I bought a smart car in Paris 1 month ago. I also bought a one year guarantee and paid for both. I thought I had to pay an extra 400 for the guarantee but that had already been included in the price. So I overpaid the guy 400 euros.
So far, I have not gotten my guarantee or my 400 euros returned. I called the guy a week ago and he said he was on vacation until the end of the month. I can’t even begin to tell you how furious I was when he said that to me. He knew this was making me anxious…
Anyway, I am waiting until the end of the month. What do I do when I call him back and he still hasn’t returned my money or guarantee?
Hi Véronique, thank you for responding. This person has a Siren number and I think he is a small dealer so I don’t think it was a private sale. It was supposed to be a one year guarantee that I could use at any garage in France but I’m not exactly sure because he never gave me the paperwork.
He never gave me a bill of sale either. The only thing I got from him was a “Cession Vehicule D’Occasion”.
I’m trying to understand how this situation came about in the first place, it sounds like a job half done. Was the transaction done face to face? How did you pay - cheque? cash? card? Seems odd that he accepted a payment from you in the wrong amount without saying anything, you drove away with no receipt and no guarantee paperwork without saying anything, and you don’t even seem sure whether he is a car trader or not. Did he get the necessary documents from you (ID, proof of address) to put the sale through on ANTS, did you watch him do that? If not, have you registered the sale on ANTS yourself, could it be that he’s waiting for you to do that before finalising all the paperwork? Have you received the new carte grise for the vehicle? I assume you must have been given a copy of the old cg or you probably wouldn’t have been able to get insurance for the car.
If the facts are as you have given us, then why not go to your local Gendarmerie and ask their advice. Obviously, you suspect the dealer/guarantee/whatever is not kosher and you might well end up making an official complaint.
The Gendarmes in my area are friendly and will give advice even if the query/question/situation is not something they can actually action themselves.
The Gendarmes may be able to set your mind at rest, if this person is known to them as honest/upstanding/whatever.
Personally if he’s told you he’s on holiday until the end of the month then unless I had a real reason to suspect he won’t sort it when he gets back I would wait until Monday. Going on holiday is not a crime.
I’ve read all your responses and questions and I will try to answer them here. I live 60 km from Béziers. I sold my old car at the start of the summer and drove a scooter for the past 3 months while I shopped for a new smart car. It was too difficult for me to find one here because of the big distances and the fact I was riding a scooter. So I decided to go visit my family in Paris and buy a car there.
I found the car on LeBonCoin (the advertisement is still there). He had a Siren number and has about 30 cars listed there. We agreed on a price and that I would purchase a 1 year guarantee for 400 euro. That night I paid for the car using a virement from my bank (and I overpaid 400 euro not knowing that the cost of the guarantee had already been included). He said he would take care of registering the car and getting me the new carte grise. I got provisionary insurance from my insurance company. I picked up the car and left with part of the carte grise and cession document (which has his siren number stamped on it).
On a positive note, I’ve been driving the car for a few weeks now and it is in excellent condition.
I went onto the ANTS website and entered the numero d’immatriculation but got the following response:
“Titre non présent dans la base de suivi des titres pour le numéro de CPI saisi.”
That’s where I’m at right now. I will wait and see if he delivers. If not I will go to the local gendarmes here and discuss it with them and if need be, I will go visit my family in Paris and speak with the gendarmes in the place where I bought the car.
Thanks for all your comments. If you have any other advice, I’m all ears.
