Legal Question in Consumer Law in Pennsylvania

Money Discrepancy

my husband purchased a new vehicle yesterday, and all paperwork and contracts were signed by both him and the dealer. this morning he was contacted by the dealer stating that they made an error on the amount they gave him for the trade in on his vevicle, in the amount of 1500 dollars, and they want him to fill out his paperwork again, and refinance over, or contact his financing firm and have them cut another check for that 1500 dollar amount. my question is if all contracts have been signed by him and the dealer, with the information being understood as it was in the contract that they both signed, is my husband responsible for that 1500 dollar error, or is the dealership at fault and will they just have to ''eat'' the mistake that they made? he is planning on going to the dealership to take up this issue and plans on fighting the fee owed, but he just wants to know what his rights are before he stands firm on not owing the money.


Asked on 4/28/05, 1:07 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
William Marvin Cohen, Placitella & Roth, P.C.

Re: Money Discrepancy

Kind of a man-bites dog story. We've seen lots of questions where someone buys a car and then, the next day, realize they made a bad deal on impulse, or the salesman took advantage, and want to back out. In those cases, of course, the dealer says the contract's a contract, tough luck.

Legally, the issue really depends on the facts. Your husband should see an attorney before he goes down to the dealer. If he's in the right, there's no reason to go down there at all.

It's really a question whether there was a "mutual mistake" or a "unilateral mistake." If everybody thought he was supposed to get $5000 for the trade, and they filled out the paperwork with a $6500 figure and nobody noticed it, that's mutual mistake and a court could grant "reformation" of the contract.

HOWEVER, if what the dealer is saying is, "yes, we said we'd give $6,500 for the trade, and that's what we told you, but we looked on the wrong page in our blue book and made a mistake and the trade is really only worth $5,000," then it's a unilateral mistake. If your husband thought he was getting the higher trade-in figure, and the paperwork reflected what he expected to get, that's a contract. The dealer has no right to rewrite the deal because some manager second-guessed it, or whatever.

It's not clear from your message which way the facts fell, but if it's the second one, it's not just that the dealer is not entitled to rewrite the deal. To me it sounds fishy. There are some serious laws about deceptive auto sales practices.

Call the Bureau of Consumer Protection, in Philly at 215 560-2414. Tell them the story, and see what they think.

And don't go to the dealer. Tell them you're going to talk to the Bureau of Consumer Protection before you consider their proposal. See how they respond to that!

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Answered on 4/28/05, 1:40 pm
Charles A. Pascal, Jr. Law Office of Charles A. Pascal, Jr.

Re: Money Discrepancy

I agree with the post by Atty. Marvin. If it's the second scenario he described, I wouldn't go down there at all, and I would call the state Attorney General's office to report the potentially deceptive sales practice.

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Answered on 4/28/05, 6:53 pm


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