Ethics issue with a VW dealership

Problem is its an Offer to Purchase, not a confirmed Sales Agreement...
 
According to Google though, it is legally binding.

A signed*Offer to Purchase*is a*legal,binding*document which can only be cancelled under certain circumstances… The transfer of immovable property is governed and regulated by*South African*legislation in order to protect all parties to the transaction"

Yea I'd be upset if I entered into a contract and they changed the terms. I'm wondering if it was the other way (especially at month end) how they'd react.

Legalities aside, you'd think they'd be a little more customer focused! I had an Audi salesman phone and congratulate me on another vehicle purchase! Should I ever go back to the brand, he's the first I'll call because of the way I was treated
 
Dolby said:
...

The transfer of immovable property is governed and regulated by*South African*legislation in order to protect all parties to the transaction"

...
Click to expand...

Nitpicking but that's a house, not a car. An OTP carries far more weight in the property game than the motor industry.

As for the OP's scenario: it's an inevitable product of our strained economy and supply chain constraints. Every Volkswagen model - bar Polo and Vivo - is imported, hence lead time between a dealer placing an order for a specific vehicle and the car arriving at said dealer is between five and six months. Price increases in that timeframe are a near certainty. If the manufacturer invoiced the dealer at the time the order is placed prices could be maintained, but the dealer only pays for a car once it's released from the distribution point in Port Elizabeth, at whatever dealer billing happens to be on the day.

Whether any or all of the additional cost is passed on to the buyer is situational. If a substantial discount was negotiated at the time of signing an offer to purchase, any increase in cost price will likely see the dealer pushed into a loss on that transaction. I don't know that any retailer should be expected to supply goods at a loss...

It is as frustrating for the dealer as it is for the buyer, as it can sour the entire relationship and purchase process. People get pretty excited at the prospect of finally getting the car they'd waited half a year for, but being told that you now have to dig deeper into your pocket without forewarning can dampen that excitement rather quickly. Which is really the dealer's failing in this instance in my opinion. I've always been at pains to inform prospective buyers of this scenario, and they are almost always perfectly understanding after an explanation.
 
HapticSimian said:
Nitpicking but that's a house, not a car. An OTP carries far more weight in the property game than the motor industry.

As for the OP's scenario: it's an inevitable product of our strained economy and supply chain constraints. Every Volkswagen model - bar Polo and Vivo - is imported, hence lead time between a dealer placing an order for a specific vehicle and the car arriving at said dealer is between five and six months. Price increases in that timeframe are a near certainty. If the manufacturer invoiced the dealer at the time the order is placed prices could be maintained, but the dealer only pays for a car once it's released from the distribution point in Port Elizabeth, at whatever dealer billing happens to be on the day.

Whether any or all of the additional cost is passed on to the buyer is situational. If a substantial discount was negotiated at the time of signing an offer to purchase, any increase in cost price will likely see the dealer pushed into a loss on that transaction. I don't know that any retailer should be expected to supply goods at a loss...

It is as frustrating for the dealer as it is for the buyer, as it can sour the entire relationship and purchase process. People get pretty excited at the prospect of finally getting the car they'd waited half a year for, but being told that you now have to dig deeper into your pocket without forewarning can dampen that excitement rather quickly. Which is really the dealer's failing in this instance in my opinion. I've always been at pains to inform prospective buyers of this scenario, and they are almost always perfectly understanding after an explanation.
Click to expand...

Awesome write-up.
 
HapticSimian said:
Nitpicking but that's a house, not a car. An OTP carries far more weight in the property game than the motor industry.

As for the OP's scenario: it's an inevitable product of our strained economy and supply chain constraints. Every Volkswagen model - bar Polo and Vivo - is imported, hence lead time between a dealer placing an order for a specific vehicle and the car arriving at said dealer is between five and six months. Price increases in that timeframe are a near certainty. If the manufacturer invoiced the dealer at the time the order is placed prices could be maintained, but the dealer only pays for a car once it's released from the distribution point in Port Elizabeth, at whatever dealer billing happens to be on the day.

Whether any or all of the additional cost is passed on to the buyer is situational. If a substantial discount was negotiated at the time of signing an offer to purchase, any increase in cost price will likely see the dealer pushed into a loss on that transaction. I don't know that any retailer should be expected to supply goods at a loss...

It is as frustrating for the dealer as it is for the buyer, as it can sour the entire relationship and purchase process. People get pretty excited at the prospect of finally getting the car they'd waited half a year for, but being told that you now have to dig deeper into your pocket without forewarning can dampen that excitement rather quickly. Which is really the dealer's failing in this instance in my opinion. I've always been at pains to inform prospective buyers of this scenario, and they are almost always perfectly understanding after an explanation.
Click to expand...

Agree.

If I may also add my 2c here ...Since no car price is mentioned here, so lets say he is looking to buy a 300k vehicle over 60 months at prime and no deposit. If he had to pay an additional 9k for the car, that's an increase of just R200.00 on his monthly instalments.

Now if a person can tell me they cant add in just R200 more for the vehicle they so badly want, then there's a big problem here.
 
Just get your money and walk away. The dealer could have avoided all this. They chose to stick to their fine print. You can no longer assure yourself that this dealer will not screw you and use fine print to screw you further.
 
zizebra said:
Just get your money and walk away. The dealer could have avoided all this. They chose to stick to their fine print. You can no longer assure yourself that this dealer will not screw you and use fine print to screw you further.
Click to expand...

Tantrum much? Did you even read the entire thread?
 
The_Traveller said:
Agree.

If I may also add my 2c here ...Since no car price is mentioned here, so lets say he is looking to buy a 300k vehicle over 60 months at prime and no deposit. If he had to pay an additional 9k for the car, that's an increase of just R200.00 on his monthly instalments.

Now if a person can tell me they cant add in just R200 more for the vehicle they so badly want, then there's a big problem here.
Click to expand...

Nah, I declined to purchase a car because it was R320 per month more than I was prepared to pay for a car
 
[video=youtube_share;glHNu91zUdA]https://youtu.be/glHNu91zUdA[/video]

nein nein nein nein
 
don't buy...

Anyone can see the social trick here.

sales person: "this is the price"
sales manager: "score more out of this guy, try x amount."
Sales person: "x amount unfortunately because y reason"

Now here I would've already said bs let me talk to you manager, and not to piss on the sales executive's head but It's pretty obvious how the business principle is formed."

Victims =/= customers

tell the dealer principle you're going to another dealership or even buy a different car.

The DP calls the sales executive in saying he/she did a piss poor job. However he/she was just following orders. Then have another sales exec call you with a better price.

(Dog eat dog world)
 
Unless you work for Car Magazine who can only sing praises at VW's uselessness, just go buy another car!

I once walked around a VW dealership showroom waiting to be helped by someone to try out a Passat. When nobody bothered to show up i went off to the BMW...
 
neoprema said:
Unless you work for Car Magazine who can only sing praises at VW's uselessness, just go buy another car!

I once walked around a VW dealership showroom waiting to be helped by someone to try out a Passat. When nobody bothered to show up i went off to the BMW...
Click to expand...

Aha! I see that you have taste.
If you didn't you would have driven a VW off the showroom floor.:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X