm there are 3 overall specs of car, for example economy / middle road / premium.

Car was advertised as middle road and priced according and is correct overall spec. It was in the items listed below included within this spec in the advert that where incorrect where it said keyless entry and sunroof etc.

On investigation they belong to the premium spec but could of been purchased as extras on the middle road spec.

Hope this makes it clear.

User1998

kermitpwee wrote: »

There is nothing to say that the car wasn't sold at the correct price for the spec it actually has.
It was advertised with a different spec. I don't think a 1k refund is reasonable, a full refund perhaps but not 1k

Yes but OP was told that the car had a sunroof and keyless entry and the value of those two options on a 20k car is roughly 1k and they are missing so I think its a good starting point for negotiating

OP is entitled to a full refund if he/she wishes. The car is not as described, and its not fit for purpose (if the purpose of buying it was because they wanted keyless/sunroof). But OP wants to keep the car so thats why I gave a valuation of the extras that are missing

kermitpwee

User1998 wrote: »

Yes but OP was told that the car had a sunroof and keyless entry and the value of those two options on a 20k car is roughly 1k and they are missing so I think its a good starting point for negotiating

OP is entitled to a full refund if he/she wishes. The car is not as described, and its not fit for purpose (if the purpose of buying it was because they wanted keyless/sunroof). But OP wants to keep the car so thats why I gave a valuation of the extras that are missing

For sure if they could get 1k back it would be great, not disagreeing wt you at all.
What type of car is it and was it main dealer?

L-M

Whatever about the keyless but surely you saw it didn’t have a sunroof when it was delivered/collected?

road_high

I'd be absolutely furious if I'd bought a car on faith with expected extras and they weren't there. Things like a sunroof and keyless entry are pretty big items to not have.
Really need to give a car the once over if buying this way on delivery and also demand a thorough video run through pre purchase. Go through every detail as you would in the forecourt.

road_high

Cerveza wrote: »

My neighbour did similar, sales rep told her it was 4wd turns out it’s only front wheel drive. It was a jeepy car thing good enough for her.

Again that's a massive misrepresentation and potentially 1000s in the difference in value of the car. Especially if she wanted or needed a 4*4 and had bought on the basis. Believe with online you've more comeback due to cooling off period.

DaveyDave

L-M wrote: »

Whatever about the keyless but surely you saw it didn’t have a sunroof when it was delivered/collected?

It'd be a different story if they went to get the car and it was a different spec and colour altogether. A dealer would have to go out of their way to get pictures without the roof or a visible stop start button.

When I went to test drive a Cupra it had something small like front parking sensors listed which I noticed were missing immediately when walking up to it. If you're actually interested in those items you'll notice they're missing.

Sleeper12

It's not distance selling if OP collected the car. Only distance selling if paid for upfront without seeing the car. It's not even false advertising. Seller is allowed to make a mistake with listings. Seller is even allowed to advertise a lower price by mistake & doesn't have to sell for the lower price. Buyer is supposed to inspect the car before buying. Buyer Beware.

It's very difficult to say what the dealer will offer as a good will gesture. It could be anything to free service to full refund

User1998

The dealer and the buyer entered a contract for the sale of a car with a sunroof and keyless entry. The dealer made a negligent mistake under contract law by stating the car had a sunroof and keyless. All the dealer had to do was proof read the add but they failed to do so. The car had neither of the options listed and therefore the contract is null and void and the buyer is entitled to redress (refund or replacement)

Buyer beware my hole

colm_mcm

User1998 wrote: »

The dealer and the buyer entered a contract for the sale of a car with a sunroof and keyless entry. The dealer made a negligent mistake under contract law by stating the car had a sunroof and keyless. All the dealer had to do was proof read the add but they failed to do so. The car had neither of the options listed and therefore the contract is null and void and the buyer is entitled to redress (refund or replacement)

Buyer beware my hole

Is the advert the contract?

User1998

colm_mcm wrote: »

Is the advert the contract?

Do you disagree? Even if we leave contract law out of this, the dealer gave a description of the car of the car and the purchase was made based on that description. Under consumer law the car isn’t as described so therefore they are entitled to some sort of redress

Sleeper12

User1998 wrote: »

Do you disagree? Even if we leave contract law out of this, the dealer gave a description of the car of the car and the purchase was made based on that description. Under consumer law the car isn’t as described so therefore they are entitled to some sort of redress

You are wrong there. The advertisement isn't part of the contract. The advertisement gets you in the door. It's still up to OP to inspect the car before buying.



Contract law isn't going to get OP anywhere. It will come down to how decent a dealer the seller is. OP doesn't want a refund so it's down what good will gesture the seller is willing to make

whippet

User1998 wrote: »

Do you disagree? Even if we leave contract law out of this, the dealer gave a description of the car of the car and the purchase was made based on that description. Under consumer law the car isn’t as described so therefore they are entitled to some sort of redress

It was you who mentioned contract law initially saying that the advert formed part of the contract.

This isn’t the case.

iwillhtfu

L-M wrote: »

Whatever about the keyless but surely you saw it didn’t have a sunroof when it was delivered/collected?

I was just about to say this myself. How did you miss the sunroof? To be honest it sounds like you may have been looking at other ads after buying the car and now have a bit of buyers remorse as you've seen a better example for similar money.

I doubt the garage will offer money back, a couple of free services or valets maybe.

Sleeper12

Sleeper12 wrote: »

Not distance selling if op collected the car or if car was delivered & op had a chance to inspect it before paying

Distance selling may/may not apply. Either way, the product is not as advertised and OP is covered under the sales of goods and services act.

Sale of goods and supply of Services Act 1980
When you buy products, they must be ‘in conformity with the contract’. This means they must be:

Of merchantable quality – this means of reasonable and acceptable standard, taking into account other factors such as durability and price
Fit for the purpose you bought it for – they should work and do what they are reasonably expected to do
As described – they should match any description given in an advert or other information provided by the seller at the time of sale

Source

Product was described incorrectly, therefore the onus is on the seller to remedy the situation:

What type of remedy am I entitled to?
You have strong consumer rights if you buy something that turns out to be:

Broken or damaged (not satisfactory quality)
Unusable (not fit for purpose)
Not what was advertised or what the seller told you (not as described)

The retailer or supplier must provide a solution by putting the fault right (repair) free of charge or giving you a refund or replacement.

So, there are a number of options open to you:
1. Full refund, dealer then relists the car with either a reduced price or a correct spec
2. You come to some sort of Gentleman's Agreement that they make up the shortfall via whatever way you agree upon
3. You request a partial refund, based on the missing bells and whistles you thought you were getting

For point number three, which is the route I'd take, personally, you'd need to do your homework. Go and get examples of similar motors with the correct spec for cheaper and/or motors for a similar price with the extra spec.

"you charged me 20k for the middle of the road option, here's three examples of that model and they're all 18.5k.......also, here's 3 examples of ones for sale for 20k and they all have a sunroof and keyless entry blah blah blah"

No matter what you choose, you need to be prepared to accept point number 1. They could insist on it as the best solution, so you may well have to start from scratch and find a new jammer. If you really can't live with the thoughts of doing that, maybe try to find a solution via point number 2.

Best of luck.

colm_mcm

User1998 wrote: »

Do you disagree? Even if we leave contract law out of this, the dealer gave a description of the car of the car and the purchase was made based on that description. Under consumer law the car isn’t as described so therefore they are entitled to some sort of redress

I disagree with what you said about the contract, which was incorrect.
I don’t disagree with the general gist of what you’re saying though, and the OP has rights which will protect them.

Sleeper12

Deleted User wrote: »

Distance selling may/may not apply. Either way, the product is not as advertised and OP is covered under the sales of goods and services act.



Source

Product was described incorrectly, therefore the onus is on the seller to remedy the situation:



So, there are a number of options open to you:
1. Full refund, dealer then relists the car with either a reduced price or a correct spec
2. You come to some sort of Gentleman's Agreement that they make up the shortfall via whatever way you agree upon
3. You request a partial refund, based on the missing bells and whistles you thought you were getting

For point number three, which is the route I'd take, personally, you'd need to do your homework. Go and get examples of similar motors with the correct spec for cheaper and/or motors for a similar price with the extra spec.

"you charged me 20k for the middle of the road option, here's three examples of that model and they're all 18.5k.......also, here's 3 examples of ones for sale for 20k and they all have a sunroof and keyless entry blah blah blah"

No matter what you choose, you need to be prepared to accept point number 1. They could insist on it as the best solution, so you may well have to start from scratch and find a new jammer. If you really can't live with the thoughts of doing that, maybe try to find a solution via point number 2.

Best of luck.

No one is saying that it's not covered under the sale of good act. OPs problem is that they want to keep the car. If dealer offers refund & OP refuses this offer then that's the dealer covered. After that it's down to whatever good will gesture (if any) the dealer wants to offer. This could range from free cheap car mats to some cash refund.

Sleeper12

Sleeper12 wrote: »

No one is saying that it's not covered under the sale of good act. OPs problem is that they want to keep the car. If dealer offers refund & OP refuses this offer then that's the dealer covered. After that it's down to whatever good will gesture (if any) the dealer wants to offer. This could range from free cheap car mats to some cash refund.

Oh, I agree. Posters here were talking about in-person purchasing vs distance selling and whether or not the OP was covered. In the heel of the hunt, it doesn't matter as they're covered ANYWAY due to the wrong description.

meath4sam

Update.

Dealer offered to upgrade 3rd party warranty from 12 month to 24.
I requested the 24 month warranty but at an increased level which includes wear and tear (car protect product) and dealer agreed. Prob cost him an extra 200-300 hundred euro.
As mentioned before no interest in returning car and car was purchased at a very competitive price.

Sleeper12

meath4sam wrote:

Dealer offered to upgrade 3rd party warranty from 12 month to 24. I requested the 24 month warranty but at an increased level which includes wear and tear (car protect product) and dealer agreed. Prob cost him an extra 200-300 hundred euro. As mentioned before no interest in returning car and car was purchased at a very competitive price.

Happy days. Despite all the advice given the important thing is that you are happy with the results. I hope you get many years trouble free motoring from your new car

kermitpwee

meath4sam wrote: »

Update.

Dealer offered to upgrade 3rd party warranty from 12 month to 24.
I requested the 24 month warranty but at an increased level which includes wear and tear (car protect product) and dealer agreed. Prob cost him an extra 200-300 hundred euro.
As mentioned before no interest in returning car and car was purchased at a very competitive price.

I wouldn't be a fan of those 3rd party warranty's, better off with a free service, good luck with the car

kermitpwee

What model of car is it?

TheBoyConor

Buying a car without seeing it in real life is downright stupidity. I'm sorry. No-one should ever do that. It is asking for trouble.

Realistically, those things would hardly add any tangible value in a second hand car. It would be negligible, or certainly intangible how you would value it. Most car models either have keyless entry, or button start, or they don't. It is rarely an optional extra.

kermitpwee

TheBoyConor wrote: »

Buying a car without seeing it in real life is downright stupidity. I'm sorry. No-one should ever do that. It is asking for trouble.

Realistically, those things would hardly add any tangible value in a second hand car. It would be negligible, or certainly intangible how you would value it. Most car models either have keyless entry, or button start, or they don't. It is rarely an optional extra.

A lot of car sales happen without the buyer seeing the car in person, it has been happening for a longtime pre covid.

Also your point on keyless entry and button start is totally incorrect.

okidoki987

meath4sam wrote: »

Update.

Dealer offered to upgrade 3rd party warranty from 12 month to 24.
I requested the 24 month warranty but at an increased level which includes wear and tear (car protect product) and dealer agreed. Prob cost him an extra 200-300 hundred euro.
As mentioned before no interest in returning car and car was purchased at a very competitive price.

Was the garage a member of the SIMI?
If he was, you could have contacted them.
You have paid €1,000 over what it should have cost as it doesn't have the extras that were advertised at the price it was sold for.
If you bought the car without the extras listed, it would have been around 1k less which means if you settle for getting a 3rd party warranty only which costs around €200-€300, you are still out of pocket €700-€800.
If that was me, I would be pushing for at least 1 or 2 years free servicing on it as well or new tyres etc.
Remember if he takes the car back, there may be another owner so instead of a 2 owner car, it's now a 3 owner so value of the car would be less again.
Depends on how long it was before this came up from purchase whether he registered it in your name or not.

meath4sam

Car is a Peougeot 3008 allure spec 50,000 km 182 priced at 21900 which was very competitive without the missing spec.
Car was priced correctly additional items where a copy and paste error by dealer.

meath4sam

kermitpwee wrote: »

I wouldn't be a fan of those 3rd party warranty's, better off with a free service, good luck with the car

Would prefer main dealer service, I would not trust a free service from a none main dealer and I don’t want to have to re visit it in a years time when service due, happy to just get it sorted now.

kermitpwee

meath4sam wrote: »

Would prefer main dealer service, I would not trust a free service from a none main dealer and I don’t want to have to re visit it in a years time when service due, happy to just get it sorted now.

Good idea makes perfect sense, again good luck with everything, a fine car the 3008

Eoinbmw

TheBoyConor wrote: »

Buying a car without seeing it in real life is downright stupidity. I'm sorry. No-one should ever do that. It is asking for trouble.

Realistically, those things would hardly add any tangible value in a second hand car. It would be negligible, or certainly intangible how you would value it. Most car models either have keyless entry, or button start, or they don't. It is rarely an optional extra.

I must have imported at least 12 cars from Japan unseen and never 1 single issue actually on 2 occasions cars had expensive extras that i did not know of till the landed!
My last car i bought through video in Nov 2020 from a main Audi dealer non Audi car and the car was sold and delivered flawlessly!

User1998

okidoki987 wrote: »

Was the garage a member of the SIMI?
If he was, you could have contacted them.
You have paid €1,000 over what it should have cost as it doesn't have the extras that were advertised at the price it was sold for.
If you bought the car without the extras listed, it would have been around 1k less which means if you settle for getting a 3rd party warranty only which costs around €200-€300, you are still out of pocket €700-€800.
If that was me, I would be pushing for at least 1 or 2 years free servicing on it as well or new tyres etc.
Remember if he takes the car back, there may be another owner so instead of a 2 owner car, it's now a 3 owner so value of the car would be less again.
Depends on how long it was before this came up from purchase whether he registered it in your name or not.

But what if the car was priced accordingly to the extras it has? How do you know they paid 1k over the odds for it? I agree that the extras would add €1k in value but you don’t know enough details to conclude that they paid €1k too much. It might have been the cheapest one for sale in the country