Car Purchase Contract Cancellation
December 17, 2009 | 35,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
I signed a purchase agreement for a used vehicle as a private individual on December 15, 2009 and paid a deposit of 200 euros. Pickup is scheduled for next Saturday. Today the car dealership sent me the vehicle registration document for registration. From this I gather that the vehicle was previously used as a rental car. The seller did not mention this and there is also no mention of it in the purchase agreement. Furthermore, the seller informs me that the VAT specified in the purchase agreement cannot be refunded. Can I now withdraw from the purchase agreement? How do I go about getting my deposit back?
Dear inquirer,
Thank you for your inquiry!
I would like to address your questions considering the circumstances you have described:
1.) Can I now withdraw from the purchase contract?
Based on the facts you have presented, there are two possible reasons for withdrawing. One being that the VAT is not deductible after all, and the other being that the seller did not disclose the fact that the car was previously used as a rental.
The mere omission of disclosing the rental status does not provide sufficient grounds for contract termination or withdrawal. It is enough for the dealer to state that the vehicle is used. According to legal precedent, there is no special requirement to disclose the rental status.
A similar case was decided by the Landgericht Kaiserslautern.
I have included a very interesting link to this ruling for your reference:
http://autokaufrecht.info/2009/03/keine-offenbarungspflicht-bzgl-der-mietwageneigenschaft-eines-gebrauchtwagens/
Unfortunately, the same conclusion applies to the question of whether you have a right to withdraw due to the non-deductibility of VAT.
Based on the facts you provided, it seems that you do not have such a right. To claim a right of withdrawal, you need to have a significant contractual disruption, which does not seem to be the case in your situation. If you purchased the vehicle privately, you cannot claim VAT deduction, so the non-deductibility does not result in any financial loss for you.
The question of withdrawal would only arise if you purchased the vehicle for commercial purposes and are entitled to input VAT deduction.
2.) How can I ensure that I get my deposit back?
Since you do not have a legal right of withdrawal, you do not have a general right to get your deposit back. On the contrary, the seller may demand payment of the entire (remaining) purchase price from you.
Nevertheless, you should try to negotiate with the seller using the arguments you have presented in order to reach a mutual agreement.
I would like to point out the following:
The legal advice I have provided is based solely on the information you have provided. My response is only an initial legal assessment and does not replace a comprehensive examination of the facts.
By adding or omitting relevant information, the legal assessment could change entirely.
I hope that my explanations have been helpful, even though I regret not being able to provide a more positive outcome. Feel free to contact me via email or the follow-up option if you have any further questions.
I wish you a pleasant Thursday afternoon!
Best regards,
Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney at Law
Heilsbergerstr. 16
27580 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Tel. 0471/3088132
Fax. 0471/57774
