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Hi,
I have an order for a car that I am supposed to be taking delivery of on Wednesday. I only ordered it last week as it was already built and sitting in a yard somewhere a few hundred miles away and basically just needed delivery and registration.
The dealership have been a bit of a pain throughout making me jump through various hoops to get this finally ordered and as time has gone by I have lost faith in them. They’ve been rather hostile with the simplest of requests from myself. Even a test drive felt like I was putting them out of their way to help.
I’ve since found another car elsewhere that is also available straight away, and with an AP that’s about half the price of my current order which would definitely be less of a struggle for me to cover and not need me to borrow money to pay this.
Aside from the dealership hating me even more than they already appear to, would I be free to walk away and re-order the other car at their competitor dealership? I feel like it’s a crappy thing to do since they’ll be stuck with a car on site that I ordered but won’t be taking delivery of now, but the whole experience has really put me off, especially when I have now found something better for less money.
What does everyone think please – Reasonable, or just stick with the order at this point?
Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
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The simple answer is yes, you can cancel. The dealer won’t be terribly happy, but the car was already built. It’s not as if it was a bespoke factory order to your specification.
If you are going to jump do so first thing tomorrow morning, as they may register it tomorrow ready for your collection on Wednesday, and that will really cause an issue, although you are still able to cancel right up until the point that you input your PIN on day of collection.
Also, you need to be aware that the dealer will have to cancel the order on the Motability system before any other dealer can allocate a car to you. Another forum member had an issue recently where the dealer deliberately delayed doing this as they were miffed. Ultimately, they must do this and Motability can intervene if necessary.
3 years is a long time to live with a car that you aren’t happy with, especially as Motability cars cost £13k plus AP just to lease. However, with all due respect (as I have sympathy with dealers when people cancel at the very last minute) you really do need to research thoroughly, including a decent (minimum 2 hour) unaccompanied test drive on all road types. If a dealer won’t play ball, try another, even if you don’t intend to order from them. Too many people make a major decision on a huge financial commitment of this nature based on a 30 minute accompanied test drive around a pre determined route, which is never going to give you a proper sense of whether the car is right for you.
The hoops you had to jump through before, you got to do them again X2.
You WILL have to phone the original dealer again to release your motability account.
Once it is released, you go through the ordering process with your other dealer.
Hoops and hoops I m afraid.
I would also follow up with Motability to make sure they are aware, you have cancelled – Motability may even cancel it for you!
Glos Guy has it right.
I’d think a bit different if it was a factory order, but since the car is already on the lot, they should be rather happy to get rid of it rather than trying to be difficult. For reference, a car on the lot accumulates debt for a dealership, a car gone makes the debt go away.
I absolutely understand your position, i’m similar in that “if you don’t want my business, i’ll take it somewhere else”. We walked from a big VW Dealership because we had a certain impression of them not giving a damn and drove 40 miles one way to get to another one, best decision we did regarding that car. That dealership (Sinclair in Port Talbot) was an absolute gem to us throughout (and, in fact, after we got the Ioniq even).
The one thing i’d say, things usually don’t change 180 degrees on the flip of a switch. You said it yourself, for the order they made you jump through hoops before the order was finalised – that’s the point where you should walk away, always. There’s always another dealership, even if it is a bit of a journey, it’s absolutely worth to take a hit on distance to dealership if that gets you one that you click with.
Keep in mind, if your car’s borked, you go back to them. Imagine a dealership that is already difficult for ordering a car, how they react if you come back with a car that has a potential issue.
Nah. Walk. Just make sure to let Motability know, also tell them that you have a replacement and ask whether or not they can expedite the cancellation if the dealership is being difficult (again).
Prior: SEAT Ateca Xcellence Lux 1.5 TSI DSG MY19, VW Golf GTE PHEV DSG MY23
Current: Hyundai Ioniq 6 Ultimate
Next: we'll see what's available in 2028.I dod not cancel, but I walked away from Mini Coventry as they did not even make sure the car was back ready to test drive. So drove 45 minutes to Stratford instead, sometimes you have to forgo convenience and follow your gut. Do not put up with substandard.
I hate my current car I am changing a year early but not because of the car for other reasons, but point being as another said 3 years is along time and it makes it even worse if you have a slight resentment to it. It is psychological sure but it still matters.
You have your rights use them 🙂
Some dealers are just rude, VW in Stafford would not even let us look at the demonstrator let alone test drive, Skoda in Burntwood struggle to even hold a conversation, Ford in Penkridge would only allow a test drive if we signed first, we went elsewhere.
Unfortunately I have suffered a brain injury and occasionally I get confused and often say the wrong thing.
Whilst you might not have the best relationship with tte dealer, if you lije the xar, take it and never use that dealership for anything, you can go to any otger dealers of that car for servicing,warranty etc.
I would also write to the Dealer Principle and Motabiluty, with a formal complaint
@Koda What happened in the end? It’s always appreciated when someone has asked a question about a problem that they have, and members have taken the time to offer help and advice, if the poster reports back on the outcome.
My experience back in 2023, when a Citroen had to arrive in May, but never did, in June I walked in to Mazda and placed an order. I don’t remember talking to Citroen or Motability. If I am not mistaken, Mazda’s dealer did it all for me.
So before calling Motability I would simply telephone your desired dealership and ask them to do it all for you.
P.S. Eventually that Citroen Aircross 5 PHEV arrived in December. Good that I didn’t wait.
Sent from a mobile device.
Apologies for briefness and spelling mistakes.Motability Skoda Enyaq SportLine 85x April 2024 (unhappy customer - Ombudsman pending)
Motability Mazda CX-60 PHEV July 2023 (unhappy customer - early termination on mechanical grounds)
Motability VW Touran Family Pack May 2019 (happy customer)I recently had a similar issue with a dealer and asked them to cancel the order with Motability whilst I was on the phone. Thankfully, they complied.
If you’ve paid a deposit of any kind, as I had, getting it back may well become an issue but thanks to the amazing advice available on here, I eventually got mine repaid in full.
Current car: Mini Countryman EV in very shiny black!
Previous car: MG HS Exclusive in nice shiny black.
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