Main dealer claims not to have known about outstanding finance, advice please

Yes, they are SIMI registered.

The manager claimed in the phonecall this morning that the salesman wouldnt have known about outstanding finance on the car as
'the admin people take care of this, and it would have been taken care of by the time you took the car, we sell 100s of cars every year, we know what we're doing. You wouldnt have had any liability, it would have come back on the retailer, there has never been a case of a car repossessed that someone bought from a retailer as the finance would be settled by the retailer'.

The conversation was just circular.
Me: There was outstanding finance on the car when I paid for it.
Him: There IS no outstanding finance on the car.
Me: But there was before I brought it to your attention.
Him: It is sorted.
Me: It was only sorted because I brought it to your attention.
Him: There is no outstanding finance on the car.

He just kept using the present tense. I kept using the past tense. The conversation went nowhere.
 
Not really.

Dealership agreed to refund money but insists they are keeping deposit.

My husband phoned friday evening and politely queried had the manager really used the words 'ulterior motive' in an accusation against me, and a number of other choice quotes that the manager had used that morning. There was a flurry of apology and assurance that there must have been a misunderstanding etc...but bottom line was still - dealership keeping deposit.

The dealership did think to offer rental car usage for free for a few days and also choice of buying a different car from them (interesting how they are willing to break contract so long as they get to keep my money eh?) in the later call with my husband, but he pointed out to them that they had had the chance to resolve the situation with me on the phone that morning, but had only made a bad situation worse and any offer at this point was just too little too late.

Anyway, as soon as the main part of the money is refunded I will be (upon advice from a friend) writing to the managing director of *Car Brand* Ireland and asking if its normal practice to be sold a car from one of their main dealers with finance outstanding and could he please clarify the position to me.

Then Ill be making a complaint to SIMI, and also a submission to the small claims court.

Actually though - Im willing to lose the deposit rather than do business with someone who thinks its ok to shout at me for 30 minutes and try to brow beat me into going ahead with a contract that Im clearly alarmed about.
I think Ive probably dodged a bullet here anyway because if thats how they have behaved towards me at point of sale - what would they have been like if I came back with a problem while the car was under warranty?

Oh - in the phonecall with my husband the manager claimed he now had the finance settlement paperwork available for inspection. My husband asked what the settlement date on it was - it was the previous day. So the finance was definitely outstanding at point of sale, and had I not brought it up i would have definitely driven off in a car with finance outstanding that evening.
 
It absolutely betters belief that a "Car Dealer" carrys on like this. Raises further questions no doubt as to their motive and if this is the way the treat a customer I wonder how well they treat their sales stock and reputation.
Customer Relations leaves a lot to be desired.

Truthseeker I realise that you cant name them, but would they be a long term established garage or a fairly new dealership.
 
Eng Car 1 said:
Truthseeker I realise that you cant name them, but would they be a long term established garage or a fairly new dealership.
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Very long term established business.

I was far more upset at how I was treated by the manager on the phone, than the finance issue itself. I was literally subjected to a barrage of accusation and personal insults - rather than an attempt to resolve the situation. In my initial phonecall with him he even implied he would give me NOTHING back. Totally out of order, not a constructive way to do business.
 
You have agreed to buy the car and paid for it in full.
It seems the dealership are happy with their sale and won`t return you the deposit.
Why don`t you just take the car....I think you are cutting off your nose to spite your face by your present stance.And why did you do a finance check on a car you had already paid for?
I think it is almost certain the dealership have sorted out the finance issue with the car so you are really saying you have changed your mind.
How much is the deposit worth? Probably enough to go into the dealership and drive away with the car you have already paid for.
 
Sunrock - I agreed to buy the car. At the time I agreed to buy I was verbally told there was no finance outstanding on it.

I did the finance check after I had paid but before I picked the car up - Im not sure why I did it, it just occured to me that maybe I should do it (I would never have thought that you NEEDED to do a finance check when buying from a main dealer). I was totally shocked at the outcome of the finance check. This changed the status of what I had agreed to - when I agreed to buy it it was on the basis that there was NO finance outstanding.

I gave the dealership a chance to resolve the situation, a chance that they decided to use to aggravate things and treat me in an unacceptable manner.

Would YOU be happy to do business with someone who thought it was ok to shout at you for 30 minutes, accuse you of having an ulterior motive and call you unreasonable etc?

There was a 1 year warranty on the car i was buying. I have no interest in having to deal with an unprofessional company for the next year if anything goes wrong with the car.

I lost faith in the dealership. They mislead me. They do not know how to deal with customers.

No amount of money (ie, deposit) is worth dealing with an outfit who treat customers that way.
 
Final update - phonecall to manager this morning to discuss when to collect cheque.

He was very abrupt and snotty on the phone. Agreed cheque could be collected anytime this week and will be for the FULL amount.

When I said 'oh I thought you were keeping deposit' he claimed he had never said that (despite saying it in 2 different phonecalls).

I can only assume he got legal advice and thought it best just just issue full refund.

Felt a bit like dealing with a crazy person who was denying previous conversation though!!
 
Well, sorry to say it as I'm sure there are plenty of straight/customer friendly main dealers, but that's just another nail in the coffin as far as I'm concerned. Quite rare that I have had a good experience with main dealers. Arrogance, overpricing, mechanical incompetence and general slipperiness is common IME.

Glad it worked out TS - try an independent for your alternative car and get Bernard of Carcheckireland to look at it. Excellent service and worth it IMO.

Edit: Haven't used them in a while and I think his website is down, but I'm pretty sure his number is 1850 909090 if you are interested.
 
Good result, fair play to you for your persistence and it's sad to hear that sections of the motor trade are still their own and their prospective customers' worst enemies.
 
The saga continues.

Upon collecting the cheque this morning it turned out that the deposit was not a part of it. When challenged the manager claimed he had never said he was refunding in full.
After some mildly heated discussion he refused to show the settlement documentation and claimed he would 'show it in court'.

A phonecall to HO followed, they say they have no jurisdiction over individual dealerships. Consumer affairs say I must go the legal route.

My solicitor was in court so couldnt consult with him.
 
Complainer said:
If the deposit is less than €2k, go for Small Claims.
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Do they handle up to this amount though? It used to be a lot less - about £500 (punt) I think.

I'd do this but I would try the solicitor's letter first if it were me TS - they could well back down as they would prefer not to have their name in the SC court I'm sure.
 
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