Hi

I need to pull out of a car purchase. I've ordered a new car from a dealer and paid £1000 deposit. All I have signed is a listing of the car specs with prices. This is headed "New Vehicle Contract".

Where do I stand? Have I actually entered into a commitment to buy? Can I withdraw and recover my deposit? Will I lose my deposit? Will I lose more than the deposit?

Many thanks

Do you have a copy of T&Cs?

Does it say anything about a cooling off period?

Wino

There were no T&Cs on the document I signed - which is why I'm not convinced it's actually a contract at all.

Hi

 

I need to pull out of a car purchase. I've ordered a new car from a dealer and paid £1000 deposit. All I have signed is a listing of the car specs with prices. This is headed "New Vehicle Contract".

 

Where do I stand? Have I actually entered into a commitment to buy? Can I withdraw and recover my deposit? Will I lose my deposit? Will I lose more than the deposit?

 

Many thanks

On a 'new vehicle order' (which is how they were when I was in the trade) there indeed should be t & c's on the back. What you need to realise is that ordering a new car can be a complicated business. For example; some makes are 'made to order' which means your order will trigger a new car build at the factory, even if that car isn't the actual one you receive. This is done to save 'stock piling' cars. The other thing is the spec you have ordered. It may have non-standard factory fitted accesories for example. So all in all, the dealer could end up with a car which will be tricky to sell unless it is bog standard. If you signed the order and paid the deposit, then yes you can back out but I doubt whether you will get your deposit back unless you have a good reason to cancel.

Do you think it makes a difference if I was planning to acquire the car under a hire-purchase agreement?

Do you think it makes a difference if I was planning to acquire the car under a hire-purchase agreement?

That's a very good question. With HP agreements they don't usually have the ability to cancel unless you have to sign the paperwork away from the premises. My initial thoughts are that if you cancel now it is unlikely you'll be able to recover the deposit. Having said that, the contract should be completed via terms & conditions that you understand - if there are none of these then that's an important issue to take into consideration. I'm no expert in motor vehicle contracts (I studied contract law as part of my law degree, however)

Hi, as you haven't taken delivery of the vehicle, you won't have signed finance docs yet, hence this is irrelevant. Before I say any more, can I ask why you wish to cancel your order?

I'm note sure it is irrelevant. Reading the CCA, I believe that s27 allows me to withdraw before I sign the credit agreement and get my deposit back.

I don't want to buy as I've been made unemployed and don't want any additional financial commitments.

Inform the finance company and then the dealer that you are unemployed and the finance company will not grant the finance and the deal will be cancelled and a full refund given. I did this when I ended up in the same sitaution. My mistake was that I approached the dealer first and they wanted to with hold all of my deposit. I then approached the finance company who then cancelled the finance and the dealer had to give back all of my money.

Inform the finance company and then the dealer that you are unemployed and the finance company will not grant the finance and the deal will be cancelled and a full refund given. I did this when I ended up in the same sitaution. My mistake was that I approached the dealer first and they wanted to with hold all of my deposit. I then approached the finance company who then cancelled the finance and the dealer had to give back all of my money.

That sounds like brilliant advice.

Hi, the point I was trying to make was that unless you have signed finance documents, you do not have a contract with the finance company, only an acceptance that they will fund your purchase. Indeed, the finance company could even change their mind if you were proceeding right up until the point where they pay the dealer. CCA will only come into effect once you have an agreement in place.

Informing the finance company of your situation would certainly do the trick, as they would most likely change their decision to a decline. In your circumstances, if the dealership has dealt with you fairly so far, a letter to the sales manager and/or dealer principal would probably be common courtesy. The dealer may feel justified to retain some of your deposit, depending on whether or not the spec of your order can still be amended, and technically, they would probably be within their rights. However most are actually surprisingly reasonable when approached in the right way. Anyway, the finance company route will definitely do the trick, and there is no way you can lose more than your deposit.

Sorry to hear about your unemployment, by the way.

Hi

I've read s57 of the CCA 1974 again, and it seems pretty clear that I can withdraw before the agreement is signed and that I can get a refund of all "linked transactions" and "any other thing done in anticipation of the making of the agreement ".

However, I'm hopeful of finding work soon so I haven't done anything yet.

Thanks to all who have helped.

Abo