Topic: Can I cancel a contract from an Ontario Chevy dealer if I don't yet have a car?

[ktk]

Made a deal last night at a Chevy dealer for a new Cruze. They didn't have my car in stock, and weren't sure when they were going to be able to get one from another dealer (they estimated a few days or more). Since they don't have the car yet, the contract of course has no vehicle information on it - no VIN, no odometer reading, etc.

I'm reading the contract, talking to family, and realizing that the deal isn't as good as I thought. I want to exit the contract, and while I realize that there's no cooling off period in Ontario, I'm wondering if I can exit legally given that I haven't signed any paperwork that includes details on a car, I haven't actually seen or inspected the car they plan to sell me, and the contract has a handwritten note that says "Conditional on final inspection".

What are my options here, and what's the best way to approach the dealership so that they don't try to get me on some loophole?

Thanks in advance.

[ArticSteve]

Are you the same person that just posted about the VW Jetta?   

OK, how much did you put down and in what form; cheque, cc, etc?

[ktk]

Nope, not me with the Jetta. $1,500 down, credit card.

[ArticSteve]

The lack of VIN isn't a defense for weaseling out.

Which leaves you with  "Conditional on final inspection".   So you will need to sit on this and not give any indication WHATSOEVER that you are dissatisfied with the deal.

Although on Monday morning you better call them and tell them not to license it before you actually see it.  Then when you do see it and start to complain about nothing obvious they will know immediately what's going down because they go thru this exact same scenario continuously.

This is going to boil down to your acting skills vs how bad ass this particular Chevy dealer is.

[quadzilla]

I'm reading the contract, talking to family, and realizing that the deal isn't as good as I thought.

What is wrong with the deal?

[Cord]

I'm reading the contract, talking to family, and realizing that the deal isn't as good as I thought.

What is wrong with the deal?

Yes. What is wrong? The OP may not realize that in the entire history of the car business, a family member has never said, "You bought a new car? Oh, and what a fair price you paid!" It really is amazing how family and friends become so knowledgeable about car buying after you've made a decision.

And that goes double if it was a brother in law. 

[johngenx]

 a family member has never said, "You bought a new car? Oh, and what a fair price you paid!"

And that goes double if it was a brother in law. 

 

True.  So true.  Honestly, most people pay pretty close to the same price for new cars, especially for low-moderate priced cars like a Cruze.  Even if you paid MSRP you're probably not far off what most buyers pay.  There's just not a lot of margin in cars like that.

When we bought our Corolla I felt really good that the dealer came down $700 from sticker.  And without much haggling at all - basically they said "here's the bottom line, take it or leave it."  But, sure enough, a few friends were all "OMG, you should be getting thousands off!  THOUSANDS I TELL YOU, THOUSANDS!"  Uh, what planet are you buying a compact car on?

Maybe you bought all the rust-proofing-nitrogen-etc-etc?  In that case, you may be right that you overpaid...

[Ex-airbalancer]

 a family member has never said, "You bought a new car? Oh, and what a fair price you paid!"

And that goes double if it was a brother in law. 

 

True.  So true.  Honestly, most people pay pretty close to the same price for new cars, especially for low-moderate priced cars like a Cruze.  Even if you paid MSRP you're probably not far off what most buyers pay.  There's just not a lot of margin in cars like that.

When we bought our Corolla I felt really good that the dealer came down $700 from sticker.  And without much haggling at all - basically they said "here's the bottom line, take it or leave it."  But, sure enough, a few friends were all "OMG, you should be getting thousands off!  THOUSANDS I TELL YOU, THOUSANDS!"  Uh, what planet are you buying a compact car on?

Maybe you bought all the rust-proofing-nitrogen-etc-etc?  In that case, you may be right that you overpaid...

Today you can get $1000 off a Corolla, that what they have write on the car on the lot 

[pi314]

Yeah seriously. There's very little movement in a compact car.

Though dealers quoting significantly higher than MSRP then playing hardball is very annoying.

[tooscoops]

who knows though... as you said, aftermarket stuff (which that, you CAN renege on, but they won't like it) can make it not a good deal.. or maybe trade values...

anyway, if they have already located and taken a car in that they didn't have on the lot, you might be out some of that deposit. can't expect them to give up a car on their lot, pay a driver, pay the other dealer whatever fees they charged (wheel locks, etching, etc.), plus end up with a car they don't really desire having all just because you changed your mind.

if they haven't secured the car yet, you can possibly still get out of it. call them and just ask for another day before they go through with it.

[Jaeger]

I'm reading the contract, talking to family, and realizing that the deal isn't as good as I thought.

What is wrong with the deal?

Yes. What is wrong? The OP may not realize that in the entire history of the car business, a family member has never said, "You bought a new car? Oh, and what a fair price you paid!" It really is amazing how family and friends become so knowledgeable about car buying after you've made a decision.

And that goes double if it was a brother in law. 

True. Maybe he loaded up on a lot of expensive BS extras and now regrets it - who knows?  I'm always amazed at tooscoops' tales of people who fight tooth and nail over every last dollar on the purchase price, then walk into the business office and just bend over.

Can't see the lack of a VIN being any basis to void a purchase contract.  Not my area at all, though.

[dkaz]

Apparently only dealers can cancel deals:

http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/calgary-dealership-accused-of-reneging-on-signed-minivan-sales-agreement-1.3090170

[quadzilla]

I'm always amazed at tooscoops' tales of people who fight tooth and nail over every last dollar on the purchase price, then walk into the business office and just bend over.

I'm more amazed at the number of people that just throw down money on a car without knowing what they are really getting.

[Serniter]

'low makes' was probably meant to be 'low marks'.

[tooscoops]

had one guy on a used truck... tire tread depth passed safety, but he wanted new ones...he walked and said call him if we would do tires, but he wasn't budging. and this is on a truck nearly impossible to replace (super low km, high-end one)... lucky for him, when i had it in the air, we found a couple flaws in the tires and deemed we should put new ones on it... call him and bam.. deal done.

then he bought over 7k of stuff in the business office.

as for that calgary one... meh. the discrepancy between the signed deal and the "final" price is not very professional... but as for the rest, some people aren't qualified to be customers. this is a lady that was saving $10000 (as shown by the price she eventually paid... but that is a whole other story i think), yet wanted to complain about the dealer saving her the cash. this looks like a story that has at least three sides... oh, and yeah... very good proofreading.

[Jaeger]

I'm always amazed at tooscoops' tales of people who fight tooth and nail over every last dollar on the purchase price, then walk into the business office and just bend over.

I'm more amazed at the number of people that just throw down money on a car without knowing what they are really getting.

And then ask if it's a good deal after the fact.

[quadzilla]

I'm always amazed at tooscoops' tales of people who fight tooth and nail over every last dollar on the purchase price, then walk into the business office and just bend over.

I'm more amazed at the number of people that just throw down money on a car without knowing what they are really getting.

And then ask if it's a good deal after the fact.

Yep. I wonder if it is a reflection of the current generation that expects everything for nothing and be able to return it for 10 years. I swear I put more research into buying hiking shoes than some people do buying a car.

[ArticSteve]

It's a function of easy credit and it's applies to all gens.

[Cord]

Apparently only dealers can cancel deals:

http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/calgary-dealership-accused-of-reneging-on-signed-minivan-sales-agreement-1.3090170

Obviously, there's a whole lot more to that story. I've fired a few customers over the years. It's almost always because it appeared that they would never be happy with anything we did and would be an ongoing source of brain damage.

Here is my PSA regarding the OP's situation. If there is no VIN on the deal then I would not hand over any money or sign anything. The reason there is no VIN is that there is no car yet. The dealer may have located one at another dealer but may not have been able to buy it yet. They may have tried to buy it from the other dealer and been rejected. So they try to nail you down in the hope they find one somewhere else. Sometimes that turns into doing a factory order and waiting weeks or months. In any case, if they have secured a deposit, they have taken the customer out of the market. They are not likely to continue shopping once they have paid some money.

Now, perhaps the dealer intends to give the customer the deal of the century. But until there's a confirmed car available, I wouldn't give any deposit. Once a car is verified, however, it is totally reasonable for the dealer to ask for a deposit. As tooscoops said, A dealer is not going to jump through a bunch of hoops to take a chance of owning a car they don't want.