PCP - Early Termination Query

CL4RKY

CL4RKY

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Due to personnel circumstance changes it wouldn't be feasible for me to get the car.

The car is built now and should be ready for delivery in September.

I have paid part of the deposit for the car, but have not signed any finance papers yet.

Is it possible for me to walk away from this? If so would I just need to pay the rest of the deposit?


Thanks in advance,
CL4RKY
 
I think all you need to do is pay the deposit for getting it built ie £1000 the rest of the deposit is up to you, so provided you've paid over £1000 I think you could just walk away
 
Deposit is £2000, I was meant to have prepaid £500 but have only paid £300, So if I pay the remainder £1700, I should be able to walk away?

:( Gutted about this but have no choice
 
CL4RKY said:
Deposit is £2000, I was meant to have prepaid £500 but have only paid £300, So if I pay the remainder £1700, I should be able to walk away?

:( Gutted about this but have no choice
Click to expand...

I assume the £2000 deposit is for the whole finance deal. You are not going to take that out, so don't need to pay the deposit.

They took £300 and ordered the car, so can't see how they can ask for anymore now.

Your spec doesn't look particularly outlandish, so I would think they could sell it with no problems, particularly with the lead times at the moment.

I would go back to the dealer, explain your hard times and request return of your £300.

At the very worst they would say no. Refuse to pay any more anyway - that would be my advice.
 
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This, I think they charge £1000 because that's the cost of delivery and other bits for getting it here, see what they say but at worst only agree to pay delivery which I believe is around £600 they will sell it easily enough.
 
Agree with the above - If you've not signed anything, there's nothing more to pay. You could request the deposit back, they might say no, but that's all you'd lose. They accepted the order on what you paid them so you have nothing more to pay. They might charge you more for a deposit before you place an order next time though if you use them in the future though.
 
Do NOT pay anymore to them. Go and see them, explain and ask for your £300 back. If they say no then so be it, but they shouldn't hold on to it if they are respectable... It gets complicated after that, but do not pass any more money to them, no matter what they say. If they are any good they will give you the £300 back and sell the car. You haven't signed any financial documents yet so you are not liable for anything else.
 
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Sounds like a crappy situation I nearly pulled out of my order and the thoughts and feelings do, indeedy..suck!

I don't think you should pay the remainder of the deposit and if the dealer starts kicking off requesting it then let us know here which dealer it is, your salesman should hopefully understand and I've no doubt they will shift a brand new car easy due to waiting times as mentioned above. You should let your salesman know asap. Expect a bit of awkwardness but your goals just to get out of this.

Also; PCP is basically the finance. You pay a deposit for the order of the car which in ordinary circumstances remains with the dealer if you pull out, the PCP is just your way of buying the car instead of paying all the money upfront.

Don't be too worried about the 1700 deficit, if you start saying you will pay that and walk away the dealership will be pushy and get this from you, if your situation has taken a change for the worse don't pay even more and make it even worse.

Let us know how you get on.
 
I've just reread the thread; you basically paid £300 instead of the usual £500 (or £1000) when ordering the car. This serves as the deposit the dealer keeps if you pull out.

You haven't paid the deposit for the finance because you aren't taking the finance, or the car.

So, you should seek to recover the £300 by explaining your situation, but, worst case scenario (based on what you've said) you should only lose the £300. The rest isn't enforceable.
 
Definitely do not pay any more, the £300 was secure the car build for you. As no finance paperwork has been signed yet they can sell the car to somebody else no trouble. You may or may not get the £300 back, but at least you hadn't taken delivery and dropped thousands in value
 
Check the order form for the car. This will have the terms and conditions you agreed when you signed the order (that's what the deposit is for). I think the dealer has to note the deposit paid and per the T's and C's can keep this. Per other comments the finance is separate and usually signed on delivery. It's a shame you can't take the car but remember these guys sell cars day in and day out so this happens sometimes. They won't have any problems finding a new owner and depending on the reason you can't take the car may think a £300 refund is a small price to pay to keep a potential future customer.
 
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Wow, didn't expect all these responses!

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond, I feel tiny bit better known I won't lose 2k I guess, but still so gutted to not be getting the car :( was counting down the days from when I first ordered.

I will ask for the deposit back then but the person I've been dealing with has been the worst from start so doubt I will but to have the 1700 I thought I would lose isn't so bad.

It was either get the car and have to move in with parents again or stay in the house. Room mate dropped me in the ****. Bad times but maybe in few years I can order again.
 
IIRC the T&Cs say they can keep as much of the deposit you have already paid as required to cover their losses. If they sell the car for spec price they have effectively lost nothing so you should get your £300 back. Of course since it's a built car they might have to mark it down a little to sweeten a deal for someone who is compromising on spec so you could lose the £300. They shouldn't ask for more though.
 
5 PAYMENT OF PURCHASE PRICE
5.1 The Customer shall pay the Purchase Price (less the Part Exchange Allowance) and shall take delivery of the Vehicle within 14 days of being informed by Inchcape that the Vehicle is ready for delivery.
5.2 The Purchase Price shall be paid in cleared funds before delivery of the Vehicle and shall be received not less than five working days before delivery of the Vehicle.
5.3 If the Customer fails to pay for the Vehicle in cleared funds within the 14 day period referred to in clause 5.1 above, Inchcape may:-
(i) treat the contract as repudiated by the Customer and thereupon the deposit shall be forfeited without prejudice to Inchcape's right to recover from the Customer by way of damages any loss or expense which Inchcape may have suffered; and
(ii) charge the Customer interest (both before and after any judgment) on the amount unpaid, at the rate of 4 per cent per annum above National Westminster Bank Plc from time to time, until payment in full is made.

/we hereby declare and certify as follows:
A. I/we understand that by signing this document it constitutes an offer by me/us to purchase the vehicle / sell any Part Exchange Vehicle referred to in the document which offer can only be accepted by the signature of the General Manager/ Business Manager/ Sales Manager/ Sales Controller of the dealership;

You contracted to buy the car, the above is copied from my contract, i'm not an expert but i don't think its as simple as people are saying.
If they can shift it they may make it easier....
 
None of that seems to suggest anything about this situation, only the 14 days after the delivery.
 
Other than the first section you sign


A. I/we understand that by signing this document it constitutes an offer by me/us to purchase the vehicle
 
Intresting link - http://www.justanswer.com/uk-law/50d76-ordered-new-car-main-audi-dealer-april-aying.html

So it could be just the £300
Generally, when you place an order and pay a deposit you enter into a legally enforceable contract. The other party has accepted your deposit as security and as proof that you want to enter into this contract. Unless the other party has committed a fundamental breach of contract you would have no legal right to cancel the agreement and if you do so you will be acting in breach of contract and lose the deposit. There would be no obligation on the seller to refund your deposit unless it was pre-agreed that it was a refundable deposit, which does not appear to be the case here. Looking at the contract, it does state that if you “terminate the contract relating to the sale and purchase of goods the deposit shall be forfeited”.
 
yetirider said:
Intresting link - http://www.justanswer.com/uk-law/50d76-ordered-new-car-main-audi-dealer-april-aying.html

So it could be just the £300
Generally, when you place an order and pay a deposit you enter into a legally enforceable contract. The other party has accepted your deposit as security and as proof that you want to enter into this contract. Unless the other party has committed a fundamental breach of contract you would have no legal right to cancel the agreement and if you do so you will be acting in breach of contract and lose the deposit. There would be no obligation on the seller to refund your deposit unless it was pre-agreed that it was a refundable deposit, which does not appear to be the case here. Looking at the contract, it does state that if you “terminate the contract relating to the sale and purchase of goods the deposit shall be forfeited”.
Click to expand...

No problem, I hope I only lose the £300 deposit and dont have to give them another £1700.

I was meant to hear back from him today about it as he said he would ring, but all the way through the order I have to chase him up a lot before I get a response...

I will ring tomorrow and will hopefully know what is happening.

I understand Audi might lose a bit of money on this car, but a company as big as Audi wont really miss a few thousand, if that...
 
CL4RKY said:
No problem, I hope I only lose the £300 deposit and dont have to give them another £1700.

I was meant to hear back from him today about it as he said he would ring, but all the way through the order I have to chase him up a lot before I get a response...

I will ring tomorrow and will hopefully know what is happening.

I understand Audi might lose a bit of money on this car, but a company as big as Audi wont really miss a few thousand, if that...
Click to expand...

It's really the clause in the contract regarding payment as mentioned above that could affect you, the last part of your reply as quoted is something you don't want to repeat to them over the phone or in writing (or email!). Your position is simple; you can't afford the car due to a personal change of circumstance, don't worry about their position!

Theoretically they could pursue you for damages etc but in reality I highly doubt they will do this when they can sell the vehicle on, I had a friend cancel his Audi a while back due to financial problems, he lost the £1k deposit and the manager was really rude and demeaning to him and ended it saying he can easily find another buyer anyway. Only wish I was with him at the time, the ******* would have started crying after I finish with him. Anyway, they didn't pursue him for anything.
 
CL4RKY said:
I will ask for the deposit back then but the person I've been dealing with has been the worst from start so doubt I will but to have the 1700 I thought I would lose isn't so bad.
Click to expand...

If we are to get a bit technical here; that doesn't sound good, because the sales order you signed (if its the standard Audi one) allows them to mitigate any losses by putting them on you. In this situation if the car has already been registered to your name then it could cause an issue, if this has not yet happened (making the car brand new) I would send a short email stating you have been trying to contact him for a while because your situation has changed and you cannot afford the car, ask him to contact you asap. Don't say anything else.

At least that way, if, and its a big IF, it goes wary, they will not be able to claim much as you have notified them as soon as your circumstances changed.
 
yetirider said:
5 PAYMENT OF PURCHASE PRICE
5.1 The Customer shall pay the Purchase Price (less the Part Exchange Allowance) and shall take delivery of the Vehicle within 14 days of being informed by Inchcape that the Vehicle is ready for delivery.
5.2 The Purchase Price shall be paid in cleared funds before delivery of the Vehicle and shall be received not less than five working days before delivery of the Vehicle.
5.3 If the Customer fails to pay for the Vehicle in cleared funds within the 14 day period referred to in clause 5.1 above, Inchcape may:-
(i) treat the contract as repudiated by the Customer and thereupon the deposit shall be forfeited without prejudice to Inchcape's right to recover from the Customer by way of damages any loss or expense which Inchcape may have suffered; and
(ii) charge the Customer interest (both before and after any judgment) on the amount unpaid, at the rate of 4 per cent per annum above National Westminster Bank Plc from time to time, until payment in full is made.

/we hereby declare and certify as follows:
A. I/we understand that by signing this document it constitutes an offer by me/us to purchase the vehicle / sell any Part Exchange Vehicle referred to in the document which offer can only be accepted by the signature of the General Manager/ Business Manager/ Sales Manager/ Sales Controller of the dealership;

You contracted to buy the car, the above is copied from my contract, i'm not an expert but i don't think its as simple as people are saying.
If they can shift it they may make it easier....
Click to expand...

Worth reading the contract, those terms are quite different from mine for instance. Mine says (paraphrasing) that if you fail to purchase the vehicle they will sell it on, or at auction and then deduct their costs for said sale from your deposit. If their costs exceed the deposit you have to pay any additional costs.

It makes no mention of interest charges nor of the loss of the deposit over their incurred costs.
 
The car hasnt been registered in my name yet but its allocated to me I guess (if that's the same thing)... All I've signed is the Audi Vehicle order contract which just confirms the order I've tried reading through the T&Cs but can't really find anything relating to getting a refund...

It does say "I agree to pay £300 on the signing of this contract and I will pay the balance detailed above as soon as delivery of the vehicle has been confirmed to me"

I havnt been given an exact delivery date just an estimate on the contract which is 30/10/2014 but when I was asking last month they said early September but nothing official.

I totally accept that they will keep the £300 I just hope I don't need to fawlk out another £1700!
 
Flibble said:
Worth reading the contract, those terms are quite different from mine for instance. Mine says (paraphrasing) that if you fail to purchase the vehicle they will sell it on, or at auction and then deduct their costs for said sale from your deposit. If their costs exceed the deposit you have to pay any additional costs.

It makes no mention of interest charges nor of the loss of the deposit over their incurred costs.
Click to expand...

Its pretty much the same thing, in order for them to pursue any claim they need to prove losses. As this would involve a lot of time, proof, and money its rare a dealer will do this, maybe on something highly specialised but not for the OP.


CL4RKY said:
The car hasnt been registered in my name yet but its allocated to me I guess (if that's the same thing)... All I've signed is the Audi Vehicle order contract which just confirms the order I've tried reading through the T&Cs but can't really find anything relating to getting a refund...

It does say "I agree to pay £300 on the signing of this contract and I will pay the balance detailed above as soon as delivery of the vehicle has been confirmed to me"

I havnt been given an exact delivery date just an estimate on the contract which is 30/10/2014 but when I was asking last month they said early September but nothing official.

I totally accept that they will keep the £300 I just hope I don't need to fawlk out another £1700!
Click to expand...

Allocation and registration are not the same. The dealer allocates the car, the registration is with DVLA.

If I'm honest I think you are worrying too much and the bad sales person has probably had this effect on you, I would call again tomorrow and speak to the manager if the sales person is not available then send in an email just to prove you are giving them plentiful notice. Tbh, if the manager is decent he will refund you and understand your situation, if hes a bad guy the worst he can do is take the deposit so don't worry or feel the need to plead with them. The car has probably not even been built yet and they or another dealer in the network will fill that slot the same day!

Stop worrying.
 
5.3 If the Customer fails to pay for the Vehicle in cleared funds within the 14 day period referred to in clause 5.1 above, Inchcape may:-
(i) treat the contract as repudiated by the Customer and thereupon the deposit shall be forfeited without prejudice to Inchcape's right to recover from the Customer by way of damages any loss or expense which Inchcape may have suffered; and

^ ^
I think this is the important bit.
It's basic contract law stuff really. And you didn't enter a PCP contact so that's irrelevant.
Just read the contract you made with them..... And be glad you only paid £300 deposit.
 
Soulboy said:
5.3 If the Customer fails to pay for the Vehicle in cleared funds within the 14 day period referred to in clause 5.1 above, Inchcape may:-
(i) treat the contract as repudiated by the Customer and thereupon the deposit shall be forfeited without prejudice to Inchcape's right to recover from the Customer by way of damages any loss or expense which Inchcape may have suffered; and

^ ^
I think this is the important bit.
It's basic contract law stuff really. And you didn't enter a PCP contact so that's irrelevant.
Just read the contract you made with them..... And be glad you only paid £300 deposit.
Click to expand...

Ok no problem, thanks again everyone for your inputs!

I'll ring again today to see what's going on.

When I find out the outcome I will post it on here, just for anyone else in the same boat.
 
Last edited:
CL4RKY - I've just noticed your in Newcastle - if your dealing within anyone fromthe North East Audi group then I wish you look as myself and a number of others have found them to be either totally incompetent, arrogant a$$oles or very disinterested. I dont know of anyone who has had a totally positive experience with any of their dealerships be that Newcastle, Teesside or Wearside. I bought my 8P S3 from Wearside in 2009 and it was a nightmare - I tried to buy my 8V S3 from them this year and pretty much had a crap experience so walked away.

I do hope you get your cash back - but I certainly wouldnt be quick to get my card out and give them a further £1700 and any dealer worth his salt wouldnt even ask you for it. They see cancelled orders all the time and as has been said above they will allocate your car to the next pinter who walks through the door wanting an A3 and just change your spec (if not locked) or persuade the new punter they are getting a crakcing deal and they have just the car for them that is almost built.

The contract law stuff does get tricky - but its a lot of effort for them to chase you for it for very little return in the grand scheme of things. Just refuse to pay it if they ask you for it and tell them to write to you with their terms and go get some free legal advice if they send you the demand in writing. I would be suprised if they even chase you for it.

Hope yu get some good news.
 
Well I've rang and left messages for 3 days in a row, still hasn't bothered getting back to me so I'm just going to leave it now, or should I go in?

He said he would ring me when he spoke to his manager on Monday...
 
Thats not very professional.
I wonder if you would be better sending a registered letter with a formal cancellation?
They have either accepted it or could be looking to charge you more, hard to say if they don't communicate.
 
I did say earlier to ring and ask to speak to the manager and also send in an email (to the sales person, copy to manager and the general inbox for that branch). Then after doing this, wait two days then go down there.

As it stands you are best going down there, just expect them to be ***holes to you, don't back down though.
 
A3_Rider said:
I did say earlier to ring and ask to speak to the manager and also send in an email (to the sales person, copy to manager and the general inbox for that branch). Then after doing this, wait two days then go down there.

As it stands you are best going down there, just expect them to be ***holes to you, don't back down though.
Click to expand...

Yeah mate I will write one up tomorrow cheers!
 
I bailed from my 8P A3 back in 2010 and was ready to read them the riot act when a cheque for the 1k deposit fell through the door!

For the sake of £300 I wouldn't worry. That was to secure your order. The 2k is the finance deposit. You don't need to pay them anymore.
 
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The salesman finally replied.

He has said I will lose the initial deposit of £300 and don't have to pay anything else.

I'm happy that I only lose £300 rather than £2000, but at same time I wont be getting my car in two weeks time :(.

I should be in a better position next year, so will hopefully have an Audi at some point in 2015.

Cheers again everyone for your comments!
 
Last edited:
Good to know, hope things improve.

The plus side is next year slighty used models = killer savings!:arco:
 
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Yeah, there were also a few options I wanted to add as well but couldn't as I asked too late, so may not be that bad after all :laugh:
 
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