Re: car salesman : Mon Apr 28, 2014 11:44 pm  

The Video Ref wrote:

No-one who is legally qualified and values their practising certificate is going to own up to being legally qualified when giving 'informal' advice over the internet. Or if they do, they are putting themselves in the line of fire.
...

You'd think this much at least would be plainly obvious!

Re: car salesman : Mon Apr 28, 2014 11:50 pm  

Ajw71 wrote:

Because damages would be adequate.

Oh bollox. If he sues for specific performance and wins the argument then he will get specific performance.

Ajw71 wrote:

Why on earth would he want to buy another car?

Well, he might follow your advice.

Ajw71 wrote:

Not very practical is is?!

You think being without a car till trial/settlement is more practical, then. What do you recommed - horse and cart? Hire a coolie?

Ajw71 wrote:

Your ignorance of a fundamental aspect of contract law is duly noted.

Ajw71 wrote:

The OP wants practical legal advice....

Practically no danger of getting that from you, is there! But seriously, he wants advice. The OP is presumably not so stupid as to think he could get LEGAL ADVICE from an internet chat room. If he wants that, he is I reckon smart enough to know that he'd need to consult a solicitor.

Re: car salesman : Tue Apr 29, 2014 5:54 am  

Ferocious Aardvark wrote:

Oh bollox. If he sues for specific performance and wins the argument then he will get specific performance.

Well the point is he is highly unlikely to 'win the argument' for SP.

Ferocious Aardvark wrote:

You think being without a car till trial/settlement is more practical, then. What do you recommed - horse and cart? Hire a coolie?

No he should buy another car and if he still wants to litigate his claim will be a simple claim for damages based on the difference.

Re: car salesman : Tue Apr 29, 2014 7:05 am  

The Video Ref wrote:

No-one who is legally qualified and values their practising certificate is going to own up to being legally qualified when giving 'informal' advice over the internet. Or if they do, they are putting themselves in the line of fire.

Advice given, even informally, can result in a professional negligence claim. There have been cases where lawyers have been sued off the back of advice given at parties.

There was also a case where a trainee solicitor's firm was sued because she gave some 'off the cuff' advice in a 5 minute interview to someone who stuck their head round the office door. Advice turned out to be wrong, the person who relied on it lost a considerable sum of money, and the firm got sued.

My point exactly, just in more detail. It is beyond me why people purport to give legal advice/explanation on a site like this. It is even further beyond me that people raise issues where it there is obviously a legal aspect. Perhaps I should realise that planet RL Fans is a world on its own...

Re: car salesman : Tue Apr 29, 2014 7:12 am  

Euclid wrote:

My point exactly, just in more detail. It is beyond me why people purport to give legal advice/explanation on a site like this. It is even further beyond me that people raise issues where it there is obviously a legal aspect. Perhaps I should realise that planet RL Fans is a world on its own...

Its a discussion forum, for people to, well, discuss things - like they might do in, well, a pub for instance - back in the old days when people went to pubs to meet other people and, well, discuss things.

I'm pretty sure that the OP wasn't expecting a fully itemised statement to give to a small claims court, merely pitching a thought out there into the virtual tap room of opinion and see what the sympathy vote was like, not very sympathetic as it happens but still some useful suggestions offered - lets call it discussion eh ?

Re: car salesman : Tue Apr 29, 2014 10:54 am  

The OP, who must be feeling somewhat bemused by this diversion, originally said:

SirBlighty wrote:

Hi wonder if there are anyone here who could shed some light. I went to look at some cars i was interested in make model etc and said i needed a 2.0 litre version for towing, he agreed.
Anyway they didnt have any at that branch so he said he would check group stock which he did and found me one. So part ex and price agreed i paid my deposit of 200 pound and went home fairly happy.
After doing some of my own checks the car which he sold was in fact a 1.6 litre but on my paperwork said a 2 litre so i called and the salesman said cant be. An hour later he called to say yes your right we have made a mistake someone on their website has messed up with description and pricing.
So basically now they are saying yes we can get you the car you originally wanted but we want 1300 pound more. So was wondering what my and their position is over this of course im not happy.

Now, I'm struggling to see how anyone could deduce from that, that the OP was expecting, let alone asking for, yer actual formal legal advice? As the Chicken says, it really is just a modern equivalent of casting around your mates and regulars down the pub or club, isn't it?

Re: car salesman : Tue Apr 29, 2014 12:56 pm  

I don't think a solicitor would be required if the dealership is of a decent size. Just persistence, facts, giving the impression of knowing the law and a bit of legalese should do it (especially IF they may be using false advertising to hook customers in).

I had a problem with a national dealership many years ago where they tried to keep my deposit on a new car when I cancelled due to their non-performance. When I asked for the money back they refused. Effectively, they tried to claim I had changed my mind on a particular day rather than them having lied to me about the availability of said car. I persisted and local management wrote to me saying they had discussed with the salesman and looked at the paperwork and I could get stuffed. When they had given me their timetable of lies in writing I then forwarded in a fax they had sent me (which had the time and date recorded on it) and which proved my version of events was correct and theirs a complete lie. Not surprisingly, I got the cheque by return of post!

They even try it on with loyal customers. I know a guy who had bought a brand new top of the range Porsche every year for about 20 years from the same dealership. One year there was a big problem - it was not fit for purpose. He gave it them back. They tried to keep his deposit (which was significant!). He got it back eventually and needless so say he shifted over to Mercedes, Aston Martin, McLaren, etc rather than ever buying a Porsche again. That cost them!

Re: car salesman : Tue Apr 29, 2014 2:32 pm  

At what point is a contract entered into here? Is it the initial deposit payment, payment in full or when signing up to finance?

My guess would be right up to payment being made then any paperwork would be full of disclaimers and would be what is an invitation to treat rather than to a binding contract.

Re: car salesman : Tue Apr 29, 2014 6:37 pm  

JerryChicken wrote:

Its a discussion forum, for people to, well, discuss things - like they might do in, well, a pub for instance - back in the old days when people went to pubs to meet other people and, well, discuss things.

I'm pretty sure that the OP wasn't expecting a fully itemised statement to give to a small claims court, merely pitching a thought out there into the virtual tap room of opinion and see what the sympathy vote was like, not very sympathetic as it happens but still some useful suggestions offered - lets call it discussion eh ?

Jerry, I am not going to get into one of those interminable "discussions" that go back and forth on here, but I will point out that discussions in the pub are not published or on record for others to read. If you can't spot the issues around people publishing what purports to be legal advice on a public forum then I will leave you to it. Good luck with the "discussion".

Re: car salesman : Tue Apr 29, 2014 7:22 pm  

Euclid wrote:

Jerry, I am not going to get into one of those interminable "discussions" that go back and forth on here, but I will point out that discussions in the pub are not published or on record for others to read. If you can't spot the issues around people publishing what purports to be legal advice on a public forum then I will leave you to it. Good luck with the "discussion".

Which post "purports to be legal advice" ?