Order cancellation help!!!

snawaz · 02-04-2007, 02:18 PM

Anyone got advice on how to cancel an order and get my deposit back
(£1000). I ordered my car 8 days ago and have not spoke to the dealer yet. Thought i'd use other peoples experience of getting their deposit back.

Z4 Beemer · 02-04-2007, 03:54 PM

As long as the car is not in production stage at the factory (and the dealer can still change the spec), I can't see this being a problem. As long as you give the dealer a good and reasonable explanation for cancelling and asking for your money back.

shtfrginger · 02-04-2007, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snawaz

Anyone got advice on how to cancel an order and get my deposit back
(£1000). I ordered my car 8 days ago and have not spoke to the dealer yet. Thought i'd use other peoples experience of getting their deposit back.

General rule of thumb is that as long as the dealership has suffered no financial loss in the transaction then you will get a refund (read the back page of your contract of sale) However when you get your refund will depend on how good your dealer is ....good luck!

imolazhp_ci · 02-04-2007, 05:54 PM

I don't know about UK but in the state of California, USA... it is ILLEGAL for any type of deposit at any automobile dealership to nonrefundable. so make sure you find out the law if they try and screw you.

snawaz · 02-04-2007, 06:30 PM

I'll speak to the dealer tommorrow and let you know what happens.

NFS · 02-05-2007, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imolazhp_ci

I don't know about UK but in the state of California, USA... it is ILLEGAL for any type of deposit at any automobile dealership to nonrefundable. so make sure you find out the law if they try and screw you.

The whole point of the deposit is to cover the dealers loss if you back out of the sale, that's why it is non-refundable - which is quite legal in the UK.

The OP will have to throw himself on the dealers mercy. Shouldn't be an issue if he can convince them he will remain a customer of their dealership or wider group.

Ted · 02-05-2007, 11:10 AM

Have you arranged finance through the dealer?

If so, you may be able to cancel and get a refund under the Consumer Credit Act, depending upon the type of agreement.

If not then it will be at the dealers discretion if you have signed the order paperwork for a cash purchase.

Ed

snawaz · 02-05-2007, 01:14 PM

Phoned dealer this morning. I wanted to cancel my order.

Reason for cancellation was that I always have a sunroof fitted, but this time missed it off the order. 3 days later I realised and phoned the dealer who said it was too late to make any changes as my car had been assigned a chasis number.

Anyway, dealer tells me this morning that if I was to cancel the order then I would lose all my £1000 deposit. I asked him to try and phone bmw and see if they could add on a sunroof. This evening he phones me back, after I have left 3 messages asking him to phone me, and tells me that there is nothing he can do. He doesn't want the order to be cancelled as this will leave them with a high specked car which "they will find difficult to sell", but on the other hand they don't want me to lose my £1000 deposit.

I don't feel the dealer has been sympathetic in my case at all. I offered to order another car but he tells me I will still lose the £1000 deposit. This is the third car I have bought in 3 years.

I feel really let down by this salesman, who always gave me the impression that customer service was their no.1 priority. I was a loyal customer of theirs but out of principle I am going to take the £1000 hit and order from somewhere else.

Z4 Beemer · 02-05-2007, 01:21 PM

I would be tempted to speak to someone more senior at the dealership. There must be a compromise that can be reached for all.

shtfrginger · 02-05-2007, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snawaz

Phoned dealer this morning. I wanted to cancel my order.

Reason for cancellation was that I always have a sunroof fitted, but this time missed it off the order. 3 days later I realised and phoned the dealer who said it was too late to make any changes as my car had been assigned a chasis number.

Anyway, dealer tells me this morning that if I was to cancel the order then I would lose all my £1000 deposit. I asked him to try and phone bmw and see if they could add on a sunroof. This evening he phones me back, after I have left 3 messages asking him to phone me, and tells me that there is nothing he can do. He doesn't want the order to be cancelled as this will leave them with a high specked car which "they will find difficult to sell", but on the other hand they don't want me to lose my £1000 deposit.

I don't feel the dealer has been sympathetic in my case at all. I offered to order another car but he tells me I will still lose the £1000 deposit. This is the third car I have bought in 3 years.

I feel really let down by this salesman, who always gave me the impression that customer service was their no.1 priority. I was a loyal customer of theirs but out of principle I am going to take the £1000 hit and order from somewhere else.

I agree with Z4Beemer. Take the matter higher within the dealership.

To give you hope I ordered a fully loaded E92 335d SE (£43.5K of car!) The car was built and on its way to the dealership ....then I had to cancel. My reason was impending redundancy which thankfully never happened. Initially the dealer would not refund my £2000 deposit. However I escalated to a senior sales manager, created a fuss and was told that in order to preserve my brand loyalty I would get a refund if they managed to sell the car on. The car arrived a week later and because of its high spec they 'sold' into the dealership as a demonstrator. I received my refund two days later. The moral of the story is that if you persist with getting noticed it will pay off for you. As you can see from my experience no matter what they tell you, for instance bullsh*t like 'difficult to sell' .... nothing is impossible. Go see the top man and hang in there matey!

booforty · 02-06-2007, 02:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Z4 Beemer

I would be tempted to speak to someone more senior at the dealership. There must be a compromise that can be reached for all.

Absolutely essential. Write to the manager of the dealership and state your case. You will get some much further if you take this up the line.

Good luck

NFS · 02-06-2007, 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snawaz

Phoned dealer this morning. I wanted to cancel my order.

Reason for cancellation was that I always have a sunroof fitted, but this time missed it off the order. 3 days later I realised and phoned the dealer who said it was too late to make any changes as my car had been assigned a chasis number.

Anyway, dealer tells me this morning that if I was to cancel the order then I would lose all my £1000 deposit. I asked him to try and phone bmw and see if they could add on a sunroof. This evening he phones me back, after I have left 3 messages asking him to phone me, and tells me that there is nothing he can do. He doesn't want the order to be cancelled as this will leave them with a high specked car which "they will find difficult to sell", but on the other hand they don't want me to lose my £1000 deposit.

I don't feel the dealer has been sympathetic in my case at all. I offered to order another car but he tells me I will still lose the £1000 deposit. This is the third car I have bought in 3 years.

I feel really let down by this salesman, who always gave me the impression that customer service was their no.1 priority. I was a loyal customer of theirs but out of principle I am going to take the £1000 hit and order from somewhere else.

I'd actually look at this different, I've got a certain amount of sympathy with the dealer.

I think that if you want a 'good' deal you have to be a 'good' customer. It's all part of the game.

I tried to add a couple of options to my car about 48hours after I had ordered it. I was surprised that the dealer had already got a build date and the car was 'non-spec changeable'. In some ways it's frustrating when the dealer moves so quick, but then again we want our new car's quickly so it's not necessarily a bad thing.

I suppose the moral is that you have to be really careful that you have ordered the right car. I am all for fighting when you don't get the right service, but the deposit situation is pretty clear. It's there to protect the dealers margin in situations exactly like yours.

You could:

1. Kick up a big fuss - burn your bridges with the dealer and still not get your deposit back.
2. Just have the car you ordered - sun roof isn't such a big deal is it?
3. Write of the deposit and shop elsewhere.

snawaz · 02-06-2007, 06:41 AM

spoke to sales manager again this morning. He is adament that I will lose my deposit.
I have to say we had a very good relationship and I find it difficult to say anything bad or aggressive to him. Up to now I have taken the gentle approach. I made it clear to him that in my letter of cancellation I would ask for the deposit back and leave it up to them as to what they would do.
His response was ok, and address it to me.
Maybe all is not lost. I wll keep you informed.

NFS · 02-06-2007, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snawaz

spoke to sales manager again this morning. He is adament that I will lose my deposit.
I have to say we had a very good relationship and I find it difficult to say anything bad or aggressive to him. Up to now I have taken the gentle approach. I made it clear to him that in my letter of cancellation I would ask for the deposit back and leave it up to them as to what they would do.
His response was ok, and address it to me.
Maybe all is not lost. I wll keep you informed.

Are they part of a larger group?

snawaz · 02-06-2007, 08:54 AM

yes they are. infact a very large group. statstone bmw. who also have franchises for other car manufacturers.

NFS · 02-06-2007, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snawaz

yes they are. infact a very large group. statstone bmw. who also have franchises for other car manufacturers.

One of the better options might be to re-order with the same sales manager and ask him to give you the same deal, plus a further £1000 off to re-imburse you for the forfeited deposit.

At least you will find out how far they will bend.

NathanJT · 02-06-2007, 11:21 AM

No offence but I have to side with the dealer.

If you "always have a sunroof fitted" then how did you manage to miss it off of the order? I'm sure you double/treble checked it like we all do?

Also, the reason why we here in the UK are offered the fantastic "BMW Individual" range is because we have tight sales contracts unlike the US. Would you prefer to have less options but be able to order in any car you like and turn it down at the last minute? I know many of the US members would prefer to have the option of "Individual" at the cost of sticking to a sales contract!

I can understand your annoyance at the dealer not wanting to bend (trust me I've dealt with Stratstone many times, I know how unwilling they can be), but ultimately the dealer probably only has so much to play with. Keep in mind that they're also coming up to year end and won't want a car sat on the forecourt if it means money out of the bank for he accountants!

poiney · 02-06-2007, 09:13 PM

Before reading my comment, I'll confess to being one that would pay to NOT have a sunroof: more headroom, no water leaks, weight & rigidity improved.

To each his own and you want to be happy with your purchase, but you may want to reconsider how badly do you want the sunroof as stated above. Too bad, I can't give you mine.

Touringman · 02-08-2007, 11:48 AM

Is not having a sunroof such a problem? - I never order a sunroof (can't see the point of them at all)

But if its important to you then OK but worth losing £1000 over? - can't think of any option I might have forgotten to order that would have me cancelling and losing £1000.

Just my two penneth

BTW the dual climate controll on the e90's is superb - better by far than my e46 single climate was.

Cheers

Z4 Beemer · 02-08-2007, 12:34 PM

Yeah, I would agree with T-man about the sunroof. The dual climate is clever. I tried setting one side to about 17C and the other to about 26C and you hear lots of things adjusting but it really tries hard to meet your demands!

mgarvey · 03-12-2007, 07:44 AM

I'm terrible for changing my mind about cars, so my trick is to order a bit before I need to so I have time for a good long think before the build comes up - this is of course after months of deliberating over the website configurator and brochure, with loads of spreadsheets showing all my options choices (sorry I'm sad like that).

Anyhow, dealers can be flexible if you play things carefully, particularly if the car you order is a spec they can just sell as dealer stock.

Fir example, in 2002 I ordered a 320Ci vert with leather and a few toys. I'd ordered it 6 months before I needed it because I thought the vert had a long lead time. A month after this, my wife drove her tinfoil Citroen AX head on into a 7.5 ton truck. She was lucky to get away with a broken shoulder and bruising, but I immediately decided she needed something a little safer and ordered her a brand new Renault Clio.

A long hard look at my finances made me realise that buying the vert as well was was going to stretch the budget a little too far, so I asked my dealer if he'd let me downgrade my order to a 318Ci Coupe. He did with no quibbles and no lost deposit

Ironically, I got an unexpected promotion 6 months later and could've afforded the vert after all

Since then I have bought another BMW from the same salesman, an E91, largely on the strength of the relationship. I got a decent deal on the car - nowhere near what brokers could've offered but close enough to keep my loyalty.

Good luck to you and get the best you can out of the dealer. My advice, for what its worth, is not to worry about the sunroof. I had one on my last climate controlled car and used it about twice, I think. You won't get any return on the option come resale anyway.

silverbmwz3 · 03-13-2007, 03:33 AM

I find it incredible that a premium manufacturer such as BMW cannot change an order at that stage if the BMW dealership pushed for it.

My father in law ordered a brand new Honda and was able to change it half way between order and build and change both colour of car and wheels and the dealership even waived the admin fee.

Sometimes people change their mind and make mistakes, neither the dealership nor BMW has suffered financially yet as they have not built his car. I can understand reluctance on their part to do this regularly, but on the odd occasion and to retain brand loyalty I'm amazed they won't and can't do this.

02-04-2007, 02:18 PM	#1
snawaz First Lieutenant 57 Rep 334 Posts Drives: Black BMW M4 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Rotherham UK iTrader: (0)	Order cancellation help!!! Anyone got advice on how to cancel an order and get my deposit back (£1000). I ordered my car 8 days ago and have not spoke to the dealer yet. Thought i'd use other peoples experience of getting their deposit back.
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02-04-2007, 03:54 PM	#2
Z4 Beemer Colonel 83 Rep 2,353 Posts Drives: 2009 Z4 sDrive 23i Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Glasgow, Scotland, UK iTrader: (0) Garage List 2006 E92 [0.00] 2004 Z4 2.2i [8.00]	As long as the car is not in production stage at the factory (and the dealer can still change the spec), I can't see this being a problem. As long as you give the dealer a good and reasonable explanation for cancelling and asking for your money back. __________________ E89 Z4 sDrive 23i... for the more discerning driver
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02-04-2007, 05:54 PM	#4
imolazhp_ci Major 29 Rep 1,002 Posts Drives: Z4 M Coupe Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: orange county iTrader: (0)	I don't know about UK but in the state of California, USA... it is ILLEGAL for any type of deposit at any automobile dealership to nonrefundable. so make sure you find out the law if they try and screw you.
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02-04-2007, 06:30 PM	#5
snawaz First Lieutenant 57 Rep 334 Posts Drives: Black BMW M4 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Rotherham UK iTrader: (0)	I'll speak to the dealer tommorrow and let you know what happens.
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02-05-2007, 11:10 AM	#7
Ted Private First Class 1 Rep 111 Posts Drives: E92 335i Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: London, UK iTrader: (0)	Have you arranged finance through the dealer? If so, you may be able to cancel and get a refund under the Consumer Credit Act, depending upon the type of agreement. If not then it will be at the dealers discretion if you have signed the order paperwork for a cash purchase. Ed Last edited by Ted; 02-05-2007 at 11:28 AM..
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02-05-2007, 01:14 PM	#8
snawaz First Lieutenant 57 Rep 334 Posts Drives: Black BMW M4 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Rotherham UK iTrader: (0)	Phoned dealer this morning. I wanted to cancel my order. Reason for cancellation was that I always have a sunroof fitted, but this time missed it off the order. 3 days later I realised and phoned the dealer who said it was too late to make any changes as my car had been assigned a chasis number. Anyway, dealer tells me this morning that if I was to cancel the order then I would lose all my £1000 deposit. I asked him to try and phone bmw and see if they could add on a sunroof. This evening he phones me back, after I have left 3 messages asking him to phone me, and tells me that there is nothing he can do. He doesn't want the order to be cancelled as this will leave them with a high specked car which "they will find difficult to sell", but on the other hand they don't want me to lose my £1000 deposit. I don't feel the dealer has been sympathetic in my case at all. I offered to order another car but he tells me I will still lose the £1000 deposit. This is the third car I have bought in 3 years. I feel really let down by this salesman, who always gave me the impression that customer service was their no.1 priority. I was a loyal customer of theirs but out of principle I am going to take the £1000 hit and order from somewhere else.
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02-05-2007, 01:21 PM	#9
Z4 Beemer Colonel 83 Rep 2,353 Posts Drives: 2009 Z4 sDrive 23i Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Glasgow, Scotland, UK iTrader: (0) Garage List 2006 E92 [0.00] 2004 Z4 2.2i [8.00]	I would be tempted to speak to someone more senior at the dealership. There must be a compromise that can be reached for all. __________________ E89 Z4 sDrive 23i... for the more discerning driver
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02-06-2007, 06:41 AM	#13
snawaz First Lieutenant 57 Rep 334 Posts Drives: Black BMW M4 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Rotherham UK iTrader: (0)	spoke to sales manager again this morning. He is adament that I will lose my deposit. I have to say we had a very good relationship and I find it difficult to say anything bad or aggressive to him. Up to now I have taken the gentle approach. I made it clear to him that in my letter of cancellation I would ask for the deposit back and leave it up to them as to what they would do. His response was ok, and address it to me. Maybe all is not lost. I wll keep you informed.
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02-06-2007, 08:54 AM	#15
snawaz First Lieutenant 57 Rep 334 Posts Drives: Black BMW M4 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Rotherham UK iTrader: (0)	yes they are. infact a very large group. statstone bmw. who also have franchises for other car manufacturers.
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02-06-2007, 11:21 AM	#17
NathanJT Techie Geek 37 Rep 681 Posts Drives: 330d M Sport Manual Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Derby, UK iTrader: (0)	No offence but I have to side with the dealer. If you "always have a sunroof fitted" then how did you manage to miss it off of the order? I'm sure you double/treble checked it like we all do? Also, the reason why we here in the UK are offered the fantastic "BMW Individual" range is because we have tight sales contracts unlike the US. Would you prefer to have less options but be able to order in any car you like and turn it down at the last minute? I know many of the US members would prefer to have the option of "Individual" at the cost of sticking to a sales contract! I can understand your annoyance at the dealer not wanting to bend (trust me I've dealt with Stratstone many times, I know how unwilling they can be), but ultimately the dealer probably only has so much to play with. Keep in mind that they're also coming up to year end and won't want a car sat on the forecourt if it means money out of the bank for he accountants! __________________ 330d M-Sport \| Sapphire Black \| Black Dakota \| Nav Pro \| iDrive \| Bluetooth \| PDC \| Xenons \| Hot Seats \| Tracker \| Blacklines
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02-06-2007, 09:13 PM	#18
poiney Captain 36 Rep 798 Posts Drives: 328i coupe Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: SJ iTrader: (0)	Before reading my comment, I'll confess to being one that would pay to NOT have a sunroof: more headroom, no water leaks, weight & rigidity improved. To each his own and you want to be happy with your purchase, but you may want to reconsider how badly do you want the sunroof as stated above. Too bad, I can't give you mine.
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02-08-2007, 11:48 AM	#19
Touringman Private 3 Rep 57 Posts Drives: Silver 335i MSport Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK - North Yorks iTrader: (0)	Is not having a sunroof such a problem? - I never order a sunroof (can't see the point of them at all) But if its important to you then OK but worth losing £1000 over? - can't think of any option I might have forgotten to order that would have me cancelling and losing £1000. Just my two penneth BTW the dual climate controll on the e90's is superb - better by far than my e46 single climate was. Cheers __________________ Tim E90 335i Msport Mini Cooper S Sold: Z4 3.0si sport ordered! R1150 GS - for sale
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02-08-2007, 12:34 PM	#20
Z4 Beemer Colonel 83 Rep 2,353 Posts Drives: 2009 Z4 sDrive 23i Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Glasgow, Scotland, UK iTrader: (0) Garage List 2006 E92 [0.00] 2004 Z4 2.2i [8.00]	Yeah, I would agree with T-man about the sunroof. The dual climate is clever. I tried setting one side to about 17C and the other to about 26C and you hear lots of things adjusting but it really tries hard to meet your demands! __________________ E89 Z4 sDrive 23i... for the more discerning driver
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03-12-2007, 07:44 AM	#21
mgarvey Lieutenant 30 Rep 540 Posts Drives: Renault Megane Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Reading iTrader: (0)	I'm terrible for changing my mind about cars, so my trick is to order a bit before I need to so I have time for a good long think before the build comes up - this is of course after months of deliberating over the website configurator and brochure, with loads of spreadsheets showing all my options choices (sorry I'm sad like that). Anyhow, dealers can be flexible if you play things carefully, particularly if the car you order is a spec they can just sell as dealer stock. Fir example, in 2002 I ordered a 320Ci vert with leather and a few toys. I'd ordered it 6 months before I needed it because I thought the vert had a long lead time. A month after this, my wife drove her tinfoil Citroen AX head on into a 7.5 ton truck. She was lucky to get away with a broken shoulder and bruising, but I immediately decided she needed something a little safer and ordered her a brand new Renault Clio. A long hard look at my finances made me realise that buying the vert as well was was going to stretch the budget a little too far, so I asked my dealer if he'd let me downgrade my order to a 318Ci Coupe. He did with no quibbles and no lost deposit Ironically, I got an unexpected promotion 6 months later and could've afforded the vert after all Since then I have bought another BMW from the same salesman, an E91, largely on the strength of the relationship. I got a decent deal on the car - nowhere near what brokers could've offered but close enough to keep my loyalty. Good luck to you and get the best you can out of the dealer. My advice, for what its worth, is not to worry about the sunroof. I had one on my last climate controlled car and used it about twice, I think. You won't get any return on the option come resale anyway.
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03-13-2007, 03:33 AM	#22
silverbmwz3 Colonel 48 Rep 2,022 Posts Drives: X5 g05 Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Buckinghamshire, UK iTrader: (0) Garage List 2003 325 ci SE conv ... [0.00]	I find it incredible that a premium manufacturer such as BMW cannot change an order at that stage if the BMW dealership pushed for it. My father in law ordered a brand new Honda and was able to change it half way between order and build and change both colour of car and wheels and the dealership even waived the admin fee. Sometimes people change their mind and make mistakes, neither the dealership nor BMW has suffered financially yet as they have not built his car. I can understand reluctance on their part to do this regularly, but on the odd occasion and to retain brand loyalty I'm amazed they won't and can't do this.
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