Can I back out of a vehicle sale where I sell the car to the dealer?

[jkastansas]

I signed a purchase order where I agreed to sell a dealer my car. The purchase order says that if I cancel the contract, they may charge me either $150 or 10% of the agreed upon purchase price of the vehicle. The purchase order was contingent upon them inspecting the vehicle. They did not put a deposit on the vehicle and no money was exchanged.

The inspector was supposed to arrive to inspect the vehicle the following day at 12pm. I waited around for 4 hours and he never arrived nor called. I called up the car dealer and told them I wanted to cancel the deal as the inspector never showed and that I had a change of heart.

They are now having a collection agency calling me telling them I owe them $4,500, or 10% of the $45,000 they were going to pay for the car.

Do they have legal grounds to sue me here? Isn't a 10% penalty unconscionable? Don't I have 3 days to cancel, as I normally would if I were the purchaser? Would a judge actually award them this amount in a court. It seems very unreasonable to me considering they never incurred any costs, other than a 5 minute phone call and emailing some paperwork.

 

[Proserpina]

Alas no, any 3 day "cooling off" period wouldn't apply here even if it were present.

Yes, they have grounds to sue, and 10% is valid.

The point here isn't tangible losses (or lack thereof), but the simple breach of contract.

But look on the bright side - having grounds to sue doesn't mean they'll actually get a verdict in their favor.

(Though based purely on what you've written here, if they do sue it's more or less a "gimme" for them)

 

[mightymoose]

If you never actually took possession of the new vehicle you may have a valid argument to make.

Did you pay any money down? If no money changed hands that is also in your favor.