Sneaky delivery charge on new cars!

H

hullabaloo

Registered User
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29
Hi,
This is the first time I've bought a new car and what a learning experience its been! Every time I've been given a quote from a garage for a new VW there has been no mention of a delivery charge.

Yesterday when I went ahead and ordered the new car, the sales guy did his quotation sums on a page to which he then stapled a second sheet of paper listing prices of optional extras. At the bottom of this second page, there is a note saying prices do not include the 500 euro delivery charge.

Now the sales guy never mentioned this additional charge to me - he just put an asterisk beside it and left it up to me to pick up on this which I did last night.

I've never bought a new car before - is this normal practice? I understand that the car has to be delivered from Europe but why the sneaky manner of putting the delivery charge in small print? Can I argue that he didn't mention it to me and that therefore I am not obliged to pay it?

If I can't get out of it is there any way I can avoid paying so much? I'm quite annoyed at the under-handed manner in which its being imposed on me.

Thanks,
L.
 
Sounds sneaky to me. I bought several new cars, one only last week and never was there a delivery charge, alway included everything except any extras I asked for. I think they should have quoted you the all in price from the start?
 
Most car ads seem to include the line "Delivery and related charges extra", or something similar.
 
From what I have heard it is part of the way that dealers maintain their comission levels - I remember reading here somewhere that this whole concept of 'on the road charges' or 'related charges' is just a cushy way to regain some of the money you spent time and effort bargaining down.

The whole concept is ridiculous - if they quote you a price then you should be able to take delivery of the vehicle at that price. It's like going into a shop, asking for something, getting a price and then when you go to pay for it the guys says "Ah, sure, the one I was going to sell you is in Donegal at the moment, it will cost you another €50 to get it brought down here"

I remember the first time I bought a new car and got stuck for something similar. It didn't help to improve the status of Car Dealers in my books.

z
 
Tell him he should have mentioned it up front, and that you're cancelling the order. That should get some response.
 
Seagull said:
Tell him he should have mentioned it up front, and that you're cancelling the order. That should get some response.
Click to expand...

I would have thought that if it wasn't specifically mentioned in the original quote, or even mentioned obliquely in the manner of "that's not including delivery charges of course", then it's not part of the contract that you agreed to.

Adding the costs in afterwards is separate to the contract you agreed to (even verbally), and therefore isn't something they can charge for.

Tell him you're just not paying it because he never included that cost in the quote. If he doesn't like it, go elsewhere.
 
While I agree that the price quoted should be the price you pay, if delivery charges (as an 'extra') are standard throughout the industry, or for the make/model in question, is there any benefit in going elsewhere?
 
Delivery charges?? I don't think I understand! A car dealer is making YOU pay for the car to be delivered to THEIR premises, for them to sell to you.
I pay delivery charges for something to be delivered to my home not the 'shop'!
 
Hi there Hullabaloo,

Sounds like sharp practice to me. Over the years I've bought four new VW Golfs from Bradys, Castleknock and Park Motors. The price quoted by the salesman was always the full and final one. I only knew there was a delivery charge to the garage when I saw the invoice. I'd cancel the order if it was me. And since you are buying at the end of the year your car will be two years old next Spring. In view of this you should be getting a discount! Maybe you should get on to Consumer Affairs and see what they say.
 
sherib said:
Hi there Hullabaloo,

Sounds like sharp practice to me. Over the years I've bought four new VW Golfs from Bradys, Castleknock and Park Motors. The price quoted by the salesman was always the full and final one. I only knew there was a delivery charge to the garage when I saw the invoice. I'd cancel the order if it was me. And since you are buying at the end of the year your car will be two years old next Spring. In view of this you should be getting a discount! Maybe you should get on to Consumer Affairs and see what they say.
Click to expand...

Can he cancel the order though if he has signed on the dotted line ? I have sympathy for the op but it seems to me that the delivery charge was mentioned in the small print and that was the document the op signed. No banker ever told me that my property was at risk if I couldn't pay the mortgages .....but it's in the small print and that's what I signed up to. I think the onus was on the op to read the form in it's entirety before he signed. ALWAYS read the small print!
 
It was bad form of the salesman not to mention it but a delivery charge is always charged on a new car. The ads always say "delivery and related charges extra" The garage have to pay for delivery of the cars from the distributors, so they are just passing that on to the buyer.

I'd give the garage a call and kick up a fuss with the manager...you've nothing to lose.
 
Doesn't sound very honest / straight forward deal. Yes we are aware of delivery/plates extra . However
I've bought 3 new cars over the years from different garages (and also got quotes from others) and this delivery / plates charge has never been mentioned. Perhaps it's the way I phrased the question/statement when buying!
There are plenty more dealers out there who will help you out.
 
AFIK - most new car prices are quoted "ex. works". This relates to the price to bring the car to rosslare or whatever entry point, in a state for transportation etc. Your €500 is then used to make the car presentable to the consumer, register it, put plates etc on it and bring it to the garage for you to collect.
 
Delivery charges are a little bit sneaky, but essentially they're there to protect the dealers' margin.

If you feel hard done by, try haggling for a year's road tax instead of the 3/6 months that's probably included in the delivery charge. And make sure the fuel guage reads "full" before you drive off the forecourt;)
 
Thanks for all your replies.

I cancelled the order for the car depite having signed an order for (had paid no deposit).

Have now ordered same car from a dealer "down the country". Its amazing how much more valuable my trade-in was there than in Dublin. They are just keener for the business!
 
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