Seeking Advice for my business partner
<hr style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" size="1"> <!-- / icon and title --> 7 weeks ago, he put a $5000 deposit for a 2010 Panamera Turbo. It was his first experience with Porsche so he needed a lot of expert advice and suggestion in building his dream car. But instead, the sales person printed a list of "suggested" options and he follow along with it. The total time spent was less than 30 minutes. And he signed a 3 page contract he didn't even receive a copy.

This is the problem:
1) The sales person was fired about 3 weeks ago
2) After learning more about the Panamera and the available options, he realized the car he built was extremely inadequate (the ex-sales person didn't even mention Chrono Package)
3) His speced car was already in production and it's too late to make any modification
4) Because the car is in production, the dealer is now saying the deposit is non refundable. This is coming directly from the CFO of the dealership. He stated that the 3 page document my partner signed has the disclosure.

Of course, my partner share some of the blame for not doing his homework and reading carefully the contract he signed. But he trusted the sales person and he took advantage of him.

My partner has request the dealer to fax him a copy of the signed contract and he still hasn't receive it today.

I have done some digging around the forum and because of his signed contract, the law is not on his side.

He is thinking of going to small claim court on the basis of error and omission.

Any suggestion for him?

 

from what you say, it seems as though he had a stupid salesman (which most are) however he too was acting stupidly in not doing his homework..... bottom line is he signed it and gave his deposit, the dealer happens to be right in this case and I would tell you partner that he should just take the hit and learn his lesson

 

I am not an expert, and the signed contract may make things more difficult, but I don't think California dealers can keep your deposit if you refuse delivery of the vehicle. If he paid by credit card or can stop payment on the check, it is unlikely the dealer will bother to sue for the deposit. California law is pretty favorable to the automotive consumer. There are a lot of unsold Panameras sitting around so it might be easier to see if the dealer will trade for a different vehicle with specs closer to what he is looking for.

 

+1
Excellent advice, listen to what he said ..

 

thats a great idea, I second

 

No dealership wants to sell a 150K car to a person who would be miserble before he even drives it off the lot. Since he ordered the car with "suggested" items it ought not be that hard to sell . Can't he work with them or even find one close off the lot ?

 

He should have done his due diligence and at least got a copy of the contract. Something is not right here, was it a special order color or something?

 

The California DMV regulates all car dealers. They have amazing powers, and scare the crap out of dealers.

They can not keep your deposit. I would ask for it back. If they say no, tell them you will go the the DMV to have an investigator come out to help you get your deposit back.

This works, because I had to do it. I was refused a refund ($10k) for an ordered car. The DMV called the dealer, and they called me the same day and said my check was waiting.

Good Luck.

 

hmm, when I ordered my TT a year ahead pretty much I only got a hand written receipt for my deposit, I did not sign anything until I picked up the car.

 

Thanks for all the great advice guys. His car is a bit "different" IMO and maybe hard to sell.

It's Aqua Blue Exterior with Cococa interior with red seat belt.....and it didn't come with Sports Chrono and I would think most of the Turbo driver would like to have that as option.

The dealer is okay for him to place another new car order, and they can transfer his deposit to the new car. The problem is, they are asking him for another $5000 additional deposit before they would place the order.

Naturally, my partner is pissed due to the bad experience he already have and didn't want to continue the relationship with the dealer.

I think the DMV is a great suggestion. I will have him try that

 

And his check was cashed few weeks ago. There is no way to put stop payment on the check.

 

IMO the mere fact that they fired the salesperson would indicate to me that even the dealer felt that he or she was incompetent to sell these cars so your partner could make a pretty good argument that it was the salespersons fault and ultimately the dealers fault that the "wrong car" got ordered.

 

If he can get a new order in for an additional $5k deposit what is the problem? I mean you said that his orig deposit is going toward the new car right? So he has a $10k deposit but it gets him into the right car AND keeps a reasonable relationship with the dealer. No brainer to me.

 

Ruf,

I agree with you and that's what I told him. But he felt "cheated" and the fact that the dealership is not willing to take any responsibility puts him off. Because of the incidents, he has decided to either find another dealership or buy another type of exotic car (Bentley/AMG S 63..etc.)

To be honest, I know both parties is at fault but I'm standing on his side (been a victim of car dealership scam 11 years ago). As of today, they still haven't fax him the signed document. It shouldn't take couple days to do that.

Building a good relationship with the dealer is extremely important and I agree with you. The hard part is finding one you can trust.

 

You are lucky you live in the Bay Area and have lots of choices, all less than 100 miles away.