Just over a week ago, took advantage of the no VAT offer, done a deal and part exed my car and placed an order for a new one for March 1st delivery, payed the balance in full, just needed to wait to collect.

Just had a call from the dealer to say they have made a mistake in the valuation of my car and he wants me to meet him half way on the extra cost, can he do this?

They appraised my car and took it for a test drive and clearly noted the mileage on the invoice, which we discussed while doing the deal, however the sales guy and his colleague made the mistake between them selves with regards as to what the mileage was. Apparently the guy valueing the car thought the other guy had told him a mileage figure which was 20000 less than what he quoted the valuation on. the dealer has asked me to meet him half way, but has as yet not come back to me with how much that will be.

The question is, do I have to pay any more at all. Can they force me to pay more? Can they legally refuse to sell me the car? The deal has all been done, I have paid in full the balance that was on the invoice, in which clearly stated the mileage. Am I correct in believing that a contract has been made and its their problem and not mine, or should I meet him halfway of the difference as asked?

It depends on what the contract small print says. How much extra are they asking for? My advice would be remain calm and rational and go and see them face to face. You should have the option to cancel the contract if you wish, however, consider paying the extra if they are adamant and then ask them for some goodwill gesture such as the first service free.

As far as I know they cannot make you pay any more than that which you have signed for.

Check trading standards: http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/

I am very happy with the original deal, and am not interested in cancelling, I want the new car and was looking forward to collecting it in 3 weeks..................

Will go over the invoice with regards the small print, but the question is should I pay more for their error, not mine.

They made a mistake and they are going to have to suck it up. If the paperwork is correct and the mileage on your PX is mentioned.

No way he can do that, you have a contract which he has to honour. If they have made a mistake that's there problem.

More likely whats happened is that they have just had the CAP or Glasses guide for February and the value has dropped on your P/X by a large amount and they are panicking.

Also the story they have given you about the mileage sounds very convoluted/untrue.

Why have you paid the balance already? and you do not have the car.

If collecting March 1st I would pay on March 1st after I have inspected the car. Use a debit card for this.

Tell them if they do not honour the contract that they will be in breach of contract and you will seek damages.

Insist on return of all monies paid and start again with another dealer, the VAT off offer has been extended to 31st March

Get your solicitor involved id necessary and ring the CAB for advice

The Red Baron, PowerMalc, can I be in your team?

Why do all immediately declare war?

Check if it is correct what they say and how much they want.

Imagine that you made an error and you need some kind of cooperation.

Why do all immediately declare war?

Check if it is correct what they say and how much they want.

Imagine that you made an error and you need some kind of cooperation.

That's where I was coming from......

I had the same sort of thing happen when i purchased my mazda, dealer said the p/x value had dropped and wanted to knock off £500 of the value. I just said no, he backed down. i expect the dealer tries it on with most of their customers so just say no otherwise you'll cancel. The fact you have already paid in full makes me wonder, did they ask you to?? If so, they are for sure taking you for a ride.

You have signed a contract and they need to fullfil their part of the deal now.

Ask them if you had made a mistake and accepted less than your car was really worth would they a week after your contract was signed agree to split the difference with you.Their HONEST answer would be what I would do.

The Red Baron, PowerMalc, can I be in your team?

OK

My dealer was very straight with me and gave me a P/X price on 22nd Sept. The price did not change even though delivery/handover was on Jan 16th.

My contract said price could be lowered by 2.5% a month but this only kicked in after a full month after a 30 day delay on the quoted delivery date (i.e. 2 months after delivery date)

I knew this when I signed but if it had cropped the new car would be newer, 2010 not 2009

In the the end I got it both ways, 2010 VRS and the original P/X price

Stick to your guns. There is no way you should be paying any more than the price already agreed.

It is like going to Tesco, something is priced up at £15, but due to a mistake somewhere, they (within reason) have to sell it at the ticket price. The 'within reason' bit is for extreme examples e.g a Ferrari for £150 rather than £150,000 etc.

They can't realistically ask you for more just because one guy didn't check the mileage on the paperwork (which has the correct mileage on it) - they hold you to their T&C's - you hold them to their own too!

English contract law is quite clear: Offer, Acceptance, Consideration (exchange of money)

He offered, you accepted and money changed hands. You have a contract, so tell him to get stuffed!

robertb - wrong, sorry.

The OP offered, the dealer accepted. That's the way offer and acceptance works.

A price in a shop is an offer to treat, you then go in and offer to buy, the shop then accepts that.

It is like going to Tesco, something is priced up at £15, but due to a mistake somewhere, they (within reason) have to sell it at the ticket price. The 'within reason' bit is for extreme examples e.g a Ferrari for £150 rather than £150,000 etc.

But Tesco can refuse to sell at the wrong price. I don't know if this is the case here.

I think it is safe to assume that the difference they are after is hundreds or they wouldn't bother with the possibility of alienating a customer.

I'd certainly not roll over immediately. If they are offering to split the difference then that is a good position for 'them'. Even if you are willing to go to this extent to get your car I would push for some for of compensation such as free servicing which is of benefit to you but not too painful for the dealer.

If it was me i`d say go and f*** yourself, but diplomacy has never been my strong point, I cant believe the cheeky bar steward has the nerve to even ask you for more money, its his mistake and the deal has been agreed end of story.

IIRC you could get all your money back plus interest at an agreed rate or the car at the delivered price

A price in a shop is an offer to treat, you then go in and offer to buy, the shop then accepts that.

To be totally pedantic, it's actually an invitation to treat if my little knowledge of contract law serves me correctly

I think though that once they have accepted the balance in full they might be too late in seeking to alter the terms

I know of someone who ended up with 8K PX for a 3K car because the dealer made an error, dealer honoured it & I believe the salesman no longer works there. I believe you are in the right so only have to pay the agreed amount but Citizens advice might be worth a call

On another point. You paid the balance in full for a car you dont have !!!! If the dealer goes bust your stuffed !!

It's too late for dealer to try to change the terms and conditions of the contract between you. As soon as the contract was signed then the price is fixed unless somewhere in the small print says he can change the price upto the point of delivery. I very much doubt if this is in the small print as it would make a mockery of the contract . Your position is further strengthened by the fact that he accepted your payment in full for the car.

Be nice to him but stick to your guns.

Edited 8 February, 201016 yr by vwcabriolet1971

You will have completed a form RMI12 (Retail Motor Industry Federation Ltd) New/Used Vehicle Order Form when you purchased the car. At the base of this form details of the part exchange are noted. You will have signed to state that the details are correct, if they are not you have made a false statement. If this part of the form was not signed by you then the original deal stands.

Just to update this, had a call from the dealer today. Sounded rather apologetic about everything but was sticking to his story about the misunderstanding between him and his colleague about the mileage, tells me the shortfall is £1300, however he will cover £800, but would like me to cough up an extra £500 to conclude the matter, asked me to think about it and let me know if I still want to proceed with the purchase! He made it sound as though if I dont pay up, then no car, without actually stating that as fact. Judging by most of the comments, it seems a bit cheeky to me. Told him I will think about and get back to him.

For those of you wondering why I had paid in full, its quite simple, paid via credit card, collected my cashback/points, without incurring any credit card surcharges from the dealer. If you pay the balance upon collection after say leaving a £100 deposit, they hit you for C/C surcharge of around 4%. By paying in full via C/C at the deposit stage, you avoid the surcharges. Again, paying via C/C I am covered under the consumer credit act if the dealer was to go bust, or if their are any problems as the C/C company is jointly liable. its only a month away from collecting, and the car is already at the dealers, was a just delivered standard spec elegance.

The other reason is the deal sounded too good to be true......................... - for those of you interested in what the deal was PM me and I shall let you know.

By paying in full, I was under the impression that the deal was done and dusted.............anyway thats always been the case in my previous car purchases. I am not a newbie when it comes to buying new, this will be my 10th new car since 2001, and my 9th Octavia, and this will be the 3rd from the same dealer, and I always strive for the best deal I can get, so I usually nail the dealer for all the extras I can get like mats, tankful diesel, mudflaps, sill protectors, autoglym etc all thrown in for nowt.

All the paper work was in order and correct including the stated mileage and all the extras included, the part ex price and balance to pay. both parties signed the paperwork.

If the paperwork has been completed quoting the correct mileage, it's clearly their problem that there's been a potential breakdown in communication between the salesman and his 'superior'. You've now paid in full, they've accepted your money on the face of it as full consideration - they are now trying to say they've made a 'mistake'.

If they'd been misled in any shape or form they might have a case, but the fact the paperwork shows the correct mileage deprives them of trying that one.

I'd be tempted to get them to honour the deal. It might not be possible for you to claim anything more than a full refund, as you haven't suffered any financial loss, unless the delay is such that there has been a price rise, or the like.

I'm surprised that if it is a genuine mistake they are prepared to put in £800 to be honest - I think that is an indication that they realise they've got a problem.

Let us know how you get on

Edited 8 February, 201016 yr by Brimma

The general rule is that “A seller who, as a result of some miscalculation, offers goods at a price lower than that which he would have asked but for the mistake cannot, after the offer has been accepted generally rely on the mistake to make the contract void” (Trietel's Law of Contract). This would appear to be the case here where the OP was genuinely unaware of the dealer's mistake.