Dealer said he made a mistake on the quote...do I have recourse?

[Karch]

I got a quote from a dealer.

In an email previously, he quoted inclusive of rebates.

After a few discussions over the phone, he left me a voicemail stating price, then deducted rebate.

He then faxed me a F&I Deal Worksheet which stated (sale) price, tax, registration, down payment, licensing, and rebate.

Does he have to honor that price, as he is now saying he made a mistake.

Thank you.

[caddycruiser]

No, he doesn't, and mistakes do happen--especially when there's so many specific rebates on specific cars.

Or, at least, he doesn't for sure if nothing was signed. Kind of like the "deal" papers I got last week on some Malibu's...showed MSRP, discount, trade value, tax, tags, etc., but were not signed or anything, and just used for me to base my bottom line on.

[likearock00]

Caddy's right- he does not.

Of course, if you were shady, you could take that quote to another dealer and see if they would match it. If they do, you just got one helluva deal. If not, you're really not out too much!

[Karch]

Thanks for the input. The deal that they offered, then rescinded, was really good. $9K off of MSRP ($36K) on just GM Supplier price minus the double rebate.

I don't think anyone else would touch it. Thing is, 5 dealers that I have spoken to all want to sell me the exact car, as it's the only one within 500 miles in the color and options.

Oh well...

[Slowrider5]

Honestly, it doesn't sound like a bad deal..........but it also doesn't sound like one where he's going to lose money because he made a mistake. That's probably just a ploy to make you feel sorry for him and agree to pay more. Hold him to it and be on the lookout for other tricks.

If that dealer has the only one you want, you probably won't get very far trying to shop around. It will become obvious to them when they start getting multiple requests to do a trade with the other dealers you spoke with, and then they'll just simply refuse to trade with the other dealer so that you are forced to come back to them. Then I guarantee you they aren't going to give it to you for that "mistake" price.

[BryceStrong]

Slowrider5, why do you feel that it was probably a ploy, or that Karch should be watching for tricks?

[Canyonaro]

If it is written (the fax) and you agree with signing or orally, that is a contract. Once being a contract he is bound to that price. Now unless they could prove it as a contractual "mistake" (which in this case would be easy) then they are bound. From one of my law class books, "A unilateral mistake is where only one party to a contract is mistaken as to the terms or subject-matter. The courts will uphold such a contract unless it was determined that the non-mistaken party was aware of the mistake and tried to take advantage of the mistake." But this isn't say a house and you aren't getting the house at $100,000 when it is worth $300,000, so this mistake may not apply.

Either way you may not get that price, but you may get them to give you still a great deal.

[Auto_x_Al]

Originally Posted by Canyonaro

If it is written (the fax) and you agree with signing or orally, that is a contract. Once being a contract he is bound to that price. Now unless they could prove it as a contractual "mistake" (which in this case would be easy) then they are bound. From one of my law class books, "A unilateral mistake is where only one party to a contract is mistaken as to the terms or subject-matter. The courts will uphold such a contract unless it was determined that the non-mistaken party was aware of the mistake and tried to take advantage of the mistake." But this isn't say a house and you aren't getting the house at $100,000 when it is worth $300,000, so this mistake may not apply.

Either way you may not get that price, but you may get them to give you still a great deal.

Sorry but a worksheet is far from a contract. Signing that thing anywhere won't make it one either. Now if it was a proposal for purchase you may have a whole different situation.

I use worksheets to break things down and get a rough idea of what the customer wants and needs. After I complete that we go to a proposal on the agreed upon unit. Now if I make a mistake on the proposal that's on me and we'll honor the proposed deal.

[espo19047]

Originally Posted by Canyonaro

If it is written (the fax) and you agree with signing or orally, that is a contract. Once being a contract he is bound to that price. Now unless they could prove it as a contractual "mistake" (which in this case would be easy) then they are bound. From one of my law class books, "A unilateral mistake is where only one party to a contract is mistaken as to the terms or subject-matter. The courts will uphold such a contract unless it was determined that the non-mistaken party was aware of the mistake and tried to take advantage of the mistake." But this isn't say a house and you aren't getting the house at $100,000 when it is worth $300,000, so this mistake may not apply.

Either way you may not get that price, but you may get them to give you still a great deal.

You can quote all the text books you want. It was a mistake and they do not have to honor it.

[GXP Lover]

Originally Posted by Canyonaro

If it is written (the fax) and you agree with signing or orally, that is a contract. Once being a contract he is bound to that price. Now unless they could prove it as a contractual "mistake" (which in this case would be easy) then they are bound. From one of my law class books, "A unilateral mistake is where only one party to a contract is mistaken as to the terms or subject-matter. The courts will uphold such a contract unless it was determined that the non-mistaken party was aware of the mistake and tried to take advantage of the mistake." But this isn't say a house and you aren't getting the house at $100,000 when it is worth $300,000, so this mistake may not apply.

Either way you may not get that price, but you may get them to give you still a great deal.

The complete contract criteria are 1) offer, 2) acceptance, and 3) consideration. I don't see how 3 was formed. This requires a change in ones position (usually a miniscule amount of $ will work) but this person did not give up a car or cash (at least in the original fact patern).

[jb1986_GM]

if you really feel unsure about it all, get your lawyer to look at it, they will know if you have a case at all.

[Canyonaro]

Originally Posted by GXP Lover

The complete contract criteria are 1) offer, 2) acceptance, and 3) consideration.

I am thankful for everyone ripping on me and giving me Business Law 101.

To lay everyone at rest, this is how I see it:

1- An offer, well we all know the fax was just that. It sounds to of had the appropriate information as an offer, usually when going in to buy a car they ask me to sign a "worksheet" why would they do that if it were a mere worksheet? It isn't like an advertisement where you know that isn't an offer.
2- Acceptance, yes after the offer he could have accepted the quote.
3- Consideration, in order to have that, you the exchange must be something of value. I think that you could argue that this could/couldn't have been full filled. And I can tend to agree with you there.

Originally Posted by espo19047

You can quote all the text books you want. It was a mistake and they do not have to honor it.

Reread, you may find my previous post suggested it as a mistake, but remember there are many forms of mistakes in law that could either sway a court in your favor or not. But thanks for your post, I already suggested which mistake it could be, can you guess which one?

[Karch]

Just to clarify, the dealer that made the 'mistake' does not have the car, another dealer does.

This dealer, then said they would accept an expired GM incentive, but charge me $500 to cover for the hassles.

Let me tell you, where this dealer is located is not an area where GM has done well. There are more luxury cars sold in this area than domestics. Hardly anyone who lives nearby drives a truck (I'm looking at a Trailblazer), and it's not like they have a lot of business. In fact, the 5 times I've been there, I haven't seen many buyers, if any.

Another dealer, the closest chevy dealer, closed their doors last summer after 45 years in business.

The one thing this guy has over the others is he is willing to use some creativity with the expired offers, whereas the others are not. But, I am not going to pay him an extra $500to do it.

I don't expect to hold them to their mistake. I am in sales, and I do honor my mistakes, but I also know it was truly a mistake, but I wanted to be sure where I stood with the law, or at least have some consensus.

Granted, I might have a 30% chance of winning in a suit, but I'm not that type, so I'll let it go.

My current, non-GM lease, expires in 3 months. I would entertain buying now, if it made sense, but the extra $500 takes away the incentive, not to mention I really rather not do business with this particular dealer.

The bottom line is I knew it was a mistake, but I wasn't sure where the law stood on it. If I had stopped everything to run over there and sign, then have them realize it after I signed, it would be different.

Thanks again for your comments.

[Slowrider5]

Originally Posted by Karch

Just to clarify, the dealer that made the 'mistake' does not have the car, another dealer does.

This dealer, then said they would accept an expired GM incentive, but charge me $500 to cover for the hassles.

Let me tell you, where this dealer is located is not an area where GM has done well. There are more luxury cars sold in this area than domestics. Hardly anyone who lives nearby drives a truck (I'm looking at a Trailblazer), and it's not like they have a lot of business. In fact, the 5 times I've been there, I haven't seen many buyers, if any.

Another dealer, the closest chevy dealer, closed their doors last summer after 45 years in business.

The one thing this guy has over the others is he is willing to use some creativity with the expired offers, whereas the others are not. But, I am not going to pay him an extra $500to do it.

I don't expect to hold them to their mistake. I am in sales, and I do honor my mistakes, but I also know it was truly a mistake, but I wanted to be sure where I stood with the law, or at least have some consensus.

Granted, I might have a 30% chance of winning in a suit, but I'm not that type, so I'll let it go.

My current, non-GM lease, expires in 3 months. I would entertain buying now, if it made sense, but the extra $500 takes away the incentive, not to mention I really rather not do business with this particular dealer.

The bottom line is I knew it was a mistake, but I wasn't sure where the law stood on it. If I had stopped everything to run over there and sign, then have them realize it after I signed, it would be different.

Thanks again for your comments.

LOL. Giving you an "expired incentive" but charging you for it? Dude, re-read my post.

[Karch]

Originally Posted by Slowrider5

LOL. Giving you an "expired incentive" but charging you for it? Dude, re-read my post.

Oh, I hear ya. I doubt I will buy from them, but I know I will never get service done there.

Oh well. Come Monday, I can put this all behind me for awhile, as I won't touch it until my lease is up.

These dealers never fail to renew my lack of faith or respect for them. At least with the luxury dealers, they actually care, alot, about what you put down in those pesky surveys.