What is your opinions, Caddy purchase gone wrong

[auld-vw-wifey]

Hi (warning long post)

wanted to get other people's opinions, am I too picky. Sold my Viper Green 2.0 tdi in November because it was diesel and I wasn't doing the mileage. My plan was to purchase a 1.4 tsi Caddy Highline spec, but realised quickly they are hard to come by, so from the feedback on here decided I would need to maybe travel further a field to get the right specification. Eventually, just before Christmas I found a 1.4 tsi Highline 2018 with just under 44,000 miles, which ticked most of my boxes. It was described as being meticulously maintained by its 2 previous owners. The van was 5 hours, spoke to garage and was sent a video, the van looked great. So I discussed with seller getting the rear fully sound deadened and carpeted. I also asked if they could install electric heated mirrors with power fold option.

The boss got back in touch with a price and we were both happy to proceed, and i paid a deposit. They were outsourcing the mirror install, which because of the festive season would take longer. I was fine with this because I was getting my dream van. I had to keep hounding them for updates, the mirrors caused a lot of problems, with the sourcing, fitting and coding but I was very patient. Long story short was told that the van would be ready for collection Saturday 17th February, organised dog sitter and transport for collection to be told on Friday 16th at teatime that it wasn't going to be ready, they felt that to get it up to their standard for collection more time was needed . To say I was angry and disappointed was an understatement, but I kept it together convincing myself it would all be worth it.

Fast forward to the next week, they said they would contact me to confirm but collection would likely be the 24th February. This wasn't confirmed until Friday the 23rd. During the conversation the sales guy said that he would organise the paperwork for the final bill because the balance had to be paid by bank transfer and I was advised that most people do this before the journey to collect. This is a reputable company who deals in Caddy sales. I already had the final bill with the agreed price but actually thought the way he spoke that I was getting money off as a good will gesture because of the inconvenience. I would receive the updated bill Friday and I could make the transaction. Never received the updated bill, so I paid the amount that had initially been agreed on by bank transfer.

Left home at 6.00am for the journey, left messages telling them I had paid the balance from the initial bill because they hadn't got back to me. About 3 hours into the journey got an email with the new bill stating that I owed them another £1500. Made a call to discuss this and informed the sales guy that the price had been confirmed with his boss way back at the start and I had it in writing and there was no way I was paying any more. Within 10 minutes another bill arrived with various figures on it and I had nothing left to pay. Was told no hurry for collection they were open all day. Unbeknown to me the worst was yet to come.

I arrived just after 12 o'clock, shook hands with the sales guy, who then proceeded to show me the van, the first thing I noticed was the imperfections in the paintwork. Its not a new van, so you have got to expect that, but apart from the swirls, there were deep scratches, blemishes, a few dents and a lot of chips in the paint some that had been touched up and some that were not. A lot of the chips couldn't have been stone chips because of where they were. I looked at the sales guy in disbelief to which he replied "if I am being honest we could have done with having it another week". He said a machine polish would help. He opened the driver door and pointed out that the carpet had a hole in it and the steering wheel wasn't in great condition, no leather across the top. He convinced me to take it for a test drive, because all this stuff was cosmetic and could be fixed. I had already made up my mind, there was no way I was taking the van. Took it for test drive, why I don't know, sliding door wouldn't register as closed on dash even though it was closed. Lucky if I was away 10 mins, got back and told him no way was I taking van and wanted a full refund. He then said that he could give me £500 towards a machine polish and I could get it fixed at home. I informed him that many of my past vehicles had 2 and 3 stage paint correction and ceramic coatings applied and there was no way that it would rectify the paintwork on this van. So I have no van and need to speak to boss tomorrow about full refund, not to mention a wasted 10 hour journey. To say I am disappointed is an understatement, and I am also worried about getting a full refund.

Sorry for the really long post. What are your thoughts.

Thanks

[Alex mc]

Sorry to hear of your miss fortune regarding your new van mate. After reading your full post I’d say get a good lawyer as the garage seems to be at the fiddle . I recon the reason they wanted you to pay the full balance knowing the van was in bad shape . You paid the bill , and you now own it, is the way the garage will see it mate . Personally I wouldn’t have parted with the rest of the cash until I’d seen the van . Worst case scenario If I were you you I’d offer to pay for the modifications that you requested and ask them to refund the rest as you asked for these mods to be carried out. The way the garage see it is they could have sold the van with or without these modifications and now the van only appeals to a narrower market .

The sales guy needs to go to specsavers by the sounds of it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PJD]

I question the milage of 44K.
The materials of the Caddy steering wheel and floor are hard wearing. I would bet that most people on this forum have older vans with higher mileages and their floor and steering wheels still look in great, near perfect condition.

Equally the paint condition. Stone chips are often a result of high speed motorway journeys. 44K over 6 years doesn't sound like motorway mileage. General paint damage and dings normally take time to accumulate.

I suspect that you did not have had time to inspect the VIN, run diagnostic through the OBD.
Could this be a ringer? Did you use a car checking services to verify the details?

Though it would cost you more money you could pay to have an AA/RAC inspection. They would do these checks.

No a legal expert but you can reject a sale if it does not match description. Small claims courts are very good at siding with the claimant.

[Andrew5]

Not a very good garage by the sounds of it I bought my pickup over the phone after viewing photos and I am sure the sales man said I had the right to reject it if I wasn’t happy with it but I didn’t collect from the garage it was brought up on the back of a truck and if I rejected it I had to pay to return it to the garage luckily the sales man was very genuine

[PeterAFox]

Ummm, hard luck.
Lawyers are expensive.
I would try getting some official support - maybe this helps https://www.gov.uk/consumer-protection-rights , at least if the garage knows that they might investigate even a little.
I would definitely send them a recorded delivery letter demanding the return of the money within seven days and mention the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Given that you have a video (I assume no damage to be seen) they might even be behaving criminally.
I think the EU law (which probably still applies in the UK) states that if a car has been in an accident the buyer must be clearly (in writing) informed by dealers (not private sales) - damage like you mention is probably from an accident... or? (All I found was: https://euroweeklynews.com/2021/12/26/n ... m-january/)

Many many years ago I had a colleague who lived in Coventry who bought a used car from a dealer and drove it for about 4 years without any problems. Someone seriously drove into him, so his car was towed to a garage for assessment. They told him that his car was actually two, probably crash, cars which had been welded together. He contacted the dealer where he had bought it and got a FULL refund with interest. He didn't even have to pay for the wear and tear / usage.

[Lockstock]

"whenever there is any doubt, there is no doubt"

I understand the process you went through, but personally those red flags would have made me back out of purchase. Hopefully you get a remedy

[Alex mc]

@PeterAFox

Lawyers are expensive and for good reason they know how to win an argument and know the law and what can and can’t be achieved.

I note all you have mentioned in your post however if this business decides to fold and then restart his money is gone as is the chance of recovery of any money regardless of the consumer rights act you can’t chase someone or a business if there isn’t one and it’s dissolved.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[auld-vw-wifey]

Thanks for all your comments, spoke to the boss today and was given a full refund. Think I was really lucky. I have decided from now on, no matter the distance, I will view the vehicle personally.

Going to purchase a cheap vehicle that I can use on a daily basis and wait for the right Caddy.

Thanks

[auld-vw-wifey]

I question the milage of 44K.
The materials of the Caddy steering wheel and floor are hard wearing. I would bet that most people on this forum have older vans with higher mileages and their floor and steering wheels still look in great, near perfect condition.

Equally the paint condition. Stone chips are often a result of high speed motorway journeys. 44K over 6 years doesn't sound like motorway mileage. General paint damage and dings normally take time to accumulate.

I suspect that you did not have had time to inspect the VIN, run diagnostic through the OBD.
Could this be a ringer? Did you use a car checking services to verify the details?

Though it would cost you more money you could pay to have an AA/RAC inspection. They would do these checks.

No a legal expert but you can reject a sale if it does not match description. Small claims courts are very good at siding with the claimant.

Used a car checking service and no red flags.

[PeterAFox]

Lawyers are expensive and for good reason they know how to win an argument and know the law and what can and can’t be achieved.

I note all you have mentioned in your post however if this business decides to fold and then restart his money is gone as is the chance of recovery of any money regardless of the consumer rights act you can’t chase someone or a business if there isn’t one and it’s dissolved.

That's not my experience - lawyers are best as a last resort because you have to pay them even if they don't do anything, or like in this case, the car dealer did the right thing. Sure, there are some people/dealers who want to cheat / avoid the law and find loopholes. In our family, we have engaged maybe 50 lawyers over the last 30 years, with all honesty I can say that only one of them was any good or made any effort. The general moral and professional standards in the legal industry are appalling, but of course there are exceptions.

[Sausage]

Sounds like you got off lucky, dealers can make it very difficult to get your money back.

I’d never pay before viewing, and when you do pay use a credit card you get more protection that way.

[PJD]

Glad you got it resolved but shame they were not more up front about the real condition. They have wasted your time and theirs.

Keep looking for the vehicle you want. One is bound to turn up within a reasonable distance eventually.