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dealer trying to raise sale price by 40k after deposit paid
Ive been on a wait list for a g63 for 1.5 years and i finally got my allocation, i spec'd it out and signed the quote sheet and paid my 5000$ deposit 2 months ago. my vehicle arrived in the country today but will take few weeks to hit the dealer and i just got a call from the dealer saying that they have to add a 40k upcharge on the sale price since the fair market value for the truck is higher. i dont really think this is fair considering i already signed the papers 2 months ago and i paid a 5000 deposit on the spot. i have the vin number and po, i also have receipt of deposit paid with the quote sheet showing deposit paid and the purchase price that was agreed on before. i would have done the payment stuff right away but the dealer said we have to wait for the truck to hit delivery. i feel like i have a case here since i have deposit proof and papers and the vin etc, worse case can i put a lien on the truck?
do i have any way to get out of this and only pay the msrp? or can they do this to me
I would contact the Attorney Generals office and ask them. I suspect they would take a dim view of this under your circumstances. (I am not a lawyer. Lately I wish I was).
Seems to me that if you got a lawyer who threatened to put an injunction on the car such that they couldn't sell it until your lawsuit is concluded, they would likely cave in. By the time the case would be over they couldn't get another 40K for the truck.
You're lucky in that they are telling you this in advance. Several people have only found this out when they went to get their car and by then you are under the gun, time wise, with what you can do. You at least have some time to talk to lawyers in advance.
I had begun to research some of this when I was waiting for my car and hearing stories. But my dealer stuck by the deal we had struck and I never had to do anything. Closed on the car last week.
Good luck, and I'm sure everyone here would love to know how this turns out.
I’ve mainly heard this form of hassle in dealers marking up the price from the States. Anyone else had this issue who are not in the states? Japan, I’ve never heard this happen and it has not occurred with me.
Sorry to hear that mate but the above guy seems to have good advice, I’d get a lawyer into the fray just in case.
This is happening with many other brands and models. Seems to be a result of the supply "shortages" causing demand to be out of alignment with supply. There are dozens of stories on the Corvette forums regarding the "surprise ADM" upon delivery of new C8 Corvettes where buyers assumed they had an agreement to purchase a C8 at MSRP that was secured by a deposit. Many waited over a year for the car then were surprised by a $10K, $20K, $30K or even a $40K ADM lift at delivery. I've been reading these sagas for 2 years now on the C8.
For the legal minds out there, (and I'm no lawyer, but think I qualify as one now after reading numerous posts on this topic by actual lawyers), unless you have a fully executed purchase agreement showing the exact amounts (including a VIN which likely doesn't exist yet) you are going to pay when you put the deposit down, not much is going to help you with legal action. Dealers, BTW, are not clueless, usually have lawyers retained who draft up these agreements and simply don't make a mistake that would put them in a vulnerable legal position. Also, not understood by some, the first owner of the product after it is manufactured is the dealer. It's not the future buyer who thought they bought a car by putting a good faith deposit down, until the dealer actually gets a product then negotiates with the buyer to buy it.
From a contractual position, buyers coming in putting deposits down way in advance of an actual product existing don't realize this has no legal punch, other than giving the dealer a reason to put an order in and that you're a serious buyer. What is happening (numerous times) in the cases of the Corvette, the dealer tells you your car is in BUT there will be an $xxK increase on the MSRP. If you don't agree the dealer happily gives you your deposit money back, as the "in-demand" unavailable cars are very easy sales at the elevated prices, sometimes even higher than what they offered you. In two+ years' reading these stories (cases) in the Corvette sites, not one single successful legal action was ever mentioned.
I know it is not a good feeling left with a jilted buyer.
If you want to see a doozy of an ADM, try this one:
In the case of the OP he does mention a PO, not sure it is the same as a PA. Again, these dealers sell cars every day and use these contracts their lawyers have created, and unlikely they put themselves in a compromising legal position.
Last edited by Acta_Non_Verba; 12-24-2021 at 12:04 PM.
I agree with all of that. But I feel like if you have a vicious ***** of a lawyer, he can credibly threaten to tie up the car until it’s worthless. Even though he might eventually lose the case, the dealership would also lose more than the attempted markup and they would crumble.
I of course am not in that category of people. So I just kiss the ground every day that my dealer turned out to be standup people and honor our original deal of MSRP.
I agree with all of that. But I feel like if you have a vicious ***** of a lawyer, he can credibly threaten to tie up the car until it’s worthless. Even though he might eventually lose the case, the dealership would also lose more than the attempted markup and they would crumble.
I of course am not in that category of people. So I just kiss the ground every day that my dealer turned out to be standup people and honor our original deal of MSRP.
The first challenge is - Lawyers don't work for free (unless you might have a relative who is a lawyer). If you're going to try to sue for breach of contract, even if that suit is successful, where is the money to pay for an attorney's time? If you're going to try to sue for damages, what are those? If you're dead set on revenge against the dealer, you could easily pay $40K in attorney's fees trying to get even or teach them a lesson. Meanwhile, you still don't have a car, but you're now paying money to the attorney.
The second challenge - there has to be a contract with terms and conditions that were breached to even begin with a lawyer. If, in fact, there was some sort of contract on a pre-delivered product, (the op called it a PO, I assume that means a purchase order) I'll bet a dollar to a dozen donuts there are Ts & Cs on that PO that says something like - The dealer has the right to change the selling price at any time up to the time of delivery.
Any lawyer is first going to analyze a case that you bring to him/her as - is there a possibility for a suit in the first place, was there some sort of breach of contract? Can the lawyer get paid, and by whom? Contingency isn't going to work unless you're going to try to sue for damages, and right back to the first question - what are the damages? Hurt feelings?
To me, the best possible action is either a complaint to the State's attorney or the BBB. Still isn't going to get you the car.
The lawsuit route is often such a losing proposition, unless you are genuinely/measurably harmed. I just posted this on another thread right here about a Fla dealer. I'd like to repost it here as it is in the same vein.
Here is what I posted. It comes from another forum, different car, where we have a retired dealership owner who posts all the time. He gives an interesting perspective "from the other side of a lawsuit".
Right now there is an active thread going on about surprise ADM and, of course, there is a bevy of members theorizing about how they would handle such matters. The retired owner is on the other side, of course and he reveals how they think inside dealers. Without giving it up, I thought I'd copy/paste one of his responses regarding law suits. It can be helpful to some of us amateur internet lawyers that think you can simply take them to court and make their lives miserable. Here is his reply from a very long thread over 60 responses.
Quote My perspective comes from having spent a good deal of time on committees actually overseeing the creation of Buyers Orders. It comes from spending tens of thousands of dollars on legal reviews of my operations. It comes from spending thousands of dollars yearly on association fees local, State, and National to keep up to date on current laws. It comes from spending countless hours reviewing legal parameters and actual cases in industry.seminars. It also comes from being a car dealer with multiple points and being sued once a week in a good week.
I have said multiple times on this forum it only makes good sense to follow the contract and have it signed by an authorized representative of the dealership. The salesmen have nothing to lose in the long term and everything to gain (a sale). Their signature or word means little as it not their eventual responsibility. As far as lawyers, I have been sued by many on their own behalf. Since I always thought they were simply trying to intimidate me, we made them pay. There is only so long even the most dedicated think it is worthwhile to give their time away free. Quote
I have a family member who has sued dealerships twice, once for a markup, another time because they refused to sell him the vehicle after a deposit. Each time he won but it cost a pretty penny.
If the dealership didn't provide you with a buyers order after your deposit then you're not really going to get anywhere, IMO. I would have loved to get out of a deal that I took a deposit on but morally we stuck to what we promised the sale for.
At the end of the day, a G63 for only $40k over is money right into your pocket in this market. Take delivery and make sure they see you sell it for more.
11-21-2021, 03:25 PM
