24wheeler

What do you think of this then?
Just over three weeks ago I traded my 04 Range Rover in for the Q7. I got a good deal as I negotiated hard and know how to do it. I do it for a living as it happens, negotiate vehicle deals that is. It turns out that the deal was a bit too good as far as the dealer is concerned.

A bit of backround. Back in August I and my family test drove a Q7 and liked it so much that we asked for a price. I told the sales lady that it had a dent in the wing [wifes parking], was due for a service and its tyres were nearing the end of their life. I offered to repair the bodywork and to service the car [it had three years free servicing anyhow]. After the lady had researched and underwritten the RR with several LR dealers she offered me a price which I squeezed down a bit. Then I suggested that if she gave me another ?1000 off the balance I would fit four new tyres [which I calculated would leave me about ?450 better off]. She declined, saying that her offer was the best she could do. Fair enough and after some debate with my family we did the deal. So far so good.

Just over three weeks ago my brother and I delivered the RR to the dealer and collected the Audi. Stayed there a couple of hours to do the finance and to be shown all the features, very efficiently I have to say. Then on Saturday last [its Monday today] I received a letter from the dealer explaining that they had sent the RR to their underwriter and it had been rejected due to not having new tyres. Remember that during the run-up to delivery I had talked much to the sales lady and she wanted to know that I had repaired the dent and had it serviced and no mention of new tyres. The RR had been subsequently sold to another dealer at ?2500 less than originally promised and now they want ?750 from me for 4 new tyres.
Remember that they had ample time to inspect the RR and bring this up when we exchanged vehicles and also before they sent it to the original underwriter.
Of course they did not bring it up because I had never agreed to fitting new tyres and I have two witnesses. What I suspect has happened is that the original underwriting dealer realised that they had bid over the odds for it and so found a reason to get out of the deal. This probably left the Audi dealer with big loss on the deal which they are now trying to recover.
Its not my problem though and the more I think about it then the more angry I am becoming. I have sent a nice letter [yes really] explaining that a deal is a deal and that while I sympathise with their loss, it is really nothing to do with me and they will not be getting ?750 from me.

What do you all think?

?=UK Pounds Sterling=$2US
Audi listed at ?43000 and had ?26500 for RR

Jusforfun

it sounds like you said that you would service the car, fix the dent and fit new tyres, but you wanted another 1000 off the deal and she said no way cos she had gone as far as she could money wise.
You see even you said the deal was done after you offered to change the tyres. you never actually had a deal prior to you bringing up the tyres.
I can see how you both think you are correct.
I am curious to know if you handed your RR over to the person you made the deal ith in the first place.
Were tyres ever written into any contract or on a deposit slip? Or the dent or service either come to that.

I guess "caveat emptor" works both ways. Ultimately you have to live with yourself and if you know in your heart of hearts (as they say)that you are correct then stand your ground.

From my own experience i remember that my dealer never gave me a final price as mine was the first one in and they couldnt give me a definite figure. On that basis he wouldnt fix a price on my trade in either. I haggled him down 7500 Euro on the deal on the day my Q arrived only to find out later he wrote off 4600 Euro. We could both could have been 3000 up on the deal if he just gave me his bottom line but that was his call.
So how much sleep can you lose over dealers.

Maybe just tell them you will give them first shot at your next change if they want a chance to get it back.

24wheeler

Well they can't have their cake and eat it. I offered new tyres for another 1000UKP off the balance. She declined and therefore surely could not have expected the tyres anyway.
Apart from which she never mentioned tyres once when phoning in the lead up to the delivery or during handover or at any time until saturday. Well that's not quite correct because the car came with only one key and she phoned mid-last-week to say the key and non-locking wheel nuts that I needed were now in stock. In passing [or so I thought at the time, she asked if I remembered discussing tyres at all. In the heat of a quick telephone conversation I said not and thought no more about it until the letter landed. At no point until the letter landed asking for 750 extra was there any mention or complaint to me about tyres. Of course they checked the car on exchange and presumeably before they shipped it to the underwriting dealer. If they genuinely thought that new tyres should have been supplied by me they would have chased it up straight away I'm sure. Its not as if I could hide the worn tyres in any way, was it.

Basically the deal has gone sour as deals sometimes do. As a tractor dealer myself, this happens fairly often for one reason or another. Unless there is blatant cheating or dishonesty on the part of the customer I would never dream of involving them in the debacle. These idiots have lost money on the deal, no doubt, but they should move on to the next deal not **** around trying it on with their customers.
If the underwriting dealer really had wanted that RR then they would have deducted the cost of four tyres from the agreed price if they were under the impression that it should have new ones in the deal, not rejected it. Even if Shrewsbury Audi had to lose 750 it would have been better than having it returned and having to be placed with another dealer at 2500 less. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to work that one out.

Solid_Class

I am in full agreement that the dealer should have never sent such a letter. I manage a multiple location heavy truck dealership and we have never done this. If we made an error, then we would have eaten the tires and sold the trade in to the underwritting dealer for a small loss. Losses are a part of the business. When I started in this business, a very wise and wealthy dealer told me that if we did not take a few losses once in a while, we were passing on a ton of good business. Are you ever going to refer any of your associates to do business at that dealer? Shame on the dealer if it went down as you stated!! They are short sighted.....

Solid_Class

24wheeler

Apart from anything else I am a sales manager for a multi-depot tractor franchise and all of us sales guys regularly have deals that go sour. Personally I have recently bought a renault tractor which test drove nicley and I sold it on to a farmer in good faith. It turns out that if one changes from 1st straight to 3rd the damn worn selector fork jumps over the hub. I've had to take it back to repair with no charge which kills the deals stone dead financially. I'm not going back to ask for money from the previous renault owner because that will sour future relations and he will just tell me to get lost anyhow. Because he obviously knew it was wrong while claiming it was in good working order, I will find a way of mentioning that I know it to be so though ;-)