>>.. I ordered the car in late September..>> That's not the impression you gave by stating you had inspected the car over the weekend.
Sorry, I can see now how that could have been misinterpreted, I guess what I meant to say was that I did my own "Pre-Delivery inspection" over the weekend, on a car I'd ordered.
Does that make more sense now?
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The car has to be registered in your name prior to your collection - otherwise you would have to sit and wait at the dealership whilst this was done. I don't see what the problem is - unless you are looking for excuses to back out of the deal. What sort of defects needed rectifying? and was your PDI done before the dealer had a chance to do his?
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boxsterboy
Thanks for your reply:
The car has to be registered in your name prior to your collection - otherwise you would have to sit and wait at the dealership whilst this was done.
I would have had to do this at the weekend anyway (he registered it on Monday), but I see your point.
don't see what the problem is - unless you are looking for excuses to back out of the deal.
No but it's actually incredibly inconvenient to pick up the car this weekend, I was expecting to drive away last weekend (I can't get to the dealer in the week and would be unwilling anyway to inspect the car in the dark). I'm worried the deal is going to fall through and I shall need to reorder to use the scrappage scheme :-( My gut feeling tells me something is wrong, I guess I would really appreciate a sounding board to ensure that dealer is doing everything correctly for me.
What sort of defects needed rectifying?
- He is replaced one of the door handles that is damaged.
- He had to get a bodyshop to attend to some swirling where the dealer had fixed a stripe (apologies to those who think a stripe is naff!)
- He had to get a bodyshop to attend to a scratch on the door which he now says "there's not a lot we can do about it, it's been mopped, we've brought it down and touched it in. You can't see it to the naked eye"
and was your PDI done before the dealer had a chance to do his?
No I did it after his, it had 8 miles on the clock which is consistent with the FIAT PDI test drive which should be 8 miles)
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.. I was expecting to drive away last weekend
>>
Well surely that's why it's been registered then? The dealer would have been expecting you to drive off in the car so it's quite normal for the car to have been registered, plated fitted etc, and be ready to go when you arrive.
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A pre-delivery inspection and test drive of a new car seems a bit unusual to me. These days means it's unusual to find any significant faults at hand over. You could certainly call me picky, but I can't remember any delivery faults on new cars I've bought in recent years. Thirty years ago it was pretty much accepted that there would be a list of snags to be corrected at the first (usually 1000 mile) service, but that's pretty much in the past.
What was wrong with your Fiat? I imagine your dealer will want to see you happily on your way with your new car asap.
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A pre-delivery inspection and test drive of a new car seems a bit unusual to me.
All the articles I read about buying a new car suggested I do this
These days means it's unusual to find any significant faults at hand over.
There were about 15 scratches to the bodywork which the fixed on the spot plus the damage listed in the previous post
You could certainly call me picky but I can't remember any delivery faults on new cars I've bought in recent years.
That's what I had been hoping for last weekend :-(
What was wrong with your Fiat?
See previous post
>>I imagine your dealer will want to see you happily on your way with your new car asap.
You'd think so but he wasn't even prepared to say sorry at the weekend after me being at the dealership for 2.5 hours and leaving without the car.
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Never had a problem when we have picked up new cars and I always take half an hour to go over it before driving off, but I don't drive them.
It has to be registered before you turn up. Without registration it can't have a reg plate and can't be taxed, so you can't drive it away.
Edited by daveyjp on 02/12/2009 at 22:06
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A pre-delivery inspection and test drive of a new car seems a bit unusual to me.
Its an excellent idea. I wouldn't hand over money for a new car without a thorough inspection - I've seen what goes on behind the scenes. Youd be surprised how many cars have remedial work done before they are even registered.
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I appreciate all the posts/advice but just to clarify:
So was the dealer right to register the car despite not knowing whether I would be able to collect it with 14 days?
Do you think he has actually registered it?
Is the amount of remedial work done acceptable?
Should I be paying full price for the vehicle if there is bodywork damage which the dealer says and I quote "there's no a lot we can do about it... you can't see it to the naked eye"?
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Dealers do generally register vehicles as soon as they appear as a buyer is waiting - it's how it works.
If it has a reg plate it's registered - check on line.
Not seen the car so can't comment.
As regards the dealer atitude - forget about the past and the faults - what do you want the outcome to be? The dealer isn't a mindreader and will try and get away with as little as possible.
The end you want can range from signing and driving off in the car to pulling out of the deal and any combination of things in between. You need to make the dealer an offer of what you expect in compensation and then say nothing and let him decide what to do.
Edited by daveyjp on 02/12/2009 at 22:20
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If the body and a handle are damaged, how did this come about? Trip off road? I'd count myself lucky that they were incompetent/blase enough to try to pass it off as new.
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If the body and a handle are damaged how did this come about? Trip off road? I'd count myself lucky that they were incompetent/blase enough to try to pass it off as new.
This is why I am worrying about the integrity of the dealer, I would feel really gutted if I found out something was wrong after taking delivery.
I guess that's why I'm hesitant about collection, and worried that I shall end up paying full price for a car that's not in mint condition
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I always check over new cars very carefully, and always insist on doing so before the deal is completed, but have never taken one for test drive.
I suppose it's inevitable that cars pick up minor damage in transit from the factory, despite the covers and bits of foam that are usually applied to them. And it's self-evident that any such damage will be repaired and the cars will be sold anyway. My last new car - a silver Mondeo Estate - passed my careful visual inspection but a couple of weeks later I realised that the o/s front wing had been resprayed. A tiny bit of overspray gave away an otherwise perfect repair. It was never a problem.
So the sticking point for the OP is a scratch on one of the doors. If the attempted touch up is not satisfactory, worst case is to ask for the panel to be resprayed. Done properly, this will be undetectable. With that agreed with the dealer and booked in, I think I would want to be driving away and start enjoying my new car. It's a real shame that the OP's enjoyment of taking delivery of a new car has been spoiled by this, but try to keep it in perspective. So agree action with dealer, pay for car, drive away, enjoy!
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I test drove my wifes Sirion before we bought it - so did she - the salesman drove it out of the showroom, stuck trade plates on it and a can of petrol went in the tank. He asked if we could keep it down to 5 miles total.
Nothing wrong at all with test driving a car you intend to buy - new doesnt mean faultless, if only!
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So the sticking point for the OP is a scratch on one of the doors.
Yes that's right, but also I am beginning to question the integrity of the dealer and feel uncomfortable about being pressured into a sale on his time scale. I feel I have been backed into a corner. I have no choice now if the car isn't 100% this weekend, the deal will fall through because the scrappage scheme will no longer be valid.
If the attempted touch up is not satisfactory worst case is to ask for the panel to be resprayed. Done properly this will be undetectable. With that agreed with the dealer and booked.
Agreed but it would mean an 2 x 1hr return trips to the dealer which is a pain in the pink fluffy dice for me for something that should have been right from the start.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 03/12/2009 at 00:56
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I think you might be worrying too much about not-a-lot. A scratch that's not visible to the naked eye sounds OK to me, but if it is still bothering you, ask for a panel respray. It's reasonable to expect your new car to be in mint condition, but you can't reasonably reject it due to a scratch. After all, cars are meant to be used and enjoyed in the real world. Your car is waiting for you to collect it and do just that.
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The mention of 15 scratches certainly gives concern.
A dealer can unregister a car, its a PITA but it can be done.
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15 scratches that were "fixed on the spot" - with a bit of polish? Hard to tell without seeing it. Doesn't sound too serious to me, although all of this should have been done before the customer arrived to collect it. Sounds like a bit more care by the dealer at the PDI stage would have resulted in a happy customer rather than a worried one. Maybe that's Fiat dealers for you (I've never owned a Fiat, and probably never will.....)
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Presumably last weekend the dealer expected you to take delivery as you had ordered that car in September. Hence the registration. Normal practice is to test drive, place your order and await delivery.
When delivered you arrange a handover day by which time you will have arranged insurance cover in order that the car can be taxed.
You discover damage on the car you have ordered. In which case that is between you and the dealer to come to some agreement. If not order another one and await delivery if you wish to reject the one you are not satisfied with. Of course there could be the numbers game being played here. Dealers, end of month targets and discounts. Monday was the last day in November.
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Its all about targets and bonuses. They get paid on registrations, not on 'sales' so he needed it registered by end of Nov to meet target and get back-end bonus. Some dealers register cars before they even arrive at the dealership to get the reg done before month end.
At the end of the day the car is not yours till its paid for. If you have doubts then keep your money in your pocket and tell him to unregister it and order another one. He wont be happy and might threaten action, but doubt will do anything since the car can be punted on to another customer and theyll still get a sale out of you.
Fiat still a bit of shambles in my opinion. They had a new head honcho a year or two back who was supposed to improve the UK operation, but its still a bit shonky and the Fiat franchisess seem to get taken on by outfits that get rejected for everything else.
Edited by WorkshopTech on 03/12/2009 at 09:44
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So to summarise, you bought a car, they registered it, pdi'd it and got it ready for you but when you went to collect it and upon checking it over (which was the correct thing to do), you noticed some issues.
Absolutely none of the above is out of the ordinary for any new car purchase.
The issue now is do you get things sorted to your satisfaction. The car is registered, when did the tax take effect from? If it was from beginning of Nov then you have lost a month there so would maybe ask for the equivalent from them. If you collect it next weekend as opposed to this weekend, the tax will still run out on the same month so no difference there.
So I am struggling to see where the issue is here and what the salesman is trying to say, or claim. But the ball is in your court so tell him when it suits you to collect. But you may also need to be aware of the possibility that you might not be happy with the work done when you collect it again?
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The issue now is do you get things sorted to your satisfaction. The car is registered when did the tax take effect from? If it was from beginning of Nov then you have lost a month there so would maybe ask for the equivalent from them.
Agreed but the tax is only £35 pa so I don't think argueing of £2 is going to help matters
So I am struggling to see where the issue is here
I have a gut feel that the damage is not going to be repaired satisfactorily, the dealer himself said "there's not a lot we can do about it"
>>and what the salesman is trying to say or claim.
He said "there's not a lot we can do about it, it's been mopped, we've brought it down and touched it in. You can't see it to the naked eye", which seems contradictory to me.
But the ball is in your court so tell him when it suits you to collect.
I will lose the scrapped deal if I do this
But you may also need to be aware of the possibility that you might not be happy with the work done when you collect it again?
I really want to be able to take delivery of the car asap but am unwilling to pay full price if the repairs are unsatifactory and the car does not look in mint condition. I had to save up really hard to afford it so I guess I feel it's reasonable to want it to be perfect.
I suppose I just want to know what I should and shouldn't expect from the dealer and how best to take delivery of the car without feeling cheated/ripped off in some way.
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It's reasonable to expect your new car to be in mint condition
Sure I agree
>>but you can't reasonably reject it due to a scratch.
Should I be expected to pay full price if the car has been damage and not repaired adequately, it was the dealer that said "there's not a lot we can do about it".
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If you buy a new car, it should be in NEW condition. I would ask for a gesture of goodwill from them for accepting a sub-standard product. Having to carry out bodywork repairs on a brand new car is unusual.
In 4 years of prepping new cars, I only saw one case of a car needing painting or scratch repair.
There is ALWAYS something they can do about it - it depends entirely on how much you stamp your feet.
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If you buy a new car it should be in NEW condition. I would ask for a gesture of goodwill from them for accepting a sub-standard product. Having to carry
I guess I can say that I will have to pay to get the work done myself, and hence he should give some sort concession
There is ALWAYS something they can do about it - it depends entirely on how much you stamp your feet.
I guess it wouldn't be difficult for him to throw in the accessories (about £200 cost to me) and say something like a set of floor mats. Does that sound reasonable?
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Well you can atleast try for floormats, but if you dont ask, you will never know.
If it is just scratches, it may be worth arranging for one of these more expensive than normal valeters to come and do a polish of the car and take own any minor marks or even a bodyshop with a top notch rep. That way you will feel better about the car - I wouldnt trust Bill and Ted round the back at your dealer to do am adequate job tbh - some people think machine polishing ( mopping ) is something that doesnt require any formal training but my goodness do some folk make a mess.
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One or two minor blemishes might be overlooked, but 15 scratches, plus damaged door handle? A cheek expecting something that might have been vandalised, or taken through a hedge, be accepted as "new". Have they a cogent explanation? I refused delivery of a new Jazz for SWMBO when I saw a lump of paint missing from the bumper on walkaround. They fixed it by fitting a new one in the correct finish. No deal until they did. Amazing what dealers can do when they have to......
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