No point all third parties arguing until OP answers some basic questions
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On point #1 I agree. The agreed price being changed is the broker’s problem. Did OP contact the broker about it? If the dealer made a 180 on the price and the broker never knew, he can’t fix it.
#2, how do you know this was without the customer’s knowledge? OP himself mentioned he signed without reading. The actual cost of the package is in the signed contract.
#3 Again, this isn’t without the customer knowing. He literally signed on the dotted line that had all the details. If you can’t be bothered to read what you sign, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
The customer has a contract with the broker to provide a car at a certain price, and assuming what OP said is true (awaiting proof), it’s the broker’s responsibility to deliver it.
The broker can get you to the finance manager (who works on comission from the stuff they sell). The broker can’t be physically in the room holding hands so you don’t cave and buy every protection package imaginable. The broker also can’t force you to read the contract if you don’t want to read.
OP, you can cancel the protections and get your money back. You’re stuck on the $219 payment since you already signed and there’s no ‘cooling off’ period in CA. All in all, this should hopefully teach some important lessons. Read before you sign anything, I can’t believe this has to be stated. And 2 - get everything in writing. A “verbal contract” is not binding in all situations. In fact, most contracts have to be in writing to be enforceable according to the CA Civil Code CC1624
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The broker can fix it after the fact.
#2, how do you know this was without the customer’s knowledge? OP himself mentioned he signed without reading. The actual cost of the package is in the signed contract.
It was written on paperwork created during the deal according to OP. OP DID READ the written numbers on the paperwork. If there is a discrepancy, the hand written number must stand.
#3 Again, this isn’t without the customer knowing. He literally signed on the dotted line that had all the details. If you can’t be bothered to read what you sign, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
This is the most ridiculous argument. IF you sneak in a protection package, and trick the customer into signing (we don’t even know if he did sign it), it doesn’t make it right.
The broker can’t be physically in the room holding hands so you don’t cave and buy every protection package imaginable. The broker also can’t force you to read the contract if you don’t want to read.
This is a major draw of using a broker for most people. They don’t know what a reasonable price is for protection packages. They don’t know the red flags to look for from finance managers. They are not experts. They trust that the broker has their back, and has some sort of relationship with the dealer to protect them. The broker, just like in real estate, should check the dealer’s work, because it is their deal too, not just the customer’s.
I am not arguing that what finance did is right. If it indeed went as OP stated, it is shady forsure. I was simply stating it from a legal perspective - what is written trumps anything verbal in most cases. The protection package would be the lesser issue though, as they can be canceled. I was not aware a broker can fix pricing after the deal’s signed, that is good to know though.
The way this should have gone is:
- Broker quoted $199
- Dealer raised price to $219
- “Hey broker, what’s going on here?”
This could be the dealer being shady. This could be a change in tax rate because the customer wanted to register at a different address than given. This could be that an incentive they said they qualified for didn’t actually qualify, etc.
Would need more info to have a better understanding of what happened.
If the dealer changed the price and the broker wasn’t notified, it is difficult for them to do anything about it.
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@BlameMeLo which broker?
Agree completely, but why didn’t OP do this? I’d be interested to see what OP’s broker contract said.
If:
- This was a legitimate price increase, meaning the tax and incentives issues you mentioned don’t apply.
AND - The broker’s contract with OP doesn’t explicitly state that they must be contacted prior to signing regarding any pricing discrepancies with a resolution period, etc.
THEN, the broker must ensure the deal is honored for the customer, or make up the difference themselves.
The OP’s pricing contract is with the broker, not the dealer. The dealer’s contract is irrelevant to the customer for the agreed upon deal.
If it were me, and I ran into a last minute price increase, I’d call the broker. If the broker doesn’t respond immediately, I’d sign the contract and tell the broker to fix after the fact.
Name the broker. Let them explain to the community what happened. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
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Especially if you can get it under the skin
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It is every brokers job to make sure the client gets the price that is being advertised and agreed on.
All those $199 Eqb ads it makes sense now…
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I think there are two definitions of brokers that get conflated on LH.
There is one type of broker that is literally licensed to buy/sell vehicles on behalf of a retail franchised store. Thevolvoguy (rest his soul, he’s in a better place now after eating a chainsaw) called these “Bird Dogs”. These types of brokers often operate as white glove service providers that take massive margins but also curate a transaction end to end and even have their own paper/contracts. Even in a drop-ship type of scenario, this broker could still be the one adding junk fees and having responsibility with the contracts.
There another type of broker that is more common on LH where they’re basically just a fancy form of lead generation and shove the client into a sales funnel to be closed by the dealership. Maybe this broker still moves paper around, but the underling transaction remains between the lessee and dealership with the broker just making sure stuff gets executed. In this scenario, the broker could be sued (anybody can be sued) but ultimately are not the ones that could remedy this situation.
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There is one type of broker that is literally licensed to buy/sell vehicles on behalf of a retail franchised store. Thevolvoguy (rest his soul, he’s in a better place now after eating a chainsaw) called these “Bird Dogs”. These types of brokers often operate as white glove service providers that take massive margins but also curate a transaction end to end and even have their own paper/contracts. Even in a drop-ship type of scenario, this broker could still be the one adding junk fees and having responsibility with the contracts.
This is word soup that has never once happened … respectfully, you couldn’t be any more wrong here lol
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Have you ever seen how some ICE AMGs and M cars get exported out of the USA into grey markets? It’s pretty cool. Anyway I don’t think the OP’s EQB is dealing with this type of broker.
Some people don’t even understand the difference between broker and dealer on here, SMH.
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First of all Thevolvoguy was a dealer, not a broker.
You do realize, I said thevolvoguy called them bird dogs. I didn’t say Keith was a broker.
I just wanted a way to shoehorn him eating a chainsaw for no other reason than I enjoy shitposting.
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Bird dogs are payments made to the broker by the dealer for selling the vehicle
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I can’t tell if you all want to be annoying playing semantics, or if you are just doing this because it’s LH and that’s just how it is.
Anyway, a bird dog is whatever you want it to be. My point is when I heard Keith define bird dogs, it was usually in the context of someone he hated trying to skim fat margins.
