Rip Off car dealers

An automall dealer, who I won't name so this thread doesn't get deleted, had a car for sale. I was interested, gave him a deposit, all on the basis of 'subject to inspection'.


The inspection (by my own mechanic) showed the car hadn't had any maintenance done for a long time, probably two years, plus some 'miscellaneous engine noise' which wasn't investigated.


On the basis that I wasn't happy with the inspection in general I told the dealer I wasn't going ahead. While I didn't say it was anything in particular, the car clearly hadn't been looked after, and I wasn't going to take on a potential moneypit.


They are now trying to deduct 30% of my deposit as a 'service fee', on the grounds that it 'wasn't a new car', 'I should expect some work would be needed', and 'how could we do business if everyone gave us a deposit then took it back again'.


Clearly they're just trying it on, and I'm edging ever closer to the small claims court. But I was wondering if this was a standard negotiating tactic that other people have seen ?


Thanks


MJG

I was under the impression that the normal operating procedure for HK car dealers is to agree a price, leave a deposit, then get it inspected. Is this not correct ?

I also found the used car purchasing process here aweful. You really have to be tough on these dealers as they are very aggresive.


I ended up signing an MOU with no deposit before he would send the car for inspection. This took an extreme level on patience on my side to get the dealer to agree to this as he was persistent as hell. And then after I closed the deal at a very aggresive price the sales man begrudged me "as the deal wasnt fair for him (yeh right.)"

Are there are 2nd car dealers at all that anybody here would recommend?

thanks

We bought ours from Expatmotors in Saikung. Its run by a nice Welsh guy there called Dave. I think his number is 9674 7454

You should get some legal advice regarding what can be done with the dealer.

I would also recommend getting someone who knows the market to help or give advice when your buying a car. People think they know cars, but are totally unprepaired for the tricks that HK dealers get upto. They are only interested in todays sale, and as soon as they have your money, good luck.

Wont name the supercar dealership, but they are a very dishonest bunch of cowboy dealers.


Was trying to buy a car which they lied about number of previous owners & true car spec/model.


Luckily, when I found out, even though I had signed the contract and handed over deposit, they made the mistake of lying on the contract too. So it was a very easy argument to win when I showed them the evidence.


On the whole, the dealers I have encountered in HK wouldn't care too much if the car blew up so long as they get the cash.


It's proving very difficult in buying a used car as I can never be entirely sure what info is true or not. Especially regarding the odometre

Are there any recommended dealers HK side? We're also looking for a car at present and are finding the prices can vary from day to day.

WARNING: I have deleted some comments that attempt to make generalizations about ethnic groups.


I consider this RACISM. If these ugly comments are raised again an IMMEDIATE ban will result.


RACISM IS ABHORRENT. Get some counselling if you cant get over it...

http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/classifieds/view.asp?cat=15

Synchronously enough, I just got back a response from the consumer council relating to the original post.


My lawyer advised trying the CC first, because if I do decide to take it to small claims, it's an excellent demonstration to the tribunal that I had tried other methods to resolve the situation before resorting to the courts.


Consumer council essentially said 'we wrote to them, they ignored us, suggest you sue'. So it's off to m'learned friends I go.




I'd also like to re-state this general advice on buying cars at the automall:


You should assume that the mileage is clocked, and that the dealers are all sharks, engaging in at best questionable practices and at worst straightforward fraud and deceit.


(The only mileages which might be genuine are cars from a main dealer with a service book and service receipts, and a used car warranty).


You will not get any kind of a service record at the automall. Usual excuse is "oh it's all computerised and the main dealer won't release the information because of the data protection act", which is not relevant, as the Data Protection Act only applies to living people. So, as long as the service records have the names of the previous owners removed, there is no reason for you not to be able to see them.


I think that this issue actually underlies most of the problems of s/h cars in Hong Kong. Because there is no culture of keeping the service records with the car, and making them form an essential part of the sale, people skimp on maintenance and dealers can wind back the clocks much more easily.


Also what gets me is when you go into a dealer and they say "ah yes, a six year old car, and it only has 12,000 km on it - so it's in great mechanical shape'. Even if it hadn't been clocked, an engine with that low a mileage will be knackered if it's had a life of 3 km journeys to Wellcome.