New 500 wrong colour

Hi everyone, some advice would be appreciated.

I received notification from my dealer (Arnold Clark) that the fiat 500 that I ordered at the beginning of October could be picked up tomorrow.

Good news I thought but 60mins later he called to say it hadarrivedinthe wrong colour New Orleans Blue instead of Bosa Nova White. I looked at the configerator & told him it looked bad with the italian side stripe. He said wecould change it for a White stripe which I admit looks better.

What is was wondering was if you thought I could haggle a decent discount as it was quite a unique order or if i was to cancel would I be entitled to my deposit back, the car was ordered via the scrappage scheme & I handed my old car in at the same time as i ordered?

haggle with arnold clark....good luck!

How could it arrive in the wrong colour

Not sure what went wrong, salesman said they were ordered by paint number & something went wrong with the link.
He seems worried that we will pull out of the deal or have to reorder & he will be left with an auto that he can't sell. He wants me to pop in on Saturday his next working day & he says we will try to sort something out.

Should I try for cash off or mats etc?

Mats! big deal, worth all of £13!

Listen its your money but I can tell you if I ordered a car in white and it turned up in blue then its either the garages (likely,its arnold clark afterall) or Fiats fault certainly not mine so between then they can get it sorted and between them arrange a hire car for me.

p.s. I like the blue but thats not the point here, you never got what you asked for...oh and reason salesman is worried is because he will lose his bonus and garage stuck with a dualogic car!

Hi Only second post so bit new here.

I have been selling Fiat (van) for about 10 years and it does happen more than you think the problem is that the dealer did not notice this months ago. when they order it is all codes code for car codes for options and they do not alway get to the factory but the dealer has to confrim it is o.k. one week after ordering the car the the factory confrim when they will build the car.

Question to ask them if they order a fresh car How long will it take to come, I would of thought with Christmas 12-16 weeks.

Yes you can pull out of the deal and get you deposit back. that is the last thing you want to do at this stage as you have the upper hand as they have broken the contract. Read the small print on the back or the order.

Due to the spec of the car they probaly do not want to keep the car and dealer would do best getting you to have the car.

Option 1) You have the car they have at the dealer has and they stand on the deal and offer you £1500 - £2000 goodwill/cash back + tank of fuel & mats.
Option 2) they order you the car that you wanted in the first place and they stand on the orignal price and price protect the car inc any VAT increase as it was there fault. They lend you a car until the car come and you want the car taxing on the March plate. if if you have a PX you stop in your current car and they stand on the PX price for when the car comes..

Remember that while this is going on the car is fully Paid for and they will want it off the books before year end.

Hope this help

Wow that's impressive - the colour's not even close, I thought you were going to say Funk White instead & they wanted extra!!

You clearly have a strong case against the dealer so use it to your advantage. It really comes down to whether you want the car in that colour - if you do go for a decent chunk of cash off - they will be worried not only as they might get stuck with a tricky car, but also in case you sue them particularly if your old car has gone to the crusher!

Otherwise you'll have to decide if you can wait for the correct car to be ordered & go for compensation for the delay, upset and lack of transport. The small claims court is good if you need to go there, but always better to reach a negotiated settlement (no harm in mentioning it though, just to focus their attention! ).

Will be interested to see what happens - good luck.