Car Dealership Lies

dublinbando

Hello,

My mam recently bought a car from a car dealer, nothing fancy, just a qashqai for 3k and traded in her old car which was falling apart, now the dealer said he would only give her 250 off the new car for it since it was going to be scrapped, he assured her it would not see another owner. So a month later and the engine in the new car starts having problems and we had to bring the car back to the dealer for repair under warranty and noticed this dealer had the old car up for sale after having told us he would scrap it. Can they legally do that? Feel like she should have got much more than 250 for the car it was if he was going to be selling it on..

Buddy Bubs

The dealers car now, they can do what they want with it

Atlantic Dawn

You don't know how much money the dealer has put in to the car that was 'falling apart' when she traded it in. I don't really see the issue, once the car ownership was transferred to the dealer they are free to do whatever they want with it. Cars that go in to 'scrappage schemes' regularly are resold from the dealer, it's only when it's a government scrappage scheme that the vehicle must be disposed of.

lawred2

Of course they can

GSBellew

Nothing to stop them selling it on, they offered a trade in value which was accepted.

dublinbando

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119647824#Comment_119647824

That's fair I guess

Buddy Bubs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119647839#Comment_119647839

How much was it on sale for?

dublinbando

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119647857#Comment_119647857

Didn't see a price

Larbre34

Its completely legal, so long as you didn't sign the car over to an authorised treatment facility to generate a Certificate of Destruction, which it sounds like you did not.

In any case, you did well getting €250 for a car that was notionally to be scrapped, usually its 50 quid.

If the dealer was able to get a few things fixed on it to keep it going safely, fair dues to him. With the shortage of second hand cars in the market generally, somebody will get some use out of it for a while.

Regardless, you're no longer responsible for it so forget about it.

zg3409

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119647931#Comment_119647931

Look up dealers website or done deal. You might get the price there.

As said it's up to the dealer. They may have intended to scrap it but then gave it a full check over and changed their mind. They may have spent a lot and got a new NCT.

bazz26

OP, sounds like the the dealer knew the true worth of your mother's old car and whether it was repairable or not. Unfortunately your mother didn't and the dealer played on that or took a gamble with it. Realistically they got the old car for almost nothing as it's scrappage value wouldn't be €250 and the 3k car probably had €100 built into it for haggling anyway.

Sharp practice on their behalf but nothing legally wrong with what they did, they are in the game of buying at the lowest point to maximise their profits.

the_pen_turner

my local garage does this . he was telling me he keeps an eye out for cheap cars that need lots of easy or minor work and ones he has parts to suit from crashed ones out the back etc.

he tells me between his 5 mechanics he could have 4-5 hours every week with nothing to do caused by no shows, jobs being way smaller than they allowed for (like a simple loose wire etc) or things being way worse and neeeding new parts.

he like cars with lots of little jobs because the mechanics can pop over to the car and do a simple easy fix in these little gaps

i dont see anything wrong with what the dealer did

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119649550#Comment_119649550

Dealers need to make a profit. I've traded mine in against a new car in January. Online they are looking for €6k to €7k for my car, trade in offers from €2k to €4k from different brands.

The OP's car is probably being sold for about €1k, thats not much profit and the garage might have put parts and labour into it.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119649755#Comment_119649755

That’s completely different tho, thats a mechanic who is making a few quid on the side by buying and selling cars that need fixing.

The dealer in this case had convinced the buyer that their car was only worth the scrap value and was going to be scrapped, probably knowing full well that it was worth more than that and they could make a few quid off it.

Its a bit shady and not very honest, but nothing illegal about it at all.

the_pen_turner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119650263#Comment_119650263

he is not making money on the side. he is a dealer with a big garage and 5 mechanics and other staff. its more like a background project to keep his guys busy and making money when they have otherwise un productive time. even if he only recoups half the labour he is still better off . his guys would be paid either way

the op says it was falling apart and trading it in on a 3k car. it couldnt be worth very much at all. i dont agree with convincing someone its scrap but maybe thats all it was worth. if they bought it for 250 and put 750 mat and lab into it and got 1k back they made nothing but kept their guys busy and paid their wages. if they paid more for the car it would cost more that its worth so a non runner.

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119650263#Comment_119650263

The dealer in this case had convinced the buyer that their car was only worth the scrap value and was going to be scrapped, probably knowing full well that it was worth more than that and they could make a few quid off it.

Whatever the dealer said to your mother, she convinced herself that it was only scrap and your description of it looks to match that. Now you're pissed off because the dealer (who you mum sold it to) has fixed it and is selling it, possibly with little profit.

It was up to your mother to know how much her car was worth and if she went into the deal with her eyes closed that that's on her completely.

Its a bit shady and not very honest, but nothing illegal about it at all.

It is not a bit shady and is not dishonest and it's wrong for you to make that calim. Your mum sold him the car and he can do as he wishes. When you say that he assured her it would be scrapped, do you still have the paper he wrote that on?

You're just begrudging the dealer the possibility of earning a little more out of it. Life is too short - get over it!

bazz26

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119649847#Comment_119649847

I understand that but dealers at the bottom end of the market selling cars of this value are not going to spend much money on them because it eats into their profit and time.

As I said the dealer knew the car wasn't set for the scrap yard but the OP's mother thought it was or was convinced it was. The dealer paid very little for the car because of that so even if it turned out to be a turd they will get a few quid for it for scrap. If they sell it on for a grand with just a bit of tidying up then happy days. That's the name of the game.

oceanman

how do you know when a used car dealer is lying?...his lips are moving.

bucketybuck

Convincing the lady that her old car was worth €250 is actually no different from convincing her that the car she just bought was worth €3000...

Regardless, you don't actually know that he has lied. You freely admit that her old car was falling apart so we are hardly talking gross misrepresentation here. And you don't know what price he is looking for it now, just that there is a sign on it.

So I wouldn't be surprised if he does actually think the car is basically scrap but threw a sign onto it anyway, on the off chance that somebody might ask him about it and do a cheap deal in full knowledge of what they are buying. I mean, for all you know the car is for sale as scrap or for parts only.

dublinbando

Well turns out the car he sold us had its head gasket blow and he had to honour the warranty and put a new engine in it..

vandriver

"new"

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058264357/car-dealership-lies

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119693776#Comment_119693776

Usually if you are offered as little as €250 for a trade in you would be better cutting a cash deal and selling your old car yourself.

Possibly when the dealer took a closer look the car wasn't as bad as it seemed so "lies" might be a bit harsh.

Maybe next time you should go with your mam when she needs a car.

Was the warranty was a third party one or his own?

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119693873#Comment_119693873

A lot of people don't want to deal with the people when selling their car, never mind the type that buy cheap cars. Selling to dealer is a lot less hassle than being offered a swap for a tent, then you've got the fools who think that the €250 car they bought private is the sellers responsibility when they break it.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119694565#Comment_119694565

Point taken.

You'd want to be in the full of your health and up for it or enlist the help of someone else who is.