Nearly three weeks ago I saw a tidy 3 year old one owner 90 CSW at a local (ish) main agent that I quite fancied. Despite it being listed on their website they had only just taken the vehicle in on p/ex and therefore it had not gone through the approved vehicle pre sale preparation but was assured that this would obviously be completed should I decide to proceed. A very few days later on the Monday, having discussed a p/ex deal I decided to go ahead with the vehicle and was quoted an estimated delivery on the Saturday so gave them £500 deposit via Visa on the phone. After this the salesman said that if I was planning to pay the balance by personal cheque they would require it that day to make sure it had cleared in time for the Saturday. A cheque for the balance was duly delivered that day (and in fact this cleared within 3 days).
The day before I was due to take delivery they rang to say that the vehicle had still not been prepped as they had detected a slight vibration in a certain gear at a certain road speed and therefore they wanted to investigate the cause and rectify. They said this was more than likely a minor problem and was probably down to engine mounts , propshaft UJ or similar. I was then told the vehicle would be ready the following Tuesday or Wednesday (this week) - it was not to be. I had a call on Monday saying that they couldn't find anything wrong with the engine mounts, propshafts etc and that they now suspected a flywheel problem. This being the case they wanted to replace the flywheel but didn't have one in stock so they would order one for delivery and that it would be in later this week but due to Easter etc they wouldn't get the job done until early next week. However in the meantime the vehicle would be back from the bodyshop prep by Wednesday (yesterday).
I called the Sales Manager this morning saying that as I was passing I'd like to call in and see the vehicle today now that the bodywork had been finished. He said the good news is that the flywheel was in but the vehicle was still in the bodyshop still having the hinges repainted and as they were out of the flexible paint for the wing eyebrows it had delayed fixing the scratch I'd noticed during initial inspection. The end result of all this is that all being they should get the motor back next Wednesday after which they will start on the flywheel job trusting that this indeed is the cause of the vibration.
So, here I am with the main dealer earning interest on the £11,000 of my money and I'm still no nearer getting my hands on the vehicle - which I don't doubt will be perfect when I do eventually get it.
I'm right on the verge of asking for my money back and they have agreed to do this should I decide to go this way.
What would you do?