View Full Version : Dodgy car salesman?
My wife saw a car she wanted to buy so I agreed to let her part exchange mine so she could get her car as I didn't really use it as I ride my bike to work. My car had a couple of faults the air bag light was on and the engine control light was on but as I had been to the garage to get the ecl looked at ,told that it needed a new cat so replaced the cat but didn't get the light switched off , the car dealer said that my wife would have to sign a disclaimer saying that she would cover the cost. After much deliberating and the verbal agreement with the car dealer that he contact us if it was going to cost a fortune before going ahead with any repairs, as he was giving us next to sod all for the car(1500 and he later sold the car for 3500) and the agreement that we could find the 1500 and have the car back rather than pay for expensive repairs(considering we were offered 2000 by a friend of the wifes the day we were exchanging cars) my wife signed. That was 2 weeks shy of 6 months ago and guess what landed through the post today. Yep a bill for 423.92. the actual bill was for 847.85 but the car dealer explained in a letter that as a customer of theirs they would pay halve the bill. They said that the cat that I had fitted had run out of warranty but they got a new one this July, we part exed the car in february and the cat was still under warranty then. Also the car has done 1100 miles since it was part exed. Just wondering if anyone on the org knows whether the garage is trying it on or whether we are liable after such a long period and a verbal agreement that seems to mean nothing to the car salesman and also whether I should phone the warranty company that the dealer uses and check whether these faults have been claimed for or not.:mad:
stuff...
Personally, I'd be tempted just to tell him to stick it.
(It may well be worth getting legal advice however)
Personally i'd tell him to do a lot more than that but the wifes already phoned him up the verbal agreement seems to be worthless. To add insult to injury the airbag warning light has come on in the new car this morning so my wife suggested it be taken to the subaru dealers and they can foot the bill.
fizzwheel
01-08-08, 07:53 PM
So did you actually sign anything to say you'd foot the bill for it ? Also 6 months seems along time to wait before sending you the bill and also the cars done 1100 miles since you had it during which time the Cat could have failed and it wasnt in your ownership when it did so.
Personally I cant see how you are liable for the repairs. But as Dan said go and get legal advice and then put something in writing to that effect.
Legal advice ain't cheap. OK I have some inside knowledge on these things... but if I were you I'd tell the garage to foxtrot oscar and see if they sue you. If they do, you have huge scope for a defence, and the amounts involved sound a bit flaky too. Having said that, I don't understand what verbal agreement you reached. Make a DETAILED note of your phone convo today, cos they appear to have accepted that there WAS a verbal agreement. Whether it's worthless is for the judge to decide, not them.
If they do sue you, it's small claims so even if they win they won't get any lawyer costs back (neither will you if you win), they'd get back the issue fee and their witness expenses only.
Worth fighting, I'd say.
The wife signed yes but they agreed they wouldn't do anything that costed lots till they had spoken to us and that we could definately come and take the car back if we gave them the money for the deposit instead.he said it'll be done in a couple of weeks at the most. He had the car up on his website the following day for 2000 more than he give us for it(250 quid less than I paid for it 3 years ago).
Legal advice ain't cheap. OK I have some inside knowledge on these things... but if I were you I'd tell the garage to foxtrot oscar and see if they sue you. If they do, you have huge scope for a defence, and the amounts involved sound a bit flaky too. Having said that, I don't understand what verbal agreement you reached. Make a DETAILED note of your phone convo today, cos they appear to have accepted that there WAS a verbal agreement. Whether it's worthless is for the judge to decide, not them.
If they do sue you, it's small claims so even if they win they won't get any lawyer costs back (neither will you if you win), they'd get back the issue fee and their witness expenses only.
Worth fighting, I'd say.
The salesman answered the phone to my wife earlier but quickly tried passing her on to his boss even though my wife told him she wanted to speak to him he just gave the phone to someone else which suggests a sign of guilt on his behalf.
err you sold the car to a dealer.
he fixed it and sent you the bill.
there is a law saying sold as seen
and
there is a law saying
buyer be aware.
they cannot get you to foot any repaire bill after you have sold the car to them..
or have i got all wrong.
err you sold the car to a dealer.
he fixed it and sent you the bill.
there is a law saying sold as seen
and
there is a law saying
buyer be aware.
they cannot get you to foot any repaire bill after you have sold the car to them..
or have i got all wrong.
Don't know all boils down to the bit of paper that was signed. Anyone think it would be out of order to check with the warranty company that he sold the car with if he's made a claim for the repairs or am I within my rights to check?
Paul the 6th
01-08-08, 08:23 PM
i'd get onto your local trading standards office and see what they say since this all sounds very dodgy on the part of the garage. Once they've given you solid advice on whether the guy at the garage is breaking any rules, give him a call and tell him what trading standards have advised you - he *should* shat his pants but hey ho...
also, did you take your new car on any finance or with a warranty etc? Could be worth getting onto the Financial services authority and make a complaint that he might have miss sold you a policy or warranty & is generally a twunt...
redshift
01-08-08, 08:27 PM
i'd get onto your local trading standards office and see what they say since this all sounds very dodgy on the part of the garage.
+1
Always get proper advice from someone in the know rather than someone off the internet (he said, giving advice over the internet D'Oh!). Trading standards are in the phone book and will give you free advice, also ring or pop into your local Citizens Advice Bureau , again in the phone book and again free advice from someone who knows the law.
Sounds to me like he's trying it on, but the exact wording of the contract that you and/or the missus signed is the crucial thing. Good luck, and don't give up!
go to your local citizen advice beru or you car insurence or break down service ie aa, should have a legal team that you could pick their brains about this.
tbo
i'd go to citizen advice cos they are free...
doh
same as advise from redshift above..........
i'd get onto your local trading standards office and see what they say since this all sounds very dodgy on the part of the garage. Once they've given you solid advice on whether the guy at the garage is breaking any rules, give him a call and tell him what trading standards have advised you - he *should* shat his pants but hey ho...
also, did you take your new car on any finance or with a warranty etc? Could be worth getting onto the Financial services authority and make a complaint that he might have miss sold you a policy or warranty & is generally a twunt...
Yeah the missus bought the car on finance and it came with 6month warranty. Phoned trading standards but they said it's a tricky one because they've got a signature and we've just got verbal agreement but he said to write them a letter stating the sale of goods act 1979 and also to mention whether the company opperates on a basis of deception and see what happens. Still what was that that someone said about trusting used car dealers (no offence to any honest car dealers out there)
Paul the 6th
02-08-08, 01:49 AM
aye, plenty of tossers out there...
quoting sale of goods act and the dates on which you spoke to trading standards will make you sound like you know what you're doing (which you do anyway) and should put the frighteners on - also, could be worth contacting bbc watchdog or itv "car dealers from hell" bunch to see if they can help put them under. sounds like bad business to me - not a good way to run things.
It would be worth finding out from the warranty company.
I'd write to the garage and say that the oral agreement is binding on them, that they have broken it, and that you aren't going to pay. See what happens. They clearly accept that there was an oral agreement. So use that to your advantage.
on yer bike
02-08-08, 10:34 AM
go to your local citizen advice beru
I agree with this as they can be very good with free legal advice. They helped me get back over £500 from my employer that they had stolen... they just helped me write a letter and told me what to say if they phoned
Thanks for all your advice, just a bit worried that if we try and dispute this that we're going to be hit with a bill for the whole lot and not just half the bill. Also phoned the exhaust centre where we got the cat replaced to find out exactly when it was fitted as we gave the invoice to the garage when we swapped cars but they can't find it on their computer, funnily enough the garage we got the car from use them for tyres,wonder if anything sinnister is going on there! Also just emailed What Cars help desk to see what they reckon and been trawling through sale of goods acts ,unfair contract terms etc. on the computer but it's going to be difficult proving what they have verbally agreed to. Also been looking on the Remit website but that seems to be more geared up for helping the trade screw the consumer.
Personally, I'd just ignore it. As tonyk says, "sold as seen". Once a dealer has bought your car, there can be no comeback at all to you.
mike_avfc
02-08-08, 05:20 PM
get a mate to call them telling them they're a researcher for the BBC and would like a statement for a programme "car dealers from hell".
Shoud scare them enough not to worry about 400 quid.
get a mate to call them telling them they're a researcher for the BBC and would like a statement for a programme "car dealers from hell".
Shoud scare them enough not to worry about 400 quid.
Aye nice idea but that would mean sinking to the dishonest level of the car dealer.
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