Where do I stand legally?

[Kenno]

Hi all,

I have a situation which has come to light recently regarding the purchase of my Toyota 86 GTS.

I was originally going to trade-in my 2005 Integra Type-S to clear the loan from that and hopefully get some equity from it which could be put into my 86 finance.

However, my dealer here in Brisbane said the Integra was worth $9,000. Yes, you heard right, $9000 for a good condition 78.5k kilometre 2005 Type-S. I thought this sounded rather low, so I jumped on carsales.com when I got home to have a look at the going prices. My Integra should be fetching between $16.5k - 25k according to carsales. It is insured through AAMI with a current agreed replacement price of just over $24,000.

So I rang my dealer up today to let them know I won't be trading-in my Integra and will instead sell it privately to get around TWICE what they offered me.

I was told that the car had been signed over to them and the trade-in was part of the deal. In short, I cannot sell it privately now. I do not understand this. The trade-in has NO effect on the finances as the amount owing and what they were going to offer, cancel each other out. It's not like I am relying on this trade-in to finance the 86. Hell, I could pay for the 86 in cold-hard cash if I had to.

I feel like I am being right-royally arse-raped. I admit it's probably my own fault for signing everything first. But is this right? Can they do this? I honestly have no idea.

I would like to point out though, that this is the only sour point of my whole experience with my dealer. They have otherwise been nothing but helpful and friendly to me and I would still recommend them to anyone looking to buy an 86 (well maybe so long as you aren't trading in a car, hehe). I just do not want this to ruin this enjoyable experience.

[Nardi330]

do you have any special condition on your contract that allow you to get out?

usually they wouldn't care if you just pay them the cash instead of the trade in but they are not exactly wrong to say that the Honda is part of the deal for this contract and the consideration is your Honda + balance.

i believe they have really taken advantage of you but this is the terms on the contract and you agreed and signed it.

there is no cooling off period for new car sales so this isn't looking good.

ask them what happen if you damaged the car before delivery? will they take the $9k or want the car still?

[sticky]

Wow they screwed you over big time!

Did you not agree on the trade price prior to signing the contract? I'm guessing no? If a price wasn't agreed upon then I don't think you can form a binding contract - it just gives the dealer too much power to charge what ever he wants. Go over your contract and make sure it doesn't mention the price.

This might be of some help:
http://www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au/motor-industry.htm

[m0nty]

They can if you signed the order with the trade attached. It sounds like they undernetted you hard. Undernetting is offering a value lower than what they have to put more money in the deal. If it were the real wholesale value they offered you they wouldn't be out of pocket. I suggest you speak to the manager and try to come to some kind of agreement. But at the end of the day always think before signing.

[Nardi330]

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...&postcount=258

this is a copy of his contract from another thread.....

sticky, OP is from Brisbane.

[primetime]

This is what happens when the dealer plays hardball with trade-ins. Unfortunately, before you sign the contract you should have a figure in your mind about what your car's worth privately then work down from there which would be the dealer trade-in - which is always quite a fair bit less than private sales of course (but not so much as in your case now).

Unless you have an additional clause that allows you to sell the car privately before delivery - it's a bit hard to get out.

My previous Honda dealer was good enough to put a clause that should I manage to sell my car privately before delivery then the trade-in will be ignored and I'll just pay the balance owing before trade-in (of course offset with more money that could be netted from the private sale).

[sticky]

Originally Posted by Nardi330

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...&postcount=258

this is a copy of his contract from another thread.....

sticky, OP is from Brisbane.

Woops my bad - changed it to the QLD fair trading site.

So I guess he already agreed on the price. Apart from other conditions you have on the contract (ie. not happy with test drive etc) they've got you by the balls. You really should of checked carsales before walking in there.

[GC GTS Aero Kit]

Its pretty simple here you didn't check what your car is worth and you signed a contract to form your trade as part settlement for the new vehicle. The price was agreed upon.... Unfortunately for you, the dealer have under traded you which means there is profit for them in the trade of your vehicle and removing it loses them money which they won't do. You have to remember people Profit is not a dirty word that is what a car dealer does to provide you with nice facilities and test drivable cars, servicing, parts etc
I would think there is not a lot you can do other than chalk it up to experience or just not buy the new car if you have a buyer to make you more money.

Remember that what Carsales.com.au have advertised is never what people get people always discount and the Wholesale value of a 2005 Honda Integra Type S is about $10-11k

[Nardi330]

yeah i really hope there is some clause on the special condition section so he can pull out. (the pic of the contract was cut short)

[Nardi330]

Originally Posted by GC GTS Aero Kit

the Wholesale value of a 2005 Honda Integra Type S is about $10-11k

wow that's pretty low.

what is the wholesale value of a 2008 VW Golf GTI DSG? (just wondering, sorry for OT).

[Kenno]

Thanks for the info guys

Looks like I really didn't prepare myself as much as I should have, guess I was caught up in the excitement. Oh well, let's put it down to a learning experience then.

I just had one thought. What if the car was to be 'stolen' or something else were to happen to it that would cause AAMI to pay the agreed value out to me. Would the money go to me or straight to Toyota?

[sticky]

Originally Posted by Kenno

I just had one thought. What if the car was to be 'stolen' or something else were to happen to it that would cause AAMI to pay the agreed value out to me. Would the money go to me or straight to Toyota?

Well if the car was still in your possession then the money should come to you - it's only when you hand over your keys that they get ownership.

And please don't commit insurance fraud - it's not worth it - especially since you've just discussed this on a public forum.

BTW I'm guessing you put down a deposit - have you thought about foregoing that and signing up with another dealer and selling your car at higher price. Isn't that a more profitable option? I'm sure the dealer would be happy to keep $1,000 for doing nothing.

[Cruiser]

Do you have a cooling off period in which you can rescind the contract?

Also this might help

Unfair contract terms

http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.../itemId/930016

[m0nty]

Originally Posted by Cruiser

Do you have a cooling off period in which you can rescind the contract?

Also this might help

Unfair contract terms

http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.../itemId/930016

There's only cooling off on finance, not purchases.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2