I'm trying to help a friend out here who is in a sticky situation with a vehicle he just ordered. If anyone can offer some assistance, especially if they have experience with this, it would be immensely appreciated. The story is as follows...
He visited a dealer and ordered a 2015 Corvette with factory delivery in Bowling Green, and put down some cash as a downpayment. His wife wasn't aware of any of this. She found out before the car was built and demanded that he cancel it. The dealer said, "sorry, you signed this order form and gave us money, you're SOL". My friend tried to contact GM directly but was referred back to the dealer. Now the car has been built but isn't ready for pickup.
The dealer has offered to refund half the downpayment money and forget the whole thing ever happened, claiming that now he'll have to sit on said car and try to sell it. It's not a weird or super-custom order, though the summer is winding down and Corvettes aren't going to get sold in the dead of winter.
I checked the compiled statutes for the state of IL to see what buyer protections are in place and it said:
(815 ILCS 375/13) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 573)
Until the seller delivers a copy of the contract to him or her, a buyer who has not received delivery of the motor vehicle has the right to cancel his agreement and to receive a refund of all payments made and a return of all goods traded in to the seller on account of or in contemplation of the contract, or, if those goods cannot be returned, the value thereof. However, this Section does not apply when the merchandise has been specially ordered or custom made to the specifications of the purchaser and evidence of such order is provided by the seller.
So it looks like the law doesn't allow him to back out since it was a special order, though I'd argue that's pretty loosely defined. To be fair, my friend signed the order sheet but NOT a sales contract saying he would buy the car. He reached out to a local law firm who specializes in dealing with auto dealers and car companies, and they refused to take the case. He's going to try another firm as a backup.
Any other options here? Is it best to just take the offer of half the deposit back and walk away, lesson learned?
An idea I had was to ask the GM of the dealer if he'd let them apply the downpayment to a different vehicle on the lot, though it's a small dealership and I'm not sure if there's much he would want (maybe a CTS-V or SS). Another friend had suggested to threaten the dealership with local TV news involvement, which could seriously damage their reputation. It's a small dealership that's not part of a conglomerate, so their reputation is probably important to them. This might burn bridges and result in getting none of the downpayment back.
He visited a dealer and ordered a 2015 Corvette with factory delivery in Bowling Green, and put down some cash as a downpayment. His wife wasn't aware of any of this. She found out before the car was built and demanded that he cancel it. The dealer said, "sorry, you signed this order form and gave us money, you're SOL". My friend tried to contact GM directly but was referred back to the dealer. Now the car has been built but isn't ready for pickup.
The dealer has offered to refund half the downpayment money and forget the whole thing ever happened, claiming that now he'll have to sit on said car and try to sell it. It's not a weird or super-custom order, though the summer is winding down and Corvettes aren't going to get sold in the dead of winter.
I checked the compiled statutes for the state of IL to see what buyer protections are in place and it said:
(815 ILCS 375/13) (from Ch. 121 1/2, par. 573)
Until the seller delivers a copy of the contract to him or her, a buyer who has not received delivery of the motor vehicle has the right to cancel his agreement and to receive a refund of all payments made and a return of all goods traded in to the seller on account of or in contemplation of the contract, or, if those goods cannot be returned, the value thereof. However, this Section does not apply when the merchandise has been specially ordered or custom made to the specifications of the purchaser and evidence of such order is provided by the seller.
So it looks like the law doesn't allow him to back out since it was a special order, though I'd argue that's pretty loosely defined. To be fair, my friend signed the order sheet but NOT a sales contract saying he would buy the car. He reached out to a local law firm who specializes in dealing with auto dealers and car companies, and they refused to take the case. He's going to try another firm as a backup.
Any other options here? Is it best to just take the offer of half the deposit back and walk away, lesson learned?
An idea I had was to ask the GM of the dealer if he'd let them apply the downpayment to a different vehicle on the lot, though it's a small dealership and I'm not sure if there's much he would want (maybe a CTS-V or SS). Another friend had suggested to threaten the dealership with local TV news involvement, which could seriously damage their reputation. It's a small dealership that's not part of a conglomerate, so their reputation is probably important to them. This might burn bridges and result in getting none of the downpayment back.