Delayed New Car Deliveries Cause Part Exchange Problems

Tuesday, 2. August 2011

Now here’s an interesting scenario. As I’ve widely reported over the last 18 months or so deliveries of new cars have become a nightmare. All too often the dealer has called and said that delivery has been delayed not just by a couple of weeks but in some cases months. In most cases we’ve been able to get around the problem by extending the current lease or by the customer managing to use another car for a while but supposing you are dealing with a car dealer and you have a part exchange involved? What happens if you can’t get your new car and the dealer won’t pay the original amount he offered for the car when you negotiated the P/X?

Not a lot is the information I have unless you have put in writing that the dealer will pay the agreed sum for your car when you take delivery of the new car, whenever that may be.

Whilst the delayed delivery has caused an inconvenience and could be a breach of contract, the agreement to purchase the old car is a separate transaction, even though it is dependent upon the delivery of the new car.

The argument would be that the car is say 2 months older, during which time you’ve used it and added miles, wear and tear and the car would have suffered some depreciation. However, it’s not your fault that your new car has been delayed and you may be relying upon the agreed price for your old car as your deposit against the new one.

At this late stage it is difficult to negotiate if you haven’t got their offer in writing giving the price they will pay ‘whenever the new car is delivered.’

You need to either make sure that they will honour the agreed price or, if the delivery is delayed, to take your car on the expected delivery date and provide you with a courtesy car until the new car arrives.

Either way make sure that you have it in writing and make it a condition of the transaction. They want you to order the new car so you will have the upper hand. Have you experienced a P/X problem? By Graham Hill