How not to buy your next new car: Don't do this at the dealership

QUESTION

Hi John,

I have submitted an enquiry on your website.

I'm seeking advice as I went to my local Kia dealer recently and signed a contract for a 2020 Kia Carnival Sli petrol in white.

I negotiated a price I was happy with and signed a contract  (don't slap me).

I was told they would let me know how long it would take to get the car but was told up to 6 weeks if it was still being shipped in.

I was told by phone on Tuesday that there was no stock in Aus (in any colour) and no more vehicles were being shipped in due a new generation soon to be released.

I was offered the platinum model they had in stock from memory at a price more than $6500 what I had signed the contract for.

I thought about things and contacted the dealer by phone on Friday. He again confirmed no stock.

Then things got nasty…

I asked him to put it in writing that there was no stock. (Just an email). He went on to question my character and explain that this is something they've never done before. He would have to get the dealer principal’s okay to do it.

I was then contacted by the dealer principal who told me about clause 2.1 of the contract that they could cancel the contract if despite their best endeavours they are unable to source a vehicle.

I was then emailed by the sales manager confirming they couldn't source a vehicle and to provide my bank details so they can return my deposit.

I have since found a vehicle that matches. I provided the details of this to my sales manager but he has told me that they can't obtain the vehicle. He told me again to get my deposit back so i could go and buy this vehicle.

Looking for some advice. Thanks for reading.

Dale

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ANSWER

Dale,

You’re probably not going to like this, but I think you are both over-reacting and being completely unreasonable.

What possible benefit is it to you to get them to write you a letter telling you what they already told you over the phone? It’s not like you’re compiling a brief of evidence to sue them for breach of contract over this… unless you want to spend $20k losing a case in court. It’s not like you need a letter confirming this to protect your commercial interests.

Also, that clause does exist, and apparently they’re exercising it, but you’re not seriously thinking of sitting down in front of a lawyer over this, are you?

Just take the deposit back mate. They want to sell you a car. They just cannot source the one you ordered any more.

Honestly, at times I don’t know what gets into people’s heads. You want to buy a car. Unfortunately they can’t sell it to you. Simple, unfortunate, but it is what it is. The appropriate thing to do is give you your deposit back, which they’re trying to do, and you’re making it hard for them, perversely.

I know this is not what you want to hear, but I’m not in the ‘appeasement’ business. I’m in the ‘facts’ business.

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I also find it somewhat perverse that you are not using my procurement services, but you want free, one-on-one advice from me on this the moment the shit hits the fan. That seems - let’s be kind - a little inequitable. If you’d used my procurement team, we would have determined availability and laid it all out for you before putting you together with a dealer, and you would not be in this position.

We do spend a lot of time preventing people from shooting themselves in the foot in this way. NEVER pay a deposit or sign a contract without establishing availability and a precise delivery timeframe. Just don’t do that. It’s a fundamental car-buying mistake…

You’ve also sent me your message below three times now. Three times. In one evening. It’s fair to say I received it. Loud and clear mate. I’m not saying that’s nuts, but it is kinda taking ‘belt & braces’ to a whole new level...

It’s very hard to get stock at the moment, of lots of different models, and Carnival is one of them. There’s been a global pandemic. That’s the root cause of the problem.

New Carnival is just around the corner. They’re no longer making the current one. (They have to re-tool the production line for that, which takes some time. So they have to stop production of the old one several weeks before making the new one. That’s where they are now.)

If the vehicle you found subsequently was at a different dealer, then ‘your’ dealer probably can’t get it. Dealers are independent businesses. They’re fierce competitors. They don’t naturally collaborate with each other. (Kinda the opposite of David Jones in the city and David Jones in the suburbs - DJs is all the one business. Dealers aren’t.) The only way Dealer B sells a car to Dealer A to sell to you, is A) if he takes a cut, and B) if he can’t sell it himself.

When ‘your’ dealer says he can’t get stock, he means Kia Australia has no stock to sell him, and can’t get any. He doesn’t mean a competing dealer won’t have one or more units available.

So, your dealer is not lying to you or being the slightest bit dodgy. Also, he doesn’t know the price of the new one yet. Kia is probably still fighting with the factory over that.

I think you should wait for the new one. It’s crazy to buy the current one with the all-new one just 10-12 weeks away. Get your deposit back. The dealer is being entirely reasonable and up-front with you.

And of course the Platinum is going to cost more than one of the lesser grades, which I am inferring you ordered - that’s just how this works mate. They’re not going to give you a Platinum for the price of an Si or SLi.

Just try to do it smarter next time mate. Nail down the availability as well as the price. I wouldn’t sign a contract or pay a deposit until the dealer had the car I wanted actually in stock. It’s generally a bad idea to do that.

Sincerely,

JC

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