Be Excellent To Each Other

A quick question for your collective hive mind BETEO crew. . .

Mrs The Egg and I bought a car earlier this year from a main dealer. To make things straightforward lets say the car the car was £1,500; plus we asked them to tax it and we also bought Super Guard for the paint and upholstery at £100 each.

So far total is £1,700.

I paid the first £500 with cash and we asked them to put the remaining balance on a finance agreement.

Mrs The Egg and I turned up to the garage to collect the car and sign the paperwork which had all been prepared by the garage themselves on behalf of the finance company. Happy days. We pootle away in our new car happy and jolly.

Subsequently, the garage have called and told us that we owe them money. Yikes! When we asked them what for it turns out that they haven't charged us for the road tax or the Super Guard so we have only paid the £1,500 not the full £1,700.

In sorting out the paperwork they made a mistake; The car is all bought and paid for and the finance company have been/are being paid what we have signed up for. It's the garage that are currently at a loss.

So far we have just paid them lip service and strung them along and told them that we would check our paper work. Today however they have called Mrs The Egg and told her that we still owe them money and that they will pursue us through the courts and reposes the car. I scoff at his threat.

The legal part; I am wondering . . . . can I continue to tell him to shove it or should I just 'fess up and pay him.

I can't see how they can reposes the car as it has been paid for. (albeit with a finance agreement - the garage have still received payment)

The moral part; I really don't want to give them any more of my money partly because my supplies of it are short and also because this is the same garage that made an almighty fuck up when I tried to buy a second car from them in the same week. As far as I am concerned I owe them nothing, they are fucking jumped up little bullies and quite frankly they can kiss my shiney metal ass all through the courts. They're useless cunts and would probably get that wrong too.

Do you have any paperwork showing that they intended to put everything on the finance agreement?

Empty threats, it would be a very poor deal on a car if *some* level of tax wasn't included.

As far as this 'Super Guard' shit goes, I bet that's actually worth pence in real terms, and is included in the cost of the car. If you've got a signed, active finance agreement, I'm willing to bet they can do fuck all.

Depends what you actually signed, surely?

We signed a finance deal for the value of the car less my deposit (so £1,000). That's all fine, finance company are happy as they're getting what we agreed and have signed up for.

The garage are arguing because we didn't pay them for the £100 tax or £100 super guard

The garage should have arranged for a finance deal to cover Car + Tax + Super Guard less Deposit. But they didn't.

Just tell them you don't want the "superguard" anyway, and they can have it back?

This seems to be the least hassle and cost option.

If you're strapped for cash I wouldn't want to be buggering about with court appearances and the like. IANAL obviously.

[edit] Oh, tax disc as well. Morally you should probably pay that.

They can't repossess your car; the finance people owe it, not the garage. I suspect the garage doesn't have a leg to stand on here.

But presumably Mr Egg has little free cash to hand, and was hoping that the tax going on the finance deal would save having to fork out for it up front.

Well poor deal or not, it's by the by. Also, it's from a dealer there's no such thing as a good deal - they're all robbing cunts. All you can do is hope that you don't get robbed as much as the next guy.



It's a white car with light coloured upholstery soon to have a dog in it - it's a very good thing!




And this is what I am banking on. My hatred of these fuckers is keeping me going. Mrs The Egg just wants to know that her car is not going to be taken away from her

You should read my blog Egg

Since it's their mistake the extras weren't included in the finance, but you want the extras, you might offer paying them a small amount per week (5 quid or something).

I don't really think you can just not pay them though, that makes you as bad as them.

This happened to me when I went to buy a new car. I had an old Astra to trade in, but they said they wouldn't give me anything for it. So, I decided to sell it to my friend for £50, instead.

I turned up on the day and they asked me where my car was, as they'd worked it into the finance that they were paying me £100 for it. I'd told them what the salesman had told me, and they still gave me the £100 as it was their mistake - score!

I know. But I hate them.

But I think somewhere my morals are telling me it's the right thing to do. Although I could easily numb that with some rum which would be cheaper.

Ha, just read it. How have you not torched their dealership?

I make evil eyes every time I go past, and laugh in the knowledge that they're doubtlessly struggling hard for sales at the moment. I doubt it'll have affected their arrogant, stupid style of sale though.

They might make more sales to people who don't want various sizes of moons on sticks, however.

Cant Mr Chris write you a note saying I haz your car all leegalz lol?

Well this is the same dealership that shattered my dreams in the summer by fucking up my purchase of this; http://gallery.eggwan.com/v/cars/zed/Image146.jpg.html


It's still up for sale but it's not £1200 pounds less than when I was trying to buy it. Funnily enough, I didn't buy it because the salesman wouldn't see my point that it was overpriced by approximately £1200 pounds. And that car has been on the forecourt ever since - I laugh every time I notice that it hasn't been sold. But cry when I remember that I could be driving it.

"It was not possible to determine the dimensions of the image." -> ?

A reasonable amount off the inflated list price is nowhere near the realms of stick-based moons, tsk.

Dunno what you did, EW. The pic:

That 300ZX seems to have melted.

What's the actual price of the car you've just bought, out of interest?

Outside now!

We did something like this in the contract lecture today, I'd ask a solicitor.

You could play the "But I said 'throw in the tax' and he said 'okay', so nuh-uh" card. You'll probably have to pay for the superguard though, unless a piece of paperwork says it's included. But if it's a dealer thing, they can point to the discrepancy between deposit+finance being less than invoice.

So that's probably quite a good bartering point - say you'll pay the tax if they let you off the superguard. Which'll be hugely in their favour, seeing as they'll have paid the face value of the tax but about a tenner for the "£200" Superguard. If they don't bite your hand off, try not to pay them anything (legally).

I don't see how they'll be able to repossess the car off its owner (the finance company) for items that aren't the car. They'll just have to go directly after you for cash moneys.

Hang on - the car payment isn't in dispute, so they'd then have to pay you back the difference. That'd be hilarious - well worth the money, especially as they can cash in the unused portion of the tax.

Why's that? Explain further, good sir.

I'd like an update to this please, chap.

Spoke to the salesman's boss last week and expressed (quite politely) my surprise that he was allowing his staff to make idle threats based on a spurious grasp of the law and how from now on they should speak to me. (For I am all that is man and Mrs The Egg is a mere Woomin, hear me roar!*)

As the original sales guy was on leave that day I explained the situation (emphasising the lack of invoice etc) and the salesman's boss said he would look into it and get back to me. I scoffed.

Amazingly, half an hour later the business manager from the garage called back so off I went again explaining that we have paid everything we've ever been asked to pay, we weren't impressed with their threats, that trading standards wouldn't like it either, that I haven't got £300 lying around and how it would be a marvellous idea if they wrote me a letter. He made noises that sounded like he was agreeing.

So Saturday morning post arrives at 2pm and with it an envelope from the garage - containing not a nice polite letter instead a highlighted copy of an invoice (addressed to the Royal Bank of Scotland!) that showed someone definitely hadn't paid (as I thought) the £300. But implied it was us. Balls.

They haven't been in touch since but I'm sure they will be, when they do my plan is to offer them half there and then so long as they piss off in full and final settlement. If they want it all they will have to re-spin the finance loan which I know they simple can't do.

Failing that, I am sending the Mrs down there but I wont be held responsible (if there are any survivors witnesses)






* In truth. this was actually for their own sake as Mrs The Egg, or to use her official WWF wrestling moniker The Mighty Fighting Gloucester Midget, was going down there to break out some double suplexes and nipple twists

I'd be reluctant to offer anything, as this would implicitly acknowledge their argument and thusly make you liable for the rest of it. Lawyer please confirm.

I suspect this is right, good point.

I hate them, I hate them to death.

Suggestion fix.

Yup. Would need to be accompanied by a carefully worded letter containing expressions such as "without prejudice".

Tell 'em to fuck off.

Some cunting lawyers assume liability even when you explicitly state the exact opposite, as we know, eh Chris?

Them big City, edumacated lawyers who inexplicably don't know about the bits in the Trade Mark Act prohibiting groundless threats, yes.

Call me old fashioned, or perhaps a little simple, but you appear to have acknowledged that you owe them £200 based upon the original deal struck, regardless of the error with the finance arrangement that is in your favour.

Surely the gentlemanly thing to do is pay them the £200 and then move on with your life?

Can you believe all that was over two years ago now? How time flies when you're not being sued.

I had moved on with my life - it's them that keep bringing it up!

But in a less flippant manner, whilst I appreciate that I do might owe them some money I got treated so badly when I was trying to buy a second car from them in the same week that I really don't feel too obliged to cough up.

I know - I'm amazed they haven't sent you an anniversary threat for old times' sake.

Er, whoops, I didn't notice this til now. I think I meant:

If the repossess the undisputedly-paid-for car on the basis of the other bits, then obviously they have to give back the money paid for the car; in this case to the finance company, who would then have to give back payments made against the finance deal. Also any other moneys paid, like deposits to the dealer or part exchanges or whatever (I've forgotten, if I ever knew, the original deal).

At least, in my imaginary happy view of the world. Where the garage would just man-up, admit their mistake and get on with their lives anyway, leaving poor Mr The Egg in peace.