Advice Please.
At the weekend I agreed to buy a car from an independent dealer. I paid a deposit using my debit card but now I am having some second thoughts. If I pull out of the deal can I get my deposit back. My reason: After putting 2 and 2 together I am suspicious that the car may have been in an accident. The dealer said not to his knowledge but I am not so sure. Some things point to it having been in an accident. The value of the car is £5k.
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If I pull out of the deal can I get my deposit back.
Very unlikely. You've entered into a contact which you have now broken. Best to read the small print though in case there are any get out clauses.
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Be extremely careful.
Not only can the dealer keep your deposit, they can also pursue you for all "losses" incurred. This includes things that are not obvious - like the difference between what you agreed to buy the car for and what the car is eventually sold for if you don't buy it.
The costs could also include any repairs or other work you asked for in agreeing the price.
I had expensive experience of this last year, recorded here:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=55...2
My advice - be nice to the dealer - explain the situation and hope he's not the unmentionable type.
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Many cars that are not new, may have had minor accident damage repairs. But if you can see the repairs, it might not have been done that well.
Either lose the deposit or haggle the dealer to get the areas causing you concern repaired if not up to standard before you part with any cash. The other option is to buy an alternative car from the dealer. Most times I have bought a car, around 5% is normally acceptable as a deposit.
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Thanks all for the above. The "damage" is only misalignment of the tailgate which the dealer said he would "attempt" to fix. The car has FSH, 3 month parts and labour warranty and is ex-motability. I am also paying about 10% less than the recommended value for it and the rest of the car seems clean. The dealer says it is HPI checked but I havent seen the paperwork for that yet although I have seen the log book and the service record which were in order. Taking into account the above, maybe I will go thru with the deal and sell on if there are any problems.
Just one thought. If I spot evidence of a repair after a 2nd inspection and before I hand the balance over, can I renegotiate my deal? Also if the HPI paperwork cannot be produced.
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If I was you I'd get an HPI check done myself. You probably don't want the full one, so a cheapie five quid one will say if it's been written off.
Don't forget, if it has been in an accident, big or small and the insurance or owner repaired it, this won't appear on any HPI check.
Edited by martint123 on 21/01/2008 at 12:45
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If it's ex-motability, there will probably be documentation. If the dealer says that it's accident-free, and something surfaces that indicates that it has been in a crash, and that that ought reasonably to have been picked up by the dealer, then you have leverage.
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A small amount of Tailgate misalignment is possible even on new cars, but if it is a repair look for signs of respraying.
If it is serious then it will be difficult to lock, will rust and may leak.
If that is the only suspect area may not be that bad, as it should not effect handling/tyre wear IF that was the only damage.
Unless the repair was a major structural one where you suspect it may not pass an MOT - doubt if you can renegotiate. But minor repair damage on a car several years old if done well will not make much difference to price. IF dealer has agreed to fix it see if you can make that a condition of sale, you may still lose deposit, but you could get a reasonable car if this is only damage.
My Mondeo has the rear tailgate glass bonded 1mm too far to left, but barely noticeable and was like this when new.
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