Cancelling your car sale: right to a refund of the deposit?

Questioner

On 05. May I paid a down payment for a second-hand car at a recognized garage. The down payment was 1000 euros. The total purchase price is 2000 euros. I will pay the remaining amount upon delivery. When purchasing, I was given verbal information about the car. However, this does not match the information on the contract and also not what was on the company's website and on the marketplace. I did not notice it when signing the contract, only at home. The next morning I immediately contacted the seller and he had indeed admitted that they had made a mistake. I thought, yes that is possible. The seller had assured me that the car would be neatly prepared including maintenance, service and MOT. After that I would come for a test drive and then we would draw up a new contract. Just to be clear, the license plate number differs from the last digit, the mileage also does not match. When I was sold I was told verbally that it was a TDDI model from 2004. The contract did not list a model, but the year of construction '02', the website states 2003 and the TDCI model and was also told verbally. The license plate on the contract belongs to a much newer car that is not from the garage. Eventually I found out via the RDW that it was an imported car, this was not mentioned. Despite the initial disappointment I gave them the benefit of the doubt and thought 'mistakes can happen'. So after a good appointment with the seller I agreed that I would be called as soon as the car was ready and I could come for a test drive. Last Monday I went there for a test drive. This was another disappointment. The car was not ready, the tires were not inflated, the inside was dirty and smelly and the car radio was missing. I confronted the seller with this and expressed my frustration. He found it annoying again and was allowed to come for a test drive on Tuesday. I then clearly agreed with him that he had until Thursday to fix the car and only then, if he liked it, would a new contract be drawn up. Now comes my question. If I come for a test drive on Thursday and the car is not in order again, what can I do about this? Can I have the contract terminated on the basis of all the mistakes the seller makes and does not adhere to the agreements made and get my 1000 euro deposit back? I took a print screen of everything I found on the internet about this car. Thank you in advance.

Lawyer

It is now the case that you could cancel the purchase on all points that you indicate. From your story, you have been, in my opinion, incorrectly informed or misled, agreements are not kept, trivial mistakes are made. You are then certainly entitled to a refund of the amount you paid in advance. It is then necessary that you cancel the purchase in writing at all times and confirm it in case it should end up before a judge. If you would like further help and/or advice, you can always contact me.