Some of you may have seen my recent post about the deal I got at my local dealership. I paid $1,000 as a "non-refundable" deposit last week on a silverstone/black. At that time I said I want a car with only around 10 miles on it. They said they'd check with other dealers within the state and see what they could find. And I was told that if worse came to worse they would be receiving a new silverstone/black sometime in the future. They weren't sure exactly when it would be coming in... "could be as long as a month", they said. Well, I told them to put my name on that one, and if they found another at a different dealer in the meantime then I'd take that one. Fastforward to today - I get a call saying we goofed and we aren't expecting a silverstone afterall. They tell me that the charlotte dealer (about 80 miles from here) will be getting a new one by the end of May though. Then they say that they can either have someone drive the car down here for me, or for $250 they will truck it down here. First off, I want a brand new car... not one with close to 100 miles on it. And I'd rather not have some kid vtec-ing the whole trip here. So, option 1 is definitely out. Second of all, at no point before did they tell me it would actually cost more to truck it down here. Is the trucking fee even legit? I mean, isn't it their problem to get the car here. So, I hung up with him and said I'll call tomorrow and tell him what to do. If I walk away then I'm out $1k. Some of you may say who cares, but I'm 25, just out of grad school, and have been busting my butt to save the money for this car. For 30 grand I have the right to be anal. Before I signed anything I told him I wanted a low mileage car, so right then and there he should have said well if we get it from another dealership it'll either cost you another X amount of money to truck it or you'll get one with some miles on it.

I know some of you must have been in this situation before where your local dealer has had to trade with another dealer to get the car you want. What was involved with that? Did they charge you to truck it? Did they have someone drive it to your local dealer? I guess if worse comes to worse I could always pick the car up in charlotte myself, but that's an added headache I shouldn't have to deal with. It's 1.5 hours one way from here, I'll have to have someone ride up with me to drive my other car back, and it's just a big inconvience.

Do I have the right to be a little annoyed? I think so. I'm just wondering if I have a leg to stand on, and how exactly I should handle this. Sorry for the long post, but I'd appreciate any help. Thanks.

 

Get your $1k back and drive to the Charlotte dealer yourself. Deposits are refundable typically - you didn't sign anything, did you?

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by vjarnot
[B]Get your $1k back and drive to the Charlotte dealer yourself.

 

Well, they have to go down to that other dealership to drive it back. Go with them, and make them let you drive it back yourself. Your only other option would be to wait until your dealership gets one in, or finds a closer one. Even so, a dealer trade is a dealer trade. They have to get it to you somehow.

They may give you some BS about insurance reasons that you can't drive the car back. They let people do test drives ALL the time. Or you could have all the paperwork done up and sent to the remote dealership. Then complete the deal when you get to that dealership. The point is, there are ways to work this out.

 

In the contract, it should state the color combo, mileage and time frame that you requested. If they cannot fulfill their part, they should refund your deposit. If they give you a hard time, let them know that there are other dealers out there that would be happy to help you out.

 

jump on the bus and make a day out of it

 

Just because you signed something doesn't mean it's legal. I don't know what the laws are in your state, but a lot of states don't allow non-refundable deposits. You should check into what the laws are in your state, maybe the Better Business Bureau could help you out.

As for the contract, what did you get out of this? Is there a price specified as well as the terms you agreed to (low mileage, color)? If so, then the dealership is required to give you that car at that price and the deposit makes that contract legally enforceable. I'm not a lawyer; this is just basic contract law I'm remembering from a law class I took in college.

They're trying to take advantage of you, but if you act like you know your shit they may back down a bit. Find out what the laws are in your state so you're better prepared and you should be able to work something out.

 

D.J,

My S2k was driven from another dealerhip (around 70 miles away) by the salesman himself. I did not have a problem with it cause he was a decent guy. I'd just make sure they are sending someone who would not abuse the car and mention NO VTEC, or pay the extra to have the car flatbedded. I'm not sure they'd let you drive the car off of the other dealerships's lot cause there is paperwork/liability involved. Just make sure they PDI the car (e.g. get the spring spacers out, etc) at the other dealership if you let them drive the car from there. The way it normally works is dealerships swap cars. They'd send someone with another new car in exchange for the S2k.

You can only do as much as you can, it does not even take a mile for anyone to abuse the car if they wanted to. Think positive, you'd have 80 less miles to wait before Vtec. :-) I say, go for it.

As for your $1000, I'm sure you'd be able to get it back if you wanted to, talk to the manager if your salesperson cannot do it.

Best of luck!

 

Well, if you do have to trek up to Charlotte, atleast you'll take the first 100 miles off the break in.

 

I was gonna say the same thing. Instead of someone else driving it there for you, tell them YOU want to drive it back yourself. They can have somone in the car with you if they must. Don't let them tell you no, demand it.