Car sold to motor dealer but they reneged on the deal

Thanks. Saw that mentioned somewhere alright (here or boards.ie maybe) but I'm not so sure that STOPPING a cheque is the same thing as writing a cheque without sufficient funds to cover it?

Edit: post crossed with Bronte's.
 
ClubMan said:
First off I wasn't sure whether to post this here or in the Cars section but I thought that it was more of a consumer rights issue so made most sense here. But if it's in the wrong place then apologies and moderators please feel free to move it.

My mother has given up driving due to old age so decided to sell her car. We brought it over to a motor dealer (a big one that is an authorised marque dealer and not a backstreet operation or anything like that) on Saturday. (I won't name the marque or dealer just yet). The guy looked it over, took it for a test drive and agreed to buy it for €5.8K. He gave us a cheque for €5.8K and an invoice/receipt form. We obviously left him the car, keys, vehicle registration certificate and manufacturer warranty details (still one year of cover left). Job done - or so we thought...

This morning he called to say that when they went to valet it to prepare it for resale they discovered damp in the footwell and a problem with the upholstery there. He said that he had stopped the cheque and was now only willing to pay €5K as it would cost him €800 to reupholster the cabin. I told him that this was not our problem, that we had presented it in good faith, he had checked it over and test driven it and decided to buy it so it was incumbent on him to honour the deal. Caveat emptor and all that. He then said that he didn't want it at all and would, if necessary, leave it back at my mother's home address. He said because it is still registered in her name it's still her car regardless of any agreement to buy it on his part. I obviously disagreed with him on this. (He actually had the cheek to accuse me of trying to "sting" him/the dealership which I thought was outrageous!).

I told him that I was lodging the cheque regardless (even if it is stopped or otherwise bounces) and we expected him to honour the deal and pay what was agreed. I have lodged the cheque and have written to them by post to set out the facts of the situation (including the calls today) and to insist that they pay as agreed should the cheque bounce.

I called the CCPC for info/advice but they said that it wasn't a consumer issue and all they could suggest was getting legal advice (!). I also called SIMI and they explained their complaints process which I will pursue if necessary. I may also contact the manufacturer for whom this dealer is an authorised seller and service centre to complain. I was even considering calling Joe if it comes to it! :D Small Claims court is presumably out of the question since it's more than €2K.

Just wondering what others here think in relation to our consumer rights here? Any other useful suggestions/comments?
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Guys behaviour is outrageous and unprofessional, he bought the car as he saw it.

Stick to your guns, if it went near court his reputation would suffer and he won't risk that, he's bluffing
 
Palerider said:
I'm with the Dealer on this and don't blame him for missing the water ingress issue, something I'd be aware of had it been in my possession for any period, damp in a car causes condensation on the windows and an odour within the car, assuming it was damp and not surface water.

That said I believe ultimately they will honour the cheque, I would not be getting too excited about it until the cheque bounces.

Very unreasonable to suggest posting a copy of the unpaid cheque on this forum.
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What part of

"bought as you saw it "

Are you unable to grasp?, it's a common understanding of trade every day of the week for used items, add to that this man works in the motor trade, he should have used his skills to assess the car thoroughly, it's possible that no flaw even exists.
 
The exchange of car and cheque satisfied the consideration element of contract formation. Once that happens, one party cannot unilaterally alter the terms.

To suggest the dealer had any entitlement to cancel or attempt to alter the contract is wrong. I think everyone would agree they were wrong if they decided to hit a car purchaser with an additional charge just because they felt it was worth more after the customer drove away, this is no different.
 
Thanks again for all the comments/advice.
The manager of the dealership was in contact and discussed the matter and apologised for the cancellation of the cheque and said that this should never have happened.
However he did defend his sales person in relation to how he went about approaching his "investigation" of the alleged damage that he claimed to discover after the fact/sale.
But the important thing is that he has made good the payment so the matter is now closed as far as I am concerned and since it was ultimately resolved satisfactorily I will not name and shame.
My mother IS out of pocket by €10 for the returned/bounced cheque but I won't bother trying to chase compensation for that as it's minor in the greater scheme of things and not worth the hassle and my time.
 
Thats good you would think they should have had the professional capacity to handle it better than they did but its sorted now and thats it.
 
That's a great result. And I agree with you not naming, because ultimately they did the right thing. And they apologised. (reminder to self, don't rely on a cheque until the money is in the account)
 
Ironically a sibling who actually brought the car over to sell it last Saturday said that the guy asked if they wanted a wire transfer or a cheque and they asked for a cheque because they didn't have the bank details handy. So all this hassle could've been avoided in the first place. Unless an EFT authorised on a Saturday can be stopped before it goes through on the next working day...?
 
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