buying new car question. did my buddy get ripped?

[vash]

ok, friend/coworker is getting an audi A3. hemming and hawing for days, he works out a really good deal. when it came time to deliver, the dealer quit answering the telephone. sales manager calls back and says, "i cant sell the car at that price! sorry"

wtf? can the dude do that?

[Eric 951]

Originally posted by vash
ok, friend/coworker is getting an audi A3. hemming and hawing for days, he works out a really good deal. when it came time to deliver, the dealer quit answering the telephone. sales manager calls back and says, "i cant sell the car at that price! sorry"

wtf? can the dude do that?

Does he have anything in writing? or just a verbal? In some states a verbal contract is considered binding, but would he want to conduct a major transaction with a dealer who is already off to a start like this?

[john70t]

If there was a purchase agreement signed by both parties(buyer has copy), or he has witnesses to a verbal agreement, then he may have some kind of legal recourse. Other than that, talk is cheap.
Go to another dealer and send an (edited) copy of the sale back to el'switcheroo with a big haha.

[Steve Carlton]

In CA, a dealer can do that. Which one was it?

[fastpat]

Originally posted by vash
ok, friend/coworker is getting an audi A3. hemming and hawing for days, he works out a really good deal. when it came time to deliver, the dealer quit answering the telephone. sales manager calls back and says, "i cant sell the car at that price! sorry"

wtf? can the dude do that?

Write 'em off, and publish the dealer's info far and wide; particularly on Audi fora.

[vash]

Originally posted by Steve Carlton
In CA, a dealer can do that. Which one was it?

the one in livermore.

[widebody911]

Technically, he's not ripped until cash changes hands, but it sounds like B&S on the part of the dealer.

If it ain't in writing, it ain't shit

[john70t]

Tailight warrentee= your tailights gone, your warrentee gone.

[Steve Carlton]

Have your friend call Paul Robles at Oakland Porsche/Audi. He's an honest, stand-up guy. (510) 808-8047.

[steve911]

I would suggest putting in a call and/or sending a letter to the Audi district office. Let them know what a local dealer is doing to smear the Audi name. Doesn't take much negative publicity to cause a problem (can you say Audi 5000 unintended acceleration?)

[zuffen]

I'll second Paul Robles at Oakland!

[Moneyguy1]

Send a letter to the State Attorney General with full details. YOu might be pleasantly surprised. Case in point: A less than one year old Compaq computer developed problems. Compaq hemmed and hawed (computer was 8 months old), saying it was out of warranty, asking for a copy of the invoice and other delaying tactics. I have a buddy who is a computer tech. He came over, gave it a thorough going over and discovered that one of the 512 MB memory sticks was bad. COmpaq refused to reimburse. Enter the Attorney General: All of a sudden a call from a Compaq VP. "How much diod the repair cost? We will send you a check for double the amount". We got the check, but I sure as hell will not buy another Compaq..

Recently we had a loca Chevoret dealer who ran a full page ad, showing the price, a monthly payment and the number of payments. When you multiplied the payment by the number of payments, the total was far short of the price. At the bottom of the page in very small print, a disclaimer "does not include residual value". The ad was for a LEASE but did not state such. AG was notified and I now have a letter from the dealer which in effect states: "We did nothing wrong and we will not do it again", and went on to try to blame their ad agency. The AG contacted me, said they were not about to buy that story, and was going to investigate further.

Go for it.

[cantdrv55]

Look, if there was no exchange of monies, nothing in writing, leave the dealership and go to the next one. He doesn't have to buy from them and they don't have to sell to him. Don't get emotional and cause a scene (that's the hardest thing NOT to do when you feel ripped off). What goes around comes around.

[gr8fl4porsche]

Verbal agreements are not worth the paper they are printed on.

[ZOA NOM]

Livermore's still a pretty small town. I wouldn't expect much of a deal at any dealership here. Look for a place that turns more volume.

[89911]

How many times has someone that was going to buy a car backed out at the last minute and changed there mind? Just because the deal was close may of made it harder to accept but still, nothing is done until its signed for. I've had new car sellers call me back after quoting a price only to find out that they couldn't do the deal. New cars do not make much profit. All the business from a dealership is usually generated from service, parts and used car sales. Tell him to go to another dealer with the same price and see if it can be matched and don't waste your time with any further letters and such.