Advice please: been sold a dodgy import by a VW dealer

[f1fan]

My contact at VW UK rang me today to see if I had received a response from the dealer, unsurprisingly the answer was no.

He then told me he had found out today that the sales manager at the dealers was no longer in the business!!

So now VW UK are trying to track down the Brand Manager of the business and get something moving. 

Anyone recommend a good solicitor in the Guildford area??

BTW before anyone assumes wrongly, the dealer I'm having trouble with is not in the Guildford area!

[RedRobin]

^^^^
The fact that VW UK are being pro-active and phoning you about this matter shows that they are seriously interested in resolving it. You may not need a solicitor, unless you want advice from one regards your legal rights and therefore what can be negotiated with VW UK.

Good news, mate 

[f1fan]

Well I received a letter from the dealer last week which basically said they had already priced the car as an import so that was that (despite never telling me!).  They were not going to do anything else about it.

I was just finishing a letter back to them saying I was going to take them to court when I got a phone call from Trading Standards.  They had been given the case details by Citizens Advice who I'd previously contacted and they were very keen to take on my case.  The Trading Standards officer felt it was very clear they had broken the law, as long as the paperwork didn't show it was an import, which it doesn't.

So, I spent the weekend scanning all my documentation and emailed it to Trading Standards last night.  They will now pay a visit to the dealer and hopefully that will result in the dealer changing it's mind on it's decision.  If not, I expect Trading Standards to tell me to take them to court.

[RedRobin]

^^^^
Has the dealer included a copy to VW UK of their letter to you? It would normally state so if that was the case.

As VW UK appear to be on your side, or at the least very sympathetic to your case, they may now be in a stronger position to act. I don't expect they'll want Trading Standards publicity against the VW brand's reputation due to their dealer. The dealer carries their VW 'flag' and is seen by all in the public domain as their direct representative.

I assume that Trading Standards (TS) are aware of the organisational structure and how VW UK fits into the situation. I suggest they should be made aware. The dealer will not want to risk losing its valuable VW dealership which includes impressive shopfitting to their premises and many other trading advantages. I expect that VW UK can put great pressure on the dealership, especially as the dealer has now officially declared its position in writing to you.

So, CAB advised contacting TS and your case is becoming much stronger  

[f1fan]

No, the dealer didn't copy the letter to VW UK. VW UK rang me to find out if the letter arrived, they didn't know what the letter said so I told them on the phone and said how angry I was.  VW UK apologised for the dealer not giving a satisfactory answer. 

VW UK are very good at chasing the dealer and getting them to phone, write etc, however they don't seem to have been able to influence the dealer so far.  I'll send a copy of the letter to them today and also let the know that TS are now on the case.

I have to say CAB gave me a quick response by email and informed TS straight away, TS were very quick to respond and very keen to get involved.  TS said that they would review my paperwork the visit the dealer to look at their paperwork and find out why the dealer didn't disclose the import status, specification differences and the resulting difference in car value when I bought it.

I'm feeling slightly more positive now, fingers crossed for a refund, the only problem then is finding another car to replace mine!!

[RedRobin]

^^^^
Thanks for keeping us so fully informed - It's very helpful for anyone else facing a similar situation 

Stage 1 - Achieve agreement.

Stage 2 - According to what VW UK offer you - You don't know yet whether it will be a refund or a sweet deal on a car or even a car (it has been known). First achieve Stage 1.

[f1fan]

Had a call from Trading Standards on Monday, they were going into the dealer on Tuesday to collect the dealers paperwork and records so they can investigate the dealers activity!  I'm hoping to hear back from them today or tomorrow with the final verdict.  Then I can go back to the dealer and see if they have changed their mind or whether I take them to court.  I'll let you know what TS say.

[Andy]

Bet the dealers are taking notice now with ts going into the office

[RedRobin]

Had a call from Trading Standards on Monday, they were going into the dealer on Tuesday to collect the dealers paperwork and records so they can investigate the dealers activity!  I'm hoping to hear back from them today or tomorrow with the final verdict.  Then I can go back to the dealer and see if they have changed their mind or whether I take them to court.  I'll let you know what TS say.

....Tee-hee! Very nice!  Serious looking officials visiting unannounced is never a cool look in a sales showroom.

What goes around comes around. You reap what you sow, etc.

Do VW UK know about the TS visit?

[f1fan]

Hi

Sorry for the long gap in posting, it's been a very long drawn out affair that still isn't resolved yet!

The dealer agreed to enter into negotiations using the trading standards officer as an intermediary.  TSOs final opinion was the car was clearly missold however it appears the company wasn't behaving fraudulently just incompetently particularly by the salesman.

I said I wanted:
1) A full refund
2) A replacement UK spec car
3) 30% of the original sale price refunded - £3750

The dealer then asked me for a list of the differences between my car and a UK spec car which are.:
a) alarm system has no interior ultra sonic protection
b) air con is normal manual climate control not digital climatronic
c) the seats are retro fitted manual leather seats without GTi embossing instead of electric controlled, heated leather seats with embossed head rests.

After all that at the end of last week the dealer sent me a letter offering £1250. £450 for the cars specification and £800 compensation for poor service.

So... this weekend my challenge is how to respond to the last letter!?!

BTW, VW UK basically said it was out of their hands and couldn't do anymore though they did ask if I'd let them know the final outcome, which could be some time still if I end up taking the dealer to court.

[olufsen]

That's an insult.
Try and find out what the original optional extra cost was for those options then add 800, I'd bet you'd be somewhere close to your number 3 figure above.  Also I'd add in resale value of the car, not being UK spec.
Definitely wouldn't accept 1250.
Keep going mate you've done very well to get this far

[E30Dom]

By them putting in an initial offer is them accepting liability... Now you just need to an agree a fee...

[rf860]

Surely the cost of them refunding you all your money back will be the cheapest option? The amount they have offered in compo can't be far off what they'd loose if re-selling. Then all parties would be happy

[olufsen]

A good challenging point there, perhaps they know that they wouldn't be able to sell it for anywhere close to that.

[jbc]

Very interesting reading. I hope you get a good financial settlement in the end.

Apologies if this has been said earlier, a I haven't read every post, but as the car is on a 58 plate but was registered in Denmark 6 months earlier, doesn't this mean that Motorpoint must have falsely declared this car as new at first registration in the UK. I.e it is illegally displaying a number plate that makes it look newer than it is? For me this us the biggest issue with the car, not that the spec is wrong. Won't the OP need to contact DVLA to get them to reregister the car as an 08?

I remember when I bought my GTI 6 years ago that Motorpoint had brand new GTIs for about the same money. I went as far as giving them a call to check the specification at which point they told me the cars were imported. They had loads of them at the time and I was very tempted until they told me it didn't come with a 3 year warranty because it was an import but instead they gave a 30 day (yes i do mean day) warranty. There was no way I was going to spend nearly £20k on a brand new car and only get a months warranty.