Pay More Wait Less for a New Car?

epicman on 05/04/2022 - 19:54
Last edited 06/04/2022 - 10:42 by 1 other user

I've come on here to have a bit of a winge about the state of buying a new car in recent times. A few months ago I purchased a new car at a roughly 5% discount compared to todays price and was told at the time of signing that the car would be here by April however this unfortunately didn't make it onto the contract document.

As you may know it's April now and since buying the car there had been no updates at all so I gave the dealer a call today and whilst discussing the unknown status of the car the person answering the phone lets on that if I had paid more I would probably be waiting less. He told me that once dealers reach the end of the months factory allocation and can only fit one more car they will choose the one who paid more regardless of how long the buyer has been waiting.

This seems awfully unethical to me and wasn't said when I purchased the car presumably because the buyer would leave the dealer if they were caught acting like this before signing. I am also wondering if this is a new tactic to somehow get me to pay more after agreeing on the price months ago. I assumed at the time of buying that the waitlist would be on a first come first served basis irrespective of how much was actually paid. Subsequently I attempted to be put through to the salesman who originally sold me the car for an update from the horse's mouth and was told to expect a call back which didn't happen.

I am now wondering if I should break contract with this dealer and hope to find a more honest dealer or continue the waiting game with this one and hope one day it makes it into the month's factory schedule? Keen to hear if others have had the same experience or if I stumbled onto an especially rotten car dealership.

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  AndyC1 on 05/04/2022 - 19:59

  +8

  "unfortunately didn't make it onto the contract document" you got screwed by the stealership sales con artist then, but you agreed to it by signing it…. Never sign anything you do not agree to as it is a contract.

  Go into another stealership and see what they can offer and if it's better then cancel, but there will be a cancel fee of 5% from memory.

  • 

    Jimothy Wongingtons on 05/04/2022 - 20:07

    Not sure who negged ya.
    Contact is black and white. Don’t agree? Don’t sign. I agree.

  • 

    epicman on 05/04/2022 - 21:11

    Good advice and definitely something I should have remembered before signing but escaped my mind at the time and the dealer took advantage.

    My worry is if other dealers are playing similar games prioritising people based on how much they paid then I would be in the same place waiting indefinitely with the new dealer and there is possibly no way to truthfully know how orders are being allocated before signing.

    Regarding the 5% cancellation fee I've seen online recently quite a few people having this good-willed after saying the wait has been unreasonable or something to that effect. The dealers know once they eventually get it into stock they can sell it at full price to someone more desperate for a car immediately.

    • 

      DoctorCalculon on 06/04/2022 - 19:25

      Regarding the 5% cancellation fee I've seen online recently quite a few people having this good-willed

      Goodwill from stealerships? Double oof!

  • 

    DoctorCalculon on 06/04/2022 - 19:23

    but there will be a cancel fee of 5% from memory.

    Then there goes OP's:

    new car at a roughly 5% discount

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  Jimothy Wongingtons on 05/04/2022 - 20:06

  +12

  I assumed

  Oof

  honest dealer

  Double oof

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  sharkyoz on 05/04/2022 - 20:12

  +2

  you've got a tad over 3 weeks to still be delivered in April, wait till April finished then complain, don't jump the gun

  • 

    AndyC1 on 05/04/2022 - 20:36

    +1

    Call the sales person and ask if the car is in the country and if not then is it on the ship to OZ? Don't wait till the end of the month.

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  netjock on 05/04/2022 - 20:47

  +2

  Looked for a bog standard car in fleet colors (white). They will always have one, even on Christmas Eve. Even when I ordered it. It came in 2 months vs the original quote of 4 months.

  It is like ordering a bespoke burger at MacDonalds, be prepared to be messed around with.

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  spackbace on 05/04/2022 - 20:47

  Yeah nah, that's not the case for most dealers

  • 

    epicman on 05/04/2022 - 21:29

    I'd hope so as well but can't think of how to make sure a dealer is allocating the orders fairly either. I could stipulate that the car should be expected by this time or I can walk away with my deposit which may incentivise them to allocate it fairly but it's no guarantee.

    Interestingly when I was shopping around for this car I was at a Toyota dealership which had around 10 mostly white unsold RAV4 SUVs sitting in stock whilst others online are waiting many months for the same configuration which doesn't really make sense to me. Perhaps this unfair allocation could also be from head office if that's the case?

    • 

      spackbace on 06/04/2022 - 14:09

      I could stipulate that the car should be expected by this time or I can walk away with my deposit which may incentivise them to allocate it fairly but it's no guarantee.

      Your contract with show an estimated delivery date. If you read the conditions on the back, you can void the contract if you don't have it by that date

      Interestingly when I was shopping around for this car I was at a Toyota dealership which had around 10 mostly white unsold RAV4 SUVs sitting in stock whilst others online are waiting many months for the same configuration which doesn't really make sense to me. Perhaps this unfair allocation could also be from head office if that's the case?

      I'd find that pretty surprising given the wait times on these. They could very well actually be used cars masquerading as demos etc

      There are differences in allocation between WA and the rest of the country, and it's based on how many a dealer has sold prior. That's as much as I'll go into it

  • 

    AndyC1 on 05/04/2022 - 21:33

    I had a sales person say there is your car ready to drive away and I said "No it's not as this is not what I purchased" and then they said sorry I forgot to mention ……… is not fitted and ……. and …….

    • 

      spackbace on 06/04/2022 - 14:09

      Huge issues with parts availability right now

      • 

        AndyC1 on 06/04/2022 - 16:39

        +1

        This was in 2018!!!

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  Pelicannn on 05/04/2022 - 22:02

  I mean, its not May yet so you probably don't have any justification to complain yet…

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  pegaxs on 05/04/2022 - 22:17

  +5

  “Would be here in April”…

  We are currently 5 days into April, where 2 of those days were a weekend… Could you Karen any harder?

  • 

    epicman on 06/04/2022 - 00:45

    +3

    Perhaps I should have been more clear that I called enquiring on the status of the car as I've been given no updates such as it being reserved, built or shipped etc since ordering. As far as I know for the car to arrive April it needs to have been built already and be on a boat currently but with no updates at all and the dealer representative suggesting the order may not have even been submitted to the manufacture yet because of the discount I'm not expecting it to arrive this month. Sorry if my words came off as Karen-like but that certainly wasn't my intention.

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  Hardlyworkin on 05/04/2022 - 22:22

  +1

  Did they tell you it was due April 1st?

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  hasher22 on 05/04/2022 - 23:13

  Call for an update on where it is, it's only 5 days into April..

  Be patient, it will come, if it doesn't come in the suggested timeframe, then raise a complaint. Even if it comes on April 30th or even early May, don't think you should be compensated.

  Everything is delayed. Unless they have an unreasonable answer on why it's delayed, it could be delayed for many reasons such as parts, shipment delays, dock delays etc….

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  salmon123 on 05/04/2022 - 23:33

  +2

  He told me that once dealers reach the end of the months factory allocation and can only fit one more car they will choose the one who paid more regardless of how long the buyer has been waiting.

  Non-sense. Dealers purchase cars from the Australian subsidiary of the manufacturer. They don't have any sway with the factory. The Australian subsidiary could source the car you ordered from any number of factories, depending on how their supply chain is set up.

  Typically a factory is tooled up to make a particular model/trim level for a specific market. Most cars are really "custom" made, in the sense that your order doesn't go into a queue in the order your purchased it. Your order goes into a queue for when the factory is producing your model/trim level/market segment. If there's a delay, it just means your cars turn hasn't come yet.

  I purchased a new car at a roughly 5% discount compared to todays price

  Dealer don't make money by collecting orders and not delivering on them. Well, they might get a bonus or something for achieving a sales target in a particular month, but the real juice is in delivering the car and getting paid for it.

  I wouldn't cancel, because any other car you buy now will cost more. The dealer might be pushing you to cancel, so they can sell the car you bought for a higher price. We saw this with sunset clauses on off-the-plan apartment complexes, when prices rise.

  • 

    epicman on 06/04/2022 - 01:03

    Non-sense.

    The way I understood it from his spiel on the phone was that dealers are given a certain number of production slots they can fill each month and that is what the dealers have control over in regards to what customer orders make it in to factory production each month.

    The dealer might be pushing you to cancel, so they can sell the car you bought for a higher price.

    Smart thinking and this is probably their true intention and the talk about prioritisation based on amount paid could be rubbish to get me to cancel or pony up extra for the same car.

    • 

      salmon123 on 06/04/2022 - 06:08

      The way I understood it from his spiel on the phone was that dealers are given a certain number of production slots they can fill each month and that is what the dealers have control over in regards to what customer orders make it in to factory production each month.

      Would be easily confirmed by calling another dealer.

      It doesn't make a lot of sense to me that a dealer has any sway at the factory or that they would delay ordering a car after a sale, just because a more profitable customer might come along.

      • 

        spackbace on 06/04/2022 - 14:06

        +1

        It's true that dealers submit their orders each month based on what's in the system, but it's not true that price has anything to play in that process

        I'd be curious who the OP spoke to (another salesperson wanting to sour the deal maybe)

    • 

      netjock on 06/04/2022 - 10:19

      +1

      The way I understood it from his spiel on the phone was that dealers are given a certain number of production slots they can fill each month and that is what the dealers have control over in regards to what customer orders make it in to factory production each month.

      More likely they are told how many units of each model and grade is produced. Then that is it. Sell all you want, if you can't get one of those units then your order is bumped to the next batch.

      If you think about it this way. Nestle makes kit kat varieties and each super market is giving number of units they can fill each month. You'll end up with too much or too little at each supermarket. There is element of planning. The manufacturer forecasts demand and get the factory to produce accordingly. Then it is first in best dressed, any variation (a product is too popular) then the manufacturer schedules to make more units but needs to tell the supplier of parts to deliver more in a few weeks. It isn't like turning on a tap.

      Best of luck with getting the car. Sounds like a popular model. But you know as always when everyone tries to get into the same door (like at a night club) there is a queue. The same thing when everyone heads for the exits (when there is a fire, or like a stock market crash).

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  sjj89 on 06/04/2022 - 05:57

  You didn’t happen to order a Porsche Taycan did you?
  Cos that sucker is at the bottom of the Atlantic

  • 

    salmon123 on 06/04/2022 - 11:52

    Cos that sucker is at the bottom of the Atlantic

    Pretty sure that tanker didn't have cars destined for Australia on it.

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  Archi on 06/04/2022 - 09:04

  even if it was written in the contract that is would be delivered in April, there would be a sub clause subject to the manufacturing and delivery from over seas.

  april was their best bet.

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  [Deactivated] on 06/04/2022 - 10:37

  someone else got it at full price lol

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  GordonD on 06/04/2022 - 10:55

  +1

  There's things you know. And there's things you know you don't know. But its the things you don't know you don't know that get you.

  The OP didn't know that he could get an advantage in delivery time by paying more. And it bit him.