February 22, 2006

Dear Tony

I live in Ontario, Canada. I signed a purchase agreement to buy a brand new Honda Civic DX three weeks ago. During the negotiation I was convinced by the salesperson to buy the extended warranty, rustproofing package and the anti-theft window etching. The add-ons totalled C$3,200.00 which was included in the dealer financing. The car will be delivered on March 10.

After three days I went to my bank and asked them about car financing. The bank would give me a much better rate than the dealer. I was pre approved for $20,000.00 which was enough to pay for the car minus the add-ons. I called the car dealer and asked them to cancel all the add-ons. He said that it was not possible because I already signed the purchase agreement.

Is the dealer right? Can I not cancel the add-ons to my Honda Civic even if the car is still being ordered? Please help me with your advice.

Best regards,

Nestor

Answer:

Hi Nestor,

I'm not familiar with the laws in Ontario, so I really don't know if the dealer can refuse to remove the add-ons or not. There must be a Consumer Protection Division in your government. You should contact them for advice.

Of course the car dealer can easily delete these items from the deal if he wants to, but it appears that he wants the big profits these items afford him so he's being stubborn and greedy.

I do know that you can cancel the extended warranty any time you want to once it officially goes into effect. Tell the dealer that's what you are going to do so they might as well just remove it now because they're not going to make any money on it if you cancel it.

As far as the rustproofing, anti-theft and window-etching goes if the car isn't in yet then these services haven't yet been performed or installed on the car. Try talking to the Sales Manager or the owner of the dealership - not the salesman. Hopefully they will value your future patronage enough to be fair and reasonable with you now.

All my very best...

Tony Iorio

Additional Comments From Nestor:

Thanks so much for your reply Tony. Had I known about your site before getting into a car deal I would have less of a headache right now or none at all!

I brought this up to the store owner. He said they are willing to cancel the extended warranty only.

I did some research. Here in Ontario there is no "cool off" period. Once the buyer signed the agreement he can not back out unless his complaint is valid, i.e. there is fraud or misrepresentation. If he backs out, the deposit or part of it is forfeited. In my case I deposited $1,000. I wouldn't have done this if I had visited your website before.

I found out there is an organization here called OMVIC. It assists consumers in settling their disputes with car dealers. I just emailed them my situation today. I did not file a complaint yet because I don't know yet who is right or wrong.

In my case I am not backing out of the whole deal. I just want them to remove the extras before the car is delivered and I gave them enough time. I did not even negotiate hard for the price of the car. I will be paying the MSRP!

I guess I have go back to your fabulous site and read everything in it. Why do some people do their research after encountering the problem? Oh Well . . . .

Nestor