Problem with new MK VI order

[guliver_twist]

Hi All,

I ordered a brand new MK VI 118TSI, manual, pearl black, sports pack, sunroof.

I placed a deposit on the car and signed the contract. The car was due to arrive on the 22nd of this month, however, yesterday the dealer informed me that my car had been double booked on the system and that another dealer has pinched my car. I have already been waiting for the car since the start of March.

They have the same spec car in silver and gray but I really want it in black. The closest shipment with a car that is similar to my spec is June. I am very upset about the whole ordeal.

The dealer has offered to loan me a car for the last 2-3 weeks of this period.
I have already sold my old car and was catching public transport for around 4 weeks in anticipation of my new car (3 hours a day). Luckily I now have a work car on loan but that is besides the point.


Could you please offer your advice on what I should do and what my entitlements would be in regards to the contract signed.

Many Thanks!!

[mikinoz]

Sorry to hear about this. Situation sounds plausable, all the same they made the error securing the car and telling you a delivery date.

If it has been double booked ask why you are the one missing out. Has your contract got the delivery date and car vin on it? If your contract has the vin then by selling to another they breach the contract of sale.

If it were me, I would ask to speak to the dealer principal, then vwa, then suggest for fun today tonight would love to beat up your public transport story.

Sorry I can't do more for you. Goodluck.

[Silver dub]

That's rough! I would be so annoyed about it. Don't just settle for another colour becasue they stuffed up becasue you'll get the car and then think " damm i really wanted black". I would follow up on what miconoz has said, he makes a good point, And if all that fails to get you anywhere and you have to wait till june for the car i would be asking for some compensation like some extra's thrown in for free. I'd be asking for some 18" wheels and other accessories for what they put you through. That's what i'd do anyway because it's there stuff up to begin with!

[Greg Roles]

Shizzle happens.

Either walk away with your deposit, push the dealer as Mik suggests, or wait and milk the situation in your favour with some nice extra's. Personally I'd consider waiting and getting some nice freebies!!

[STV4SYT]

Same thing happened me, except i bought the car off the floor put down deposit and then it turned out to have been already sold by the corporate section and they hadnt updated the car or the system. I was offered a different colour but stood my ground, and ended up getting the exact spec of car i wanted shipped in from Port Macquarie.

Id be getting them to try and source one from another dealer as they all should have visibility but dont always use it as it costs them to transport cars around.

The other thing i guess and this is just from my perspective is that maybe they are trying to save you the pain of owning a black car, i swore never again....

[Russ59]

Shizzle happens.

Either walk away with your deposit, push the dealer as Mik suggests, or wait and milk the situation in your favour with some nice extra's. Personally I'd consider waiting and getting some nice freebies!!

x2, push them to make it worth your while if you really want black as the colour.

Personally, black cars look nice, but they shows marks and scratches a lot more than lighter colours, it's worth considering another colour IMHO

[PassatB6]

Sorry, but no excuses will do here. This sort of crap happens too often with dealers to always be an 'accident'. Often they sell your car to someone who comes in and wants one straight away but who hasn't signed a contract. As you have signed a contract they already have you.

If they had made a genuine mistake they should have already offered you some form of compensation but, as they haven't, they are not in slightest bit concerned about their 'mistake'. That's a bad sign - You should take your money and go elsewhere.

[guliver_twist]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I will definitely lodge a complaint with VWA about their computer system. I also have two quotes from another dealer that incorrectly remove GST from the base price and then add over 2k to the total quote. Now this same system has allowed for a double booking. Apparently my dealer has spoken to VWA and they were unwilling to get the car back for me.

Tomorrow I will do a bit of research to see if there is stock of a same spec car anywhere else. I am hoping that someone from VW head office can rectify the situation or help offer a significant discount for my troubles.

My last car was a ford focus and the car I put a deposit on was nosedived when being unloaded from a truck. Ford then upgraded me to the model above (LS to Zetec) for a very small price increase. This car ended up being a lemon.
Now that someone has stolen my golf I feel like the bad omen could be repeating.
Anyways, wish me luck.

Thanks again everyone.

[coastie]

Gary Crick on sunshine coast has black tsi with sunroof and satnav. I drove it last week. We are waiting on a reflex silver one. I don't know your location but try them. Your dealer may transfer it but I would ask for a lot of compensation for your trouble.

[VW Convert]

Really irks me to hear of this sort of treatment, something similar happened to me when I ordered my VW. Signed up in early April, delivery was to be by end of June as the lease was up on my existing car. Dealer said they had one on the water the spec I wanted less electric seat adjust so I said OK and signed up. Went to see the dealer two weeks before it was due only to be told someone had double booked the car and that they had ordered one from the factory for me which would arrive in September!

In principle, you have a contract with the dealer (which should include a delivery date), if you tried to wriggle out they would ask you to cover their losses, you are entitled to the same although a lot depends on whether there is a firm delivery date or clauses that may allow some lattitude for the dealer. In my case, the dealer gave me a loan car for the entire period until delivery of the new one. If you go to the dealer and speak very nicely but firmly and suggest that you will incur a loss because of their inability to comply with the contract I would be surprised if they did not see your point of view and offer you a loaner for the entire period. Stage two would of course be to say you will cancel the order and buy another brand of car and complain to VWA.

What really irks me about this is that I have worked with inventory managment systems for donkeys years, I've yet to see one that allows an item that has been allocated to one customer to be sold to another customer. Blaming the computer is the oldest trick in the book, nothing more than a con job, I would suggest that a human being overrode the allocation of that vehicle.

Put the heat on them and see what happens.

[Greg Roles]

In my bike shop days, this used to happen even with import bicycles. You'd take a deposit and order for a customer on say an Italian racing bike, it would be given an approx delivery, only to be told they had "incorrectly ordered" or "gotten the wrong delivery". Bottom line is on a bit of investigation, the bike in question would end up at a bigger dealer, and you'd get a story, and be expected to "lie" to the customer. Total rubbish.

My vote is someone higher up the food chain that your dealer needed that car, and your dealer got told a story / made a deal / got some sort of compensation, but has to give you a story in return.

I purchased at Garry Cricks and have to rate them as an awesome dealer. That's where I'd be taking my order asap!

[mr gee]

Sorry to hear about your experience. Its not unique to VW as I had similar crap experience with Toyota and Audi.

Unless, you are prepared to wait for your specific model, I would suggest you negotiate for next best and get some sort of concession from the dealer

[neil]

New model same practices.

[pologti18t]

There is no guarantee that a car arriving in June will be available in June....

We are in a RECESSION. Anyone who needs to wait months for a car in this market is a loon

Forget the black... take another colour and screw the dealer over for some free "incentives" to cover your distress over not getting the colour you wanted.

Look at your contract... is there a delivery date entered? If so, I think you will find the contract is null/void if delivery does not occur within 30 or 60 days of that date.

[Retired]

Hi mate, I am with some of the others, take a different colour as black is a major PITA!

Also, milk them for whatever you can, warranty, 18's, free service and free wash for life? Maybe stretching it but hey.