Audi Q7 - Dealer changing agreed trade-in valuation

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Sat 21 Aug 2010 10:02
Audi Q7 - Dealer changing agreed trade-in valuation - cannyscot2000

I've paid a deposit and signed for an order for a new 49K BMW on the basis of a very generous trade-in valuation of my 18 month old option loaded Q7. The paperwork has been signed by me and the dealer sales manager but I have a suspicion in the back of my mind that they may have made a mistake valuing my car. Perhaps by 8 or 9K.

I was at the dealership for over 2 hours so things weren't rushed. The Salesman and the Sales Manager were both involved so they should know what they are doing but I wondered what my rights were to insist on the deal going ahead.

Part of the sales pitch was that my trade-in was guaranteed and that they would stand by it irrespective to what happens in the car market for the 8 weeks it takes for my new car to arrive.

I asked Honest John who I greatly respect and he very kindly responded to say that the dealer can cancel the contract on the basis of the contract being 'unfair'. This makes me think further. According the the Consumer Direct website ...

Terms in consumer contracts that set the price or define the product or service being supplied are 'core terms' of the contract and are exempt from the test of fairness as long as they meet the plain language requirement.

So is it really so easy for the dealer to just say sorry mate we made a mistake off you go? What if it were the other way around and I accepted 8K less than I should have?

I do want the car and may negotiate 50:50 but thought it would be good to have the thoughts of others.

Anyone had this happen to them?

Any legal eagles?

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Sat 21 Aug 2010 10:07
Audi Q7 - Dealer changing agreed trade-in valuation - tazmania4580
if its on paper isnt it a form of contract and legaly binding
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Sat 21 Aug 2010 12:32
Audi Q7 - Dealer changing agreed trade-in valuation - Avant

Terms of a contract for the sale and purchase of goods don't have to be in writing, but what is written provides evidence of the terms. It'll certainly be helpful to you if the guarantee of the trade-in value is in writing: although I don't think the dealer will risk their reputation by backing out claiming a mistake, they could wriggle by saying that your Audi has dropped in value over the delivery period for your BMW. Is there any small print on this?

It's quite likely that as most people spend a lot less than £49k on a BMW, they were being generous to you to make sure of a sale that doesn't happen every day: in which case you've nothing to worry about. For the moment, KEEP QUIET!

I'm sure our legal expert Lucy will see this next week and give you a definite answer.

(I deleted your duplicate post, by the way.)

Edited by Avant on 21/08/2010 at 12:32

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Mon 23 Aug 2010 11:43
Audi Q7 - Dealer changing agreed trade-in valuation - LucyBC

The area of law is known as "invitation to treat".

If, (say) someone puts the wrong headline figure on a television set and runs an advertisement then they cannot be held liable to meet the price as there is no binding contract - just an "invitation to treat".

In your case it looks like there is a contract with prices agreed by both parties. In that case I would expect the dealer to meet the purchase price and terms they agreed with you but I would need to see the paperwork to be certain.

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Mon 23 Aug 2010 18:28
Audi Q7 - Dealer changing agreed trade-in valuation - stevek

It simply comes down to what you have signed including all the small print. Mistakes can make contracts void especially if its a big mistake.

Generally not worth going to court over.

Seems like the dealer is just not playing "fair".

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Mon 23 Aug 2010 20:47
Audi Q7 - Dealer changing agreed trade-in valuation - cannyscot2000

Thank you for all the helpful responses. I'll let you know how the situation develops but so far so good. I have two months before my new car arrives and the handover takes place.

As to the small print it says the contract is legally binding and I have to pay dealer's costs etc if I fail to complete. If dealer fails they follow contract they have 14 days to try and resolve the situation but there is no obligation on them to meet my costs.

The contract says it does not take away my other legal rights.

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Tue 24 Aug 2010 00:13
Audi Q7 - Dealer changing agreed trade-in valuation - bonzo dog

Sorry but I may be mis-understanding you. You appear to be saying that the dealer has NOT tried to back out of the "deal" but you think he may do; is that correct?

Assuming that the wording of the contract does not give either party an opt-out then the dealer would have to stick by the "deal" unless there were delays caused outside of his control. For example if the car could not be supplied for say 12 months then it would not be reasonable to expect him to stand by the PX figure.

Good luck

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