VW - 1.8% Sneaky Increase On New Car Price

I ordered my new car in October, negotiated what I thought was a deal, only to be told today that VW have increased their prices countrywide by 1.8% - this amounts to an additional Euro 700 in my case. They had a "cover your ass" clause in a letter to me confirming the possibility of a price change, but when I tackled the salesperson, I was told that an increase was unlikely. Of course they have had my Euro 1000 deposit (as well as everyone elses) gaining interest in the meantime since then.
Anybody know where I stand here, had similar experiences, or have any ideas what can be done?

So the car you want to buy is nearly €39k?
The salesperson won't knock the €700 off to secure the sale?

umop3p!sdn said:

So the car you want to buy is nearly €39k?
The salesperson won't knock the €700 off to secure the sale?

Click to expand...

Ok, you can do arithmetic...What I want to know is at this stage, having ordered it, can I tell them where to go or am I contractually bound......

What does the sales agreement/contract say? Does it say the deposit is refundable/non-refundable?

Deposits are generally non-refundable, unless you are told otherwise.

Titusfeck - if you cannot get your deposit back and they are unwilling to drop the increased charge then I would make it clear to the salesman that you were reluctantly going through with the deal. I would write a letter to the dealer principle outling how delighted you were to have to pay more for the car you’d ordered. I’d highlight how you ordered it believing the salesman’s comment on prices being “unlikely” to rise. I would thank them for their assistance in paying more than you’d bargained for. I would say your treatment didn’t fit with your impression of the VW brand and you’d be less likely to recommend VW or that dealer to anybody. I would remind them that repeat custom is what helps business to thrive and that you’ll not give them repeat custom.

I would then set about sourcing another dealer to service the vehicle and never set foot in that particular dealer, or chain of dealerships again. But then, that is just me.

I'm not sure they can take a non-refundable deposit and then raise the price -- surely either all terms of the contract are final and binding, or nothing is final until the actual exchange of goods for payment.

I'd dig in my heels and refuse to pay anything more than originally agreed. Car Sales people are making far too much money, too easily.

If it's a problem with them, then make sure to kick up a fuss when there are prospective customers around the place. They might lose more than they gain if another customer walks away.

You should certainly try to avoid paying the increase.

However, the time to negotiate was when you signed the agreement, not now. You should have had the clause allowing them to change the price deleted from the contract.

The salesman told you it was "unlikely". That means it was possible.

Brendan

I read somewhere that VW have just made air con standard across the golf range, if they also did this on the Jetta and Passatt then a 1.8% increase would be good value when compared to the cost of that option last year. See if the specification of the car you are getting is different to the one you ordered.
My mother took delivery of a B-Class last year and the salesman made a mistake in his maths, he was giving her the car for €1100 less than what he thought. She refused to pay the €1100 (on delivery, he only realised his mistake after the car was registered) and agreed on a settlement of €250, sometimes it pays to stick to your guns threaten to walk away. But at this time of the year they will have no problem shifting cars and they could even hold it in stock for a few months knowing that a buyer will walk in. It’s a different situation later on in the year when pressure is on to get rid of stock before the year end. Good luck.