Shonky Ford dealer - advice on what to do?

FASTXR · 28-02-2007, 04:29 PM

While I was in Melbourne last week I purchased a near-new (<1000km) demo XR6 Turbo. I'me extremely happy with the car, but very unhappy with what seems to be the underhanded and downright dishonest action of the Ford dealer.

Now, I've never bought an interstate vehicle before let alone a demo, so forgive what may seem to be naive behaviour on my part. When we were emailing the dealer before going down, he said (and we still have a copy of the email) that they would sell us the car without rego plates as that "would save us having to pay stamp duty in Victoria". Instead, they would give us a 7 day Vicroads pass to get us back to Canberra where we could then simpy register it. Something probably should have twigged, but to be honest I didn't think too much of it.

I'm sure you can all pick what happened next - we've just been to register the car here in Canberra and been slugged a full years rego (about $800), even though the car had over 11 months Vic rego on it when we first saw it.
The basic gist is that the dealer has bullshitted us about "saving us money" so they could keep the plates and then hand them in for a refund. I kinda feel stupid for not realising something was funny with it all, but more than that I feel ****ed off with the salesman AND the manager who both spun us the same crap story to effectively rob us of $800.

What I'm interested to hear is people's opinions on what my next step should be, or do I just write it off as a learning experience? I feel too angry to jump straight on the phone - I'd rather gather my thoughts and information and then get stuck into them.

vandrsxr6 · 28-02-2007, 04:43 PM

It's tough to say it but whats done is done. To late to bring up a complaint now.

You could tell ford but they'll just throw it on the too hard pile and forget about you.

On a warmer note, sounds like a sweet ride you got, i love the ego colour.

peedee · 28-02-2007, 05:41 PM

basically once a car is moved from one state to another from what I can rememcer is that you have a maximum of 3 months to transfer the rego into that of the state the cars owner is living, would still have lost you some money but not as much, you could have sent the rego back to vic and claimed a refund on balance then still would have to pay full year on act rego

FASTXR · 28-02-2007, 05:48 PM

Not quite - from what the lady at ACT registration told me today, if the car had still had the plates on, I would have driven it back to Canberra, then walked in to ACT registration and transferred everything (including the 11 months rego) straight over into my name. The only cost I would have had to bear, which I knew anyway, was the 3% stamp duty on the purchase price of the vehicle.

EDIT: I've tried finding something to support this on the ACT rego website but no luck. Regardless of which way it can be done, I still feel that I've been scammed out of nearly $800 worth of rego...

**GasoLane** · 28-02-2007, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FASTXR

Not quite - from what the lady at ACT registration told me today, if the car had still had the plates on, I would have driven it back to Canberra, then walked in to ACT registration and transferred everything (including the 11 months rego) straight over into my name. The only cost I would have had to bear, which I knew anyway, was the 3% stamp duty on the purchase price of the vehicle.

EDIT: I've tried finding something to support this on the ACT rego website but no luck. Regardless of which way it can be done, I still feel that I've been scammed out of nearly $800 worth of rego...

I dont know how it works in Can(t)berra but here -NSW- you cant transfer 11mths rego.

Having said that, if the dealer sold you the car with plates he would have to notify Vicroads about the transfer who would then charge you stamp duty. You could then send the plates back to Vicroads and get a refund for the rego but NOT the stamp duty.

You would then have to register the car in the ACT and pay MORE stamp duty.

So in effect he did save you the Vic stamp duty which is about $8 per $200, how much did you pay fot it?

b2tf · 28-02-2007, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GasOLane

I dont know how it works in Can(t)berra but here -NSW- you cant transfer 11mths rego.

Having said that, if the dealer sold you the car with plates he would have to notify Vicroads about the transfer who would then charge you stamp duty. You could then send the plates back to Vicroads and get a refund for the rego but NOT the stamp duty.

You would then have to register the car in the ACT and pay MORE stamp duty.

So in effect he did save you the Vic stamp duty which is about $8 per $200, how much did you pay fot it?

yep, when i bought my car from vic, brought it back up here, i couldnt transfer the almost 12 months rego already paid on it. previous owner can claim the balance back in vic but up here you pay up.

Outbackjack · 28-02-2007, 07:57 PM

Put it behind you. In this case you lost. Enjoy your car and move on.

Cheers.

outback_ute · 28-02-2007, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FASTXR

Not quite - from what the lady at ACT registration told me today, if the car had still had the plates on, I would have driven it back to Canberra, then walked in to ACT registration and transferred everything (including the 11 months rego) straight over into my name. The only cost I would have had to bear, which I knew anyway, was the 3% stamp duty on the purchase price of the vehicle.

EDIT: I've tried finding something to support this on the ACT rego website but no luck. Regardless of which way it can be done, I still feel that I've been scammed out of nearly $800 worth of rego...

I don't think you have been scammed. If you buy a secondhand car in Vic you pay 4% stamp duty to Vicroads to transfer the rego - unless I am mistaken you haven't paid this, just like the dealer said. You would then have to pay the 3% stamp duty to put it on ACT rego. The 4% stamp duty on a near new XR6T ute would be over double what 11 months worth of Vic rego is, so you have come out ahead.

EA2BA · 28-02-2007, 05:44 PM

You send the vic plates back to vic roads and they will refund the difference of rego less $20 admin fee.

We did that moving from vic to nsw and from nsw to vic, standard procedure.

LTDHO · 28-02-2007, 06:22 PM

Nothing shonky there mate.

If you had to register it in another state, you should have used that when negotiating a price.

FASTXR · 28-02-2007, 06:38 PM

Yes but my point is that had the car had its plates, I effectively would have paid a minimal fee to have nearly a year's rego on the car.
My issue is with the blatant lie that was told to me about "saving us money" when in fact they did what they did to get money back at my expense. Maybe legally its ok but morally I think it's ****

Bucknaked · 28-02-2007, 06:46 PM

They are a clever lot. I see where your coming from. I would never had thought of that myself.

Call them and tell them you want the plates back. With the car being legally registered in your name, surely just because the dealer has the plates, means they can't return the plates without giving you back the money you paid on that car for that registration. Once you signed the paperwork, car is yours therefore, should be your money. If the dealer is claiming the refund, wouldn't that be like stealing? I'd pursue this further with the dealership.

GXL078 · 28-02-2007, 06:48 PM

When you take a car interstate you have to re-establish the registration. In NSW you would have had to pass a blue slip as well to identify the vehicle. This is a good way to pass off a dodgy car from interstate and you can't find out who the previous owner was due to "privacy".

plext · 28-02-2007, 06:58 PM

Hardly a shonky dealer. The deal was spelled out to you and you agreed to it.

Where is the rip off here?

I'm sorry, but if you didn't look at all the angles and think it through properly, that's hardly just cause to accuse them of being underhanded. The deal was presented in full and you signed on the line, put it down to experience and move on.

JBomb3000 · 28-02-2007, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plext

Hardly a shonky dealer. The deal was spelled out to you and you agreed to it.

Where is the rip off here?

I'm sorry, but if you didn't look at all the angles and think it through properly, that's hardly just cause to accuse them of being underhanded. The deal was presented in full and you signed on the line, put it down to experience and move on.

I agree, i was under the impression that to transfer the car into your name with the vic plates on it you would have had to pay vic stamp duty which would have cost you a hell of a lot more that what you would have saved on the rego

Bucknaked · 28-02-2007, 07:51 PM

I think what he is saying is he believes the dealer was telling porky pies.

XA-Coupe · 28-02-2007, 08:23 PM

As far as I can see nothing wrong was done. As someone mentioned you saved a motza on stamp duty and transfer fees by only having to pay one lot. I can't see it being legally or morally wrong, if you got the car in canberra you would have had to pay the full year. That the dealer got a refund on the plates is immaterial. I suspect you saved more than $800 in taxes at any rate.
As Outback jack said, just enjoy the car.

FASTXR · 28-02-2007, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XA-Coupe

If you got the car in canberra you would have had to pay the full year.

If I bought the car in car in Canberra with ACT registration plates, I would have paid the stamp duty and thats it. Whatever registration was left on it would now be in my name (that is, I wouldn't have paid rego again until Feb next year). If it had interstate plates, I would have paid the full amount here in Canberra (stamp duty plus rego), but then got a refund from the other state govt for whetever amount of rego was left on it.

jpb84 · 28-02-2007, 08:36 PM

I am in the car industry (sales) and what they have done is the only thing they can really do if you wanted it in your name. The reason being that if a car is registered in victoria then the gargared address has to be somewhere in victoria i have to do at least 2 or 3 of these a month. it is logistically imposible for the dealer that has a LMCT to transfer the registration of the car in to a persons name that doesn't hold a vic licence hence doesn't have the vic gagred address. all they have really done is mis inform you of the casts at the otherside of it.

If you talk to the dealer principal at the dealership and yell and scream loud enough then if they have any type of customer focus you should get a little bit of money out of them. Don't threaten them because they get 10 people a day threten them and they will just get there backs up and trust me you will lose. The best thing to do is tell them that you would like it to be resolved with them at there level otherwise you may have to dicuss it with the ford customer satisfaction commitee. Trust me they will not want that, Dealerships get paid more by the brands if there customers are happy.

FASTXR · 28-02-2007, 10:12 PM

I appreciate the feedback and if I've gotten it all @rse-about I apologise - as I said, I've only ever purchased vehicles within the same state/territory. However, when I mentioned it to the lady at ACT rego (about saving me money) she was quite surprised and said that unless there were some obscure regulations, it didn't sound quite right. I then rang Vicroads and explained the situation to them. The response I got was that regardless of whether I registered the car in Vic or in the ACT I was up for stamp duty, which I knew, but that was all.

I realise someone may well put me in my place here, but I find it hard to believe that if I buy a car in Vic I have to pay $1400 to the Vic government (for doing absolutely nothing), and then another $1400 to the ACT government to register it here (that one I can understand).

If someone can show me a link to anything that shows that I would have had to pay 2 lots of stamp duty I would be grateful because this is all a little confusing

:

GXL078 · 28-02-2007, 10:17 PM

They no they have no chance of you taking it back there for a service so they probably won't care much. Personally, I would prefer to buy a car from a nearby dealer that I can get serviced easily, prefferebly within walking distance from my house. I have Holden, Mitsubishi and Mazda at the end of my street. Ford would mean I would be a 5min bus ride. I wouldn't buy a Subaru because the dealer is 40mins away and they need to be seviced every 7000KM!!! I have owned a Mazda, thinking of a Mitubishi next, maybe a V6 Outlander. Would love an XR6T but can't justify it.

FASTXR · 28-02-2007, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xcgxl

Personally, I would prefer to buy a car from a nearby dealer that I can get serviced easily, prefferebly within walking distance from my house.

I take your point, but the price was very competitive, it was the colour I was looking for and I was going to be down in Melb at that time anyway. The selection of such vehicles isn't that great here in Canberra!

GXL078 · 28-02-2007, 10:27 PM

It used to be that dealers were able to put 3 months rego on a car, to cover the time while it sat on the lot. Must have saved them heaps. If you bought a demo with 11 month rego does that mean they only had it for a month? or 13 months?

Outbackjack · 28-02-2007, 10:33 PM

I bought my BF XR8 in Melb and drove it back to the Alice on a 30 day permit. When I got back to the NT I went in to the RTA and paid the stamp duty and rego. Even though I took delivery of the car in MLB there was no stamp duty paid until I got back to the NT. If you have paid stamp duty twice, there has been some kind of mistake and you are due a refund.

Good luck.

FASTXR · 28-02-2007, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xcgxl

If you bought a demo with 11 month rego does that mean they only had it for a month? or 13 months?

The car was first registered about 2 1/2 weeks ago and had 980km on the clock when we picked it up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Outbackjack

Even though I took delivery of the car in MLB there was no stamp duty paid until I got back to the NT. If you have paid stamp duty twice, there has been some kind of mistake and you are due a refund.

No, I didn't pay two lots of stamp duty (thank God!). However, I did pay for a whole years worth of rego that I didn't think I'd be up for.

My whole point is that I was led to believe that by handing them the plates I was somehow saving myself money on stamp duty. I feel this was a lie to get the plates back so they could cash in the rego.
I realise this is probably more a moral issue than a legal one, but I'm still ****ed off and want to make a complaint to let them know that I don't think this sort of behaviour is acceptable

DirtyHarry · 01-03-2007, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FASTXR

The car was first registered about 2 1/2 weeks ago and had 980km on the clock when we picked it up.

No, I didn't pay two lots of stamp duty (thank God!). However, I did pay for a whole years worth of rego that I didn't think I'd be up for.

But can't you get a refund from Vicroads for the unused part of the rego if you cancel it?

FASTXR · 01-03-2007, 02:36 PM

Ok, let me re-state something very clearly - I never expected to change the registration straight over to the ACT without any payment. I know that you need to pay a full year's rego in the state you're taking the car to. However, I also know that when you hand in the old plates, you receive a receipt saying you've handed them in to the proper authorities. You can then send this receipt to the state the car was originally registered in and get a refund on the unused portion of the registration. This I know and understand.

However, it is my opinion that the dealer deliberately misled me by telling me that by them holding the plates I would be saved stamp duty. I have an email from the dealer here which says "We are required to remove the plates from the vehicle and supply you with a 14 day pass in order for you to avoid paying stamp duty in Victoria. This will enable you to travel home and register the vehicle in the ACT." As there would never be stamp duty for me to pay when I live in Canberra (a fact they obviously know), how could they be doing anything but lying to me?

EstaFiesta · 28-02-2007, 11:39 PM

I can also appreciate where FASTXR is coming from. I flew to Brisbane from Perth to buy my car, having checked into things first but obviously not thoroughly enough. Once I had done the deal and paid the readdies, I put my new pride and joy on a truck bound for Perth. The car at that stage had approx 6 months Queensland rego. I spoke to our local transport department again on my return, different person, different story. I was informed that as soon as my car landed on WA soil it would not be registered, period, do not pass go, do not collect $200 go straight to jail I then had to buy a pass (about $16.00 I think..more government revenue) to drive from the transport yard to home, then to the vehicle inspection depot. No worries, if I have to I have to. Then when I get to the vehicle inspection depot the next day, I hand in the plates getting a receipt for them, then pay the stamp duty on the spot, no ifs, no buts. $2300.00 later I walk away with a new set of WA plates and I am legal again. Then things get really interesting when trying to get the refund of "my" 6 months worth of Queensland rego. Send off all the paperwork to Queensland transport, get it all back 3 weeks later. I can get the refund, but only if I pay the stamp duty in Queensland. But, I explained, I am not a Queensland resident. No worries, they say. Fill out a few more forms, pay some more dollars and I can become a honoury Queenslander of sorts. Hhmmmmm me thinks, not sure about this. So the easist solution was to send the receipt issued in WA for the plates to the previous owner, he gets the refund of 6 months registration. Sorted.

Am I complaining, not really. My only complaint is that I got so many different stories from the government bodies as to what was required.

BUT, it was still cheaper than buying a local WA car at the considerably higher prices that they command over here..

davocol · 28-02-2007, 11:53 PM

I would be giving the dealership a call and just politely ask if you can have the balance of the rego they handed in back given thats how you bought the car, it was a definite scam (albeit very minor) on the dealers behalf.

FASTXR · 01-03-2007, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davocol

I would be giving the dealership a call and just politely ask if you can have the balance of the rego they handed in back given thats how you bought the car, it was a definite scam (albeit very minor) on the dealers behalf.

Yep, we specifically asked how much rego was left on the car (told it was only just registered for the first time 2 weeks prior) and it was listed for sale on Carsales with current registration plates. My natural assumption was that when I took ownership that rego would transfer over to me which if I understand correctly is what should have happened under normal circumstances.