Thread: Bought car and paid deposit only to be told it's already sold!

Looking for some advice.

Bought a car off a Honda main dealer on Monday, both them and I signed their used car purchase order, and I paid a deposit. Got a call the next day to advise that there had been an error internally and that they had already previously taken a deposit on it from another customer but had forgotten to remove it from the system.

Whilst I believe it's a genuine error I have what I believe to be a legally binding contract for them to supply the car which includes model colour and Reg number.


I've given them 4 options;

1. Supply the original car in line with the contract (which clearly they can't do)
2. Supply me with an alternative car of the same model, trim, colour and approx mileage.
3. Agree to me finding an alternative as above but they must pay any excess between the price of that and the price I agreed with them.
4. Propose an alternative of similar spec, mileage etc. Not really what I want as we were pretty fixed on the colour.

Think they've tried to source alternatives but there are very few in country and they claim that it will cost them a fair amount to source and transport to them.

Question is legally can I require them to go down the 2 or 3 route above. As far as I can see there is nothing in the agreement about them backing out of the deal and it makes it very clear that it's a legally binding contract.

I've tried to be reasonable to date but other than suggest another of their vehicles in a colour I dislike (albeit at a discount) I don't feel they are really thinking about how they close this off and I'm starting to lose patience.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Ian

I think you have to be reasonable here and not get on any high horse. Stress etc.
Suggest you wait and see what they offer you, to be as close or better spec'd vehicle to the one you wanted. If they have to bring it in from another branch or dealer so be it, at their cost.

One of the aspects of a contract is consensus in idem, essentially a meeting of minds. Since your contract is with the company, and not the salesman, the company did not in fact have the car to sell you and therefore there could have been no meeting of minds.

You paid a deposit that entitled you to change your mind before the actual purchase. If you had done this you may well have lost most, if not all, of it. In this instance the other party to the contract has had a change of circumstance and they then are obliged to return this deposit to you in full.

As long as they do this then that would be the extent of their obligations to you. I doubt you have a legal argument to force any other remedy. However, their goodwill might mean that they offer you redress.