need advice, possible lawsuit?

[tobypaddock]

so last friday (Nov 30) i found a vehicle that i wanted to buy from a used car dealer. As expected they offered me very little on a trade in. Instead i put a small deposit down for them to hold the vehicle until dec. 15th for me and signed a contract.

I listed my car for sale at an extremely aggressive price to get it sold fast and get the ball rolling.
Today I sold my car for much less than I could have probably gotten if I had no time limit on it.

I called the salesperson to ask if I could come in to check things over today and he told me that his boss sold the car.


what should i do? I wouldnt have even sold my car but i felt like i negotiated a great deal on the used car.

should i get a lawyer? do i have a case?


I'm so choked right now, and have no idea what route to go.


thanks for any and all help/suggestions

[WhippWhapp]

Never pay for anything unless you walk out with product in hand?

[chibwack]

Go in and talk to them before you do anything, who knows, maybe they'll be good honest people and will want to make things right with another car or something...

[spacerz]

Do you have a hard copy of the contract in your possession?

[tobypaddock]

Originally posted by WhippWhapp
Never pay for anything unless you walk out with product in hand?

i thought a contract was as good as the product in hand

Originally posted by chibwack
Go in and talk to them before you do anything, who knows, maybe they'll be good honest people and will want to make things right with another car or something...

there honestly isnt another car in their inventory that i would want

Originally posted by spacerz
Do you have a hard copy of the contract in your possession?

i do

[topsecret]

You'll get your deposit back, that's about it, its not there problem you went out and sold your car at a fire sale price!

[03ozwhip]

happened to me before, but this was almost 15 years ago and it was $1000 car( AE86 actually) with a $250 deposit. guy wasnt going to give my money back because he had another car i might like, which i didnt so i politely told him id be back with someone and he better give me my money back at that point, he said " pft ya, ok"

needless to say, i got my money back and i never went there again, that dealer didnt last very long because he was a shady fucker i guess. i know this story doesnt help you at all and im not sure what recourse you can take on this, if any at all, other than get your money back and go somewhere else.

[tobypaddock]

Originally posted by topsecret
You'll get your deposit back, that's about it, its not there problem you went out and sold your car at a fire sale price!

i have a contract stating that i have until the 15th to purchase the vehicle at our agreed price, on the condition that i sell my car

[03ozwhip]

Hrm. Tell them to honor it and find the same car for the same price somewhere or you will sue and see what happens. Sue for distress, lost wages, lost profit on the car due to having only a certain amount of time for selling the car etc etc.

[tobypaddock]

Originally posted by 03ozwhip
Hrm. Tell them to honor it and find the same car for the same price somewhere or you will sue and see what happens. Sue for distress, lost wages, lost profit on the car due to having only a certain amount of time for selling the car etc etc.

thats the thing, I didn't want to buy a new vehicle before selling another one - they suggested the deposit and contract so i agreed.

I'm not looking to make a profit or anything, i think i negotiated a great deal, anything comparable is gonna cost me at least $4,000 more. I just wanted that vehicle, for that price in that condition...

[zieg]

Name the dealership?

[tobypaddock]

Originally posted by ZiG-87
Name the dealership?

Waiting to see what the owner says/does tomorrow

[03ozwhip]

Most likely they probably figured out that they fucked up on the pricing, then told you they sold it to recoup their loss instead of selling it for that cheap.

[tobypaddock]

Originally posted by 03ozwhip
Most likely they probably figured out that they fucked up on the pricing, then told you they sold it to recoup their loss instead of selling it for that cheap.

yeah that sounds likely, I thought a contract was legally binding.

[AE92_TreunoSC]

I'd do a consultation with a lawyer, but maybe its best to not take it personal and move on instead of creating even more stress and cash loss.

I'd get my cash back and blast them on Beyond. This is an auto community and we will bury anyone that wrongs us.

This is a learning lesson, I will never ever put a deposit down, there are lots of cars in the world and there is never a reason to put money down to hold one. I laugh at them whenever a salesman pressures me to put money down. "Go ahead and sell it"

[Disoblige]

Yeah, see what the owner does for you.
Very curious to see what happens.

Hopefully it doesn't need to go as far as outing them out on Beyond. But if it needs to be done, then so be it.

I find it really funny how they suggested the contract, and they messed up.

[FraserB]

Interested as well since I'm buying right now.

[Zero102]

Go down there and talk to them in person, see if the car is still on their lot. It does sound like the owner or somebody higher up decided they didn't want to honour the price they agreed to and are trying to weasel out of it. If the car is still on the lot you might be able to resolve this still.

If not, post up pictures or a scan of the contract (with your identifying information blanked out obviously) and information about the dealer

[tobypaddock]

^^^ drove by during work yesterday and noticed that it was not parked in its usual spot - I thought they may have moved it inside to do some minor repairs we had agreed upon. So I'm guessing it truly has sold.

I briefly spoke with a lawyer last night and he will be goin over the contract and will be advising me how to move ahead with this.

[LollerBrader]

Originally posted by tobypaddock
^^^ drove by during work yesterday and noticed that it was not parked in its usual spot - I thought they may have moved it inside to do some minor repairs we had agreed upon. So I'm guessing it truly has sold.

I briefly spoke with a lawyer last night and he will be goin over the contract and will be advising me how to move ahead with this.

Even if you are in the right, exercising your legal rights is expensive.

Unless one has the excess cash/time to support a punitive suit, the most economical choice is to lick wounds and move on.