New car delay

[24lemons]

My parents ordered a new Mini a couple of weeks ago. They were told it would be ready in 2 weeks or less. Their preferred delivery date states this on their order.

They set about selling their old car through Motorway which was collected today. They then had a call from Mini saying the new car would be delayed indefinitely and they could offer them other cars but they wouldn’t be available until April.

Where do they stand in this situation? Do they just have to suck it up or can they demand a courtesy car to use until the new one arrives for example?

[the-norseman]

I dont think they can demand anything, but they could ask nicely.

[24lemons]

Ok bad choice of words. They certainly aren’t the demanding type!

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

The motor trade has always been thus!

I'd certainly ask nicely if a loan car was available in the interim. No harm in asking.

[trickywoo]

If they don’t mind travelling hit the phone to every mini dealer and see what they’ve got.

Get every penny back from the dealer letting them down first.

[paradigital]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

The motor trade has always been thus!

I'd certainly ask nicely if a loan car was available in the interim. No harm in asking.

This seems sensible. When my S3 saloon was delayed by a month back in 2016 the dealer put me in a TTS whilst I waited, however it would have helped that my trade in was depreciating and they would have had to swallow that loss.

[the-norseman]

I sold one of my previous cars and had a loan car from a dealer for a month, the dealer principle was a personal friend though so that helped.

[Screenwash]

Alas the dealership will probably simply say that it’s your own fault for selling the old car on Motorway too quickly. Nothing to do with them.

Time for a refund and to go shopping somewhere else.

[TheDrownedApe]

2 weeks then nope?

I assume it was unassigned stock sat in a port and another dealer snapped it up just beforehand.

Unfortunate but unless they have something similar within the group I think there isn't much hope and move on.

[Panamax]

This sounds harsh, but smart people either trade-in or wait until the new car arrives before selling the old one.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Panamax said:

This sounds harsh, but smart people either trade-in or wait until the new car arrives before selling the old one.

You are right, it is harsh.

For many having two cars knocking about (if not swapped) is a worse case scenario.

[Ham_and_Jam]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

You are right, it is harsh.

For many having two cars knocking about (if not swapped) is a worse case scenario.

Whilst it’s harsh, it’s generally correct.

If you’re selling via Motorway / WBAC, then its just as simple to sell the day after you get your new car.

I’ve done this a couple of times.

[TarquinMX5]

They're probably stuck; the comment about 'preferred date' implies that there's little or no chance of your parents / garage having anything about time being of the essence in the contract, therefore, limited options re recompense for the delay.

If they decide to go elsewhere, dealer 'might' treat that as a contract breach; best option might be a quiet chat and see what the dealer is willing to do to assist, or refund any deposit.

[Phil.]

In the future it’s probably best to PX the old car with the dealer which is likely to deliver a similar value and protects the buyer in this situation as they keep the car until the new one is available.