A deal done is a done deal; at least, that’s how business should work between two parties in agreement. However, a car dealership in North Carolina seemed not to understand the concept of a ‘done deal’ and contacted its most recent client, claiming it had sold them the “wrong car.” The absurd bit? The salesman tells the buyer that they should pay the $2,500 discrepancy or bring back the car to trade it for the one with “lesser value.” “To me I thought that was BS,” the customer gripes. “Why should I be responsible for their mistake?“
This wasn’t a simple ‘solo-salesman-was-careless’ mistake,’ either. The North Carolina car buyer claims they went through three people to seal the deal for the 2024 Ford Bronco they purchased. “The salesman, the financial advisor, and their manager. Everything was squared away and went perfectly,” they explain. On top of that, the customer test-drove the car. Even so, the salesman said the VIN of the vehicle sold to the buyer didn’t match what was on the contract.
Lo and behold, the dealership employee ended up being correct: “I then noticed that the vin number on my car doesn’t match the VIN on their contract. This is obviously going to be an issue with my insurance…” the buyer groaned. Still, they don’t feel like they should be responsible for the mistake of three people, not to mention returning to the dealership to do a trade-in is a hassle in itself. Luckily, a Reddit user from r/legaladvice has an ideal suggestion that should resolve things for the buyer regarding this “wrong car” fiasco.
First, the customer should demand to rewrite the deal with the North Carolina dealership, but the agreement should have the correct VIN with no change in price. Alternatively, the deal should be undone completely, with payments in full being returned to the buyer’s account with no “waiting for checks in the mail.” However, “If neither option goes anywhere, contact Ford corporate…..and call it what it is, a bait and switch,” the Redditor says.
Whatever the case, the dealership is still the one at fault, regardless of ‘whose’ of the three employees it was. They have no right to demand anything when they made the mistake of signing the deal and giving the keys to the car’s new owner. Still, hopefully, the buyer is able to redo the contract for legal security or get all their money back. Giving the dealership a bad Yelp review would be justifiable, too.