Used car dealer asking for more money a week later

[nodge69]

I'm looking for some advice or opinion about a situation I find myself in. I needed a second car, decided on a model and starting looking around for the spec that I wanted. I saw quite a few in the £10,500 to 12,000 range and contacted a dealer about arranging a viewing. I paid a deposit and was booked in to view the car the following Saturday. The Autotrader advert was taken down as soon as I paid my deposit.

On the Saturday I viewed and test drove the car and was very happy with it. I said I would like to purchase it and he said it required a service and MoT and I could either take it away and bring it back the following week or leave it and collect it in a week after the service. In the end he offered a third option that they would deliver the car to my house the following week which was convenient for me. He said we would sort out the payment etc during the week.

On the following Monday the dealer called me to confirm the price of the car and the balance to pay after the deposit. He followed this up by sending me an invoice via email along with the bank details. I paid this immediately. During the week the car was registered to me and was delivered to my house the following Friday. Great!

Now moving on one week and I get an email from the dealer stating that I hadn't paid enough for the car and quoting an advertised price which is £950 more than I paid. The truth here is that I had looked at lots of cars within this price range and I had not seen the advertised price since the Autotrader advertisment was taken down. It has been a very busy and stressful time for me and I needed a car quickly and I genuinly and faithfully accepted his invoice as the correct price.

The dealers' email is quite abrupt and appears to suggest I have underpaid them with no apology on their part. I have emailed them back asking if they made a mistake on the invoice and how this can happen but I haven't had a reply yet. I'm an honest person who would like to make things good if a genuine mistake has been made but if they get nasty I am wondering where I stand legally?

Sorry that went on a bit. Thanks anybody who made it to the end!

[Jordie Barretts sock]

I think I'd be strongly resisting paying any more. They agreed a price, sent an invoice, you paid it.

I think they've made a mistake and hope you'll roll over and pay.

[dontlookdown]

If you have the car, and an invoice for it from the dealer to prove you've paid for it, then it is yours. That's my understanding anyway.

IANAL but they don't have a leg to stand on as far as I can see.

Sounds like they also didn't look very hard at their own advert and have now realised their mistake. But that's not your problem.

[Sporky]

I am not a lawyer, but as far as I can see:

You agreed a price
They sent an invoice
You paid
They accepted the payment
They signed the car over to you
They delivered the car

I can't see how they can now demand more money with any expectation of success.

[hmg]

Your an honest person…you’ve done nothing wrong..

The car is bought paid and paid for..is on your drive and registered in your name(need to check this has been done online)

You have an invoice for the deposit and subsequent payment in full..?

Ignore. The dealers behaviour is quite bizarre.

Keep us posted on the response though..

[Nick Forest]

Based on what you’ve stated I think the 6 essential elements of any contract have been met namely Offer, Acceptance, Awareness, Consideration, Capacity and Legality.

If the dealer has made a mistake that’s on him and something for him to address in his own business not with you.

[vikingaero]

nodge69 said:

On the following Monday the dealer called me to confirm the price of the car and the balance to pay after the deposit. He followed this up by sending me an invoice via email along with the bank details. I paid this immediately.

So the dealer confirmed the price of the car, balance and invoice?

I would maybe argue that you overpaid them by £1,000 and see what they say.

[resolve10]

CheesecakeRunner said:

As that reads to me like you knew the invoice price was less, but you paid it anyway.

Would that change anything? I certainly wouldn't query it if the invoice was lower than the Autotrader price. I'd assume the dealer had dropped the screen price and not got round to updating AT.

[rotaryjam]

Sounds to me like someone sold you the car cheaper to get rid then their boss has realised what they've done and tried to recoup the cost?

[Master Of Puppets]

I would promptly offer the dealer a hook and recommend he slings it.

[Sporky]

CheesecakeRunner said:

Was the price on the invoice the price you agreed when you viewed the car and left the deposit on the Saturday, and in the telephone call on the Monday?

Or was the invoice less, and you “didn’t notice” because…

nodge69 said:

It has been a very busy and stressful time for me and I needed a car quickly and I genuinly and faithfully accepted his invoice as the correct price.

As that reads to me like you knew the invoice price was less, but you paid it anyway.

That's a decent point. If the invoice value was lower than the agreed price then there's at least a moral difference.

[nodge69]

Thank you everybody for all the replies. Where somebody has asked a question I will reply to your post. It might sound a bit over the top but I had a sleepless night over this and I don't need the stress. Stupid brain!

I haven't had a reply from them yet but it is still early. I'll come back with an update though. Thanks again!

[halo34]

Phone them and ask for the money back and re-start the process IMHO.

Imagine what they are going to be like to deal with if you have any issues after purchase?

[nodge69]

CheesecakeRunner said:

Was the price on the invoice the price you agreed when you viewed the car and left the deposit on the Saturday, and in the telephone call on the Monday?

Or was the invoice less, and you “didn’t notice” because…

nodge69 said:

It has been a very busy and stressful time for me and I needed a car quickly and I genuinly and faithfully accepted his invoice as the correct price.

As that reads to me like you knew the invoice price was less, but you paid it anyway.

The timeline isn't quite right here. I'll clarify:

Wednesday
Saw the car on Autotrader. Contacted the dealer and arranged to view it on Saturday. Paid a deposit via credit card over the phone. The price may have been mentioned, but probably not as it was in black and white on the advert. The advert was removed shortly after the deposit was paid though.

Saturday
Visited the dealer, drove the car and decided to buy it. I anticipated paying for the car while there but he suggested that they deliver it and we would sort out the payment during the week. To be honest I think he was very busy as he kept moving between different people and we were left waiting for a while after the test drive. I don't recall the price being discussed while we were there.

Monday
The dealer called me and quoted the price which I agreed. He then sent the invoice via email and I paid it immediately. He then contacted me again to say he had registered the car and to apply for the road tax.

Friday
The car was delivered.

It being a stressful time didn't help but I think the main reason I didn't recall the price was that I looked at lots of similar cars in the same price range, some around the price I have paid. I also had no reference to the price as the advert was taken down. The car didn't have a price in the window. The price was not mentioned in any email exchange apart from the invoice. I don't think it was even mentioned while at the dealers. And my memory is rubbish! I still don't even know if what they have quoted is the correct price as I have no record of the advert!

[nodge69]

CheesecakeRunner said:

resolve10 said:

CheesecakeRunner said:

As that reads to me like you knew the invoice price was less, but you paid it anyway.

Would that change anything? I certainly wouldn't query it if the invoice was lower than the Autotrader price. I'd assume the dealer had dropped the screen price and not got round to updating AT.

It reads like the invoice was lower than the price they agreed, not the Autotrader price.

If that happened to me, I’d have rung the dealer and queried the invoice. Not just paid it and hoped nobody would notice.

That's a fair point and if I had only looked at one car I may have noticed. But I genuinly assumed that was the price. Very busy and stressful time, I loved the car and I needed a car quickly. It was a price I was happy with, so I paid it in good faith.

[66HFM]

Monday
The dealer called me and quoted the price which I agreed. He then sent the invoice via email and I paid it immediately. He then contacted me again to say he had registered the car and to apply for the road tax.

Was the invoice for the same price that he quoted on the phone? If so, that is your contractual agreed price!
Does the invoice make mention of the credit card deposit that was paid and presumably deducted from the total sum?

[Uncle Meat]

How much was the deposit and how much is the 'discrepancy'?

[nodge69]

66HFM said:

Monday
The dealer called me and quoted the price which I agreed. He then sent the invoice via email and I paid it immediately. He then contacted me again to say he had registered the car and to apply for the road tax.

Was the invoice for the same price that he quoted on the phone? If so, that is your contractual agreed price!
Does the invoice make mention of the credit card deposit that was paid and presumably deducted from the total sum?

It was indeed. On the phone and on the invoice the price of the car, the deposit which was paid and the final balance were all quoted and matched.

[nodge69]

Uncle Meat said:

How much was the deposit and how much is the 'discrepancy'?

The deposit was £250 and the discrepency is £950.

[dell44]

Put the reg into Totalcarcheck. This usually lists Autotrader historic listing prices. It should allow you to see who is in the wrong, but as you have the car & the invoice you don't need to enter any further discussion with the dealer.