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General => General discussion => Topic started by: Emeye on 01 October 2008, 10:29

Title: Do you think the dealer is taking the p***?
Post by: Emeye on 01 October 2008, 10:29
As part of the deal on my 8month old Gti, the dealer said they would fit cruise control and mats. The salesman also told me that the central locking would self-lock once you started moving.

When I got there on Sat the cruise control wasn't fitted as they said the part hadn't come in and could I call up the service dept on Monday and arrange fitting another day and a courtesy car. Fair enough I thought.

Anyway, I realise a couple of days later the car was not locking as I drove, so I mentioned this to the service dept and they said it could be done when the car is in for the cruise.

Now I've just had a voice message from the salesman saying I'll have to pay £25 to have the locking turned on! WFT!! :shocked:

They can't supply a courtesy car so I've got to go and sit for 1 1/2 hours at 8.30 tomorrow morning whilst they do the work they should have done before I picked up the car and then pay £25 for the privilege!

Can't believe the cheek.  :angry: I'm just waiting to calm down before I call back.
Title: Re: Do you think the dealer is taking the p***?
Post by: Mikester on 01 October 2008, 10:34
Was the guy on the phone, the same one you dealt with before?
Title: Re: Do you think the dealer is taking the p***?
Post by: Emeye on 01 October 2008, 10:45
Was the guy on the phone, the same one you dealt with before?

It was the same salesman that left the message as the one I bought the car from.
Title: Re: Do you think the dealer is taking the p***?
Post by: DarnPB on 01 October 2008, 10:53
If he said that the extra work would be done as part of the deal, then you should not have to pay a damn thing. If he insist's, then start raising the volume of your voice so that other clients can hear. You can add sentances such as, 'so as I see it, your word is not your bond?', and, 'is this what you have to do to secure the sale of a car, lie in my face?'
Keep calm but don't keep quiet. Pretend you are an American.  :lipsrsealed:
Title: Re: Do you think the dealer is taking the p***?
Post by: DarnPB on 01 October 2008, 10:54
Name and shame, then direct his attentions to this page on this site! Then he will know he is on the net too. Bad publicity is not worth 25 quid.
Title: Re: Do you think the dealer is taking the p***?
Post by: Jay on 01 October 2008, 13:31
He's trying his luck, it's probably going to cost £25 of his profit and he's taking a chance, or he has completely forgot  :rolleyes: Just remind him then use Darnpiston's approach.

Do you have any of it in writing?
Title: Re: Do you think the dealer is taking the p***?
Post by: westfield on 01 October 2008, 14:05
Won't cost them Sh-t to do as the car will be plugged to enable the cruise once fitted.  :evil: Cheeky Fickers,he's just trying it on.
Title: Re: Do you think the dealer is taking the p***?
Post by: The Mighty Elvi on 01 October 2008, 14:32
If the agreement was in writing you can threaten to take the dealer to the County Court for breach of contract.  You are within your rights to take that car back and 'reject it', as the car is not 'as specified' in your purchase contract.  you will get your monery back plus demand damages etc...


Sales of Goods Act 1979.  Common law (tort) of Contract as well.

Also you could have them on breach of promise. An agreement can be verbal as well as written.  An agreement is deemed to have been made if some form of consideration has been exchanged i.e money.

Take your complaint to the dealer/franchise manager and say that you are very unsatisfied by the way you have been treated by the salesman.  Threaten to write to the UK Franchise manager for the car maker (they don't like this as they may get their franchise withdrawn or loss of bonus payments)

Also say that you will report them to your local trading standards officer as well as the local press

The best way to sort these guys out is demand what they must do in order to make you a happy customer - don't leave it up to them to make you an offer to keep you sweet.  Say you want all the work promised completed and you wan't some form of compensation, money/parts/upgrades, etc.. for all your trouble as an act of good faith on their behalf.

Also demand a personal apology from the lying salesman.

Be firm, but fair.  Your in the right and the're in the wrong.

Always glad to help.
Title: Re: Do you think the dealer is taking the p***?
Post by: madhouse on 01 October 2008, 14:53
If the agreement was in writing you can threaten to take the dealer to the County Court for breach of contract.  You are within your rights to take that car back and 'reject it', as the car is not 'as specified' in your purchase contract.  you will get your monery back plus demand damages etc...


Sales of Goods Act 1979.  Common law (tort) of Contract as well.

Also you could have them on breach of promise. An agreement can be verbal as well as written.  An agreement is deemed to have been made if some form of consideration has been exchanged i.e money.

Take your complaint to the dealer/franchise manager and say that you are very unsatisfied by the way you have been treated by the salesman.  Threaten to write to the UK Franchise manager for the car maker (they don't like this as they may get their franchise withdrawn or loss of bonus payments)

Also say that you will report them to your local trading standards officer as well as the local press

The best way to sort these guys out is demand what they must do in order to make you a happy customer - don't leave it up to them to make you an offer to keep you sweet.  Say you want all the work promised completed and you wan't some form of compensation, money/parts/upgrades, etc.. for all your trouble as an act of good faith on their behalf.

Also demand a personal apology from the lying salesman.

Be firm, but fair.  Your in the right and the're in the wrong.

Always glad to help.

Wooowahh!! A bit OTT here my friend. It could well be the case a part is not available. And so far as paying for the self locking doors lark if it wasn't agreed as part of the deal then you gotta pay albeit I think it's a bit tight. Equally the guy said a car would be available for you to use he should stand by that and if not ask to speak to his boss.

Main dealers are a nightmare, once you've signed on that dotted line.....they don't give a damn...Ahem in most cases anyway  :angry:
Title: Re: Do you think the dealer is taking the p***?
Post by: Emeye on 01 October 2008, 15:27
If the agreement was in writing you can threaten to take the dealer to the County Court for breach of contract.  You are within your rights to take that car back and 'reject it', as the car is not 'as specified' in your purchase contract.  you will get your monery back plus demand damages etc...


Sales of Goods Act 1979.  Common law (tort) of Contract as well.

Also you could have them on breach of promise. An agreement can be verbal as well as written.  An agreement is deemed to have been made if some form of consideration has been exchanged i.e money.

Take your complaint to the dealer/franchise manager and say that you are very unsatisfied by the way you have been treated by the salesman.  Threaten to write to the UK Franchise manager for the car maker (they don't like this as they may get their franchise withdrawn or loss of bonus payments)

Also say that you will report them to your local trading standards officer as well as the local press

The best way to sort these guys out is demand what they must do in order to make you a happy customer - don't leave it up to them to make you an offer to keep you sweet.  Say you want all the work promised completed and you wan't some form of compensation, money/parts/upgrades, etc.. for all your trouble as an act of good faith on their behalf.

Also demand a personal apology from the lying salesman.

Be firm, but fair.  Your in the right and the're in the wrong.

Always glad to help.

Wooowahh!! A bit OTT here my friend. It could well be the case a part is not available. And so far as paying for the self locking doors lark if it wasn't agreed as part of the deal then you gotta pay albeit I think it's a bit tight. Equally the guy said a car would be available for you to use he should stand by that and if not ask to speak to his boss.

Main dealers are a nightmare, once you've signed on that dotted line.....they don't give a damn...Ahem in most cases anyway  :angry:

Hopefully it won't get this far - no way am I paying for a feature that the salesman said would be on the car to be enabled, especially as we discussed it. I think it's very cheeky to expect me to have to sit around in the dealers for 1 1/2 hrs of my own time because they don't have a courtesy car, to have something fitted that they agreed as part of the deal would be on the car, and then try to charge me £25 to turn on another feature that I was told the car would come with as standard.

I'll go there tomorrow morning to get the work done and refuse to pay the £25 for the very reasons I've mentioned. If the service desk and the salesman won't budge I'll insist on seeing the manager and take it from there.

It's amazing that for what will take then 2 mins with the computer already attached to fit the cruise, they are willing to piss off a customer. Especially as they provided me with £50 referral vouchers.  :rolleyes: The main reason the cruise wasn't fitted to the car before I got it was they wanted to rush the sale through before the end of the month.
 :angry:

Title: Re: Do you think the dealer is taking the p***?
Post by: monkeyalan on 01 October 2008, 15:32
kick him in the ballsack.  :grin:
Title: Re: Do you think the dealer is taking the p***?
Post by: The Mighty Elvi on 01 October 2008, 15:38
A bit OTT Madhouse? I think not.  I read law at univeristy and I also run my own business and I pride myself on excellent customer service. i.e if I promise something to a customer then i will do it, I wan't them to keep coming back.

You may be willing to put up with shoddy service and broken promises but I do not. As I said my advice is firm but fair, the legal advice is so that he knows where he stands.  To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

Plus, it's always good to put a sloppy salesman in his place.



Title: Re: Do you think the dealer is taking the p***?
Post by: madhouse on 01 October 2008, 15:57
Plus, it's always good to put a sloppy salesman in his place.

 :grin: :grin:
Title: Re: Do you think the dealer is taking the p***?
Post by: Emeye on 02 October 2008, 09:30
Well, it's sorted, and without any hassle - I'm sat there at the moment (laptop and 3G stick - great technology when it works!) waiting to have the cruise fitted.

The sales man came over, asked me if I'd got the message and I told him yes, but I didn't think I should have to pay cos he'd told me the doors autolock and also I was having to sit here for half the morning waiting for the cruise to be fitted when it should have been on the car when I picked it up. I also said it would be a shame as the deal had gone so well up to now.

He sorted it straight away without argument. Fair play, but I'm just a little disappointed with all the bulls**t the salesman came out with at first and the fact I even had to have the discussion.

Proves you should try the polite but firm approach until required. No point going in all guns blazing! But that's the way I always approach things. And I believe that however angry you need to get you should never swear as that shows you are losing control.

Yesterday, my mate who runs an indi garage had a guy march straight into his office an threaten to strangle him for a problem on a car the guy had caused himself! My mate said go for it and I'll call the police. You're not going to get anywhere with that approach.

So in the end not a bad experience buying my new Golf Gti - as long as I don't have to sit here ALL morning! :)
Title: Re: Do you think the dealer is taking the p***?
Post by: Emeye on 02 October 2008, 09:33
HAHAHAHA - just as I was finishing that last post the salesman leaned over my shoulder to tell me he'd just checked up on the car in the workshop!  :grin:

Not sure if he could read what I was typing! :lipsrsealed:
Title: Re: Do you think the dealer is taking the p***?
Post by: hobbiniho on 04 October 2008, 13:38
so what if he could,maybe it would be a good thing make him see what hes up against  :rolleyes: