Does an email stand up as a binding agreement? --car dealership?

Question

I have been going back and forth with a dealership on a specific car I like. We have been talking terms and actually came to an agreement that I was really happy with. Here is the last email:
Here is mine to "Jeff":
"OK.... lets run the numbers:
My 2004 Kia Optima, blue, in good condition, about 32K miles, payoff from Chrysler is: 8537.50.
The 2007 Mazda 5 Grand Touring @ 16999 + tax, title and tags.... can we get out the door for 350 a month, 72 month loan? "
This is his response:
"Janice, as long as I can get at least 6k for you trade from the boss, we can get to 357 per month. If you come in this weekend, I'll try for more, so you can get to the 350 even. Let's make a deal. Thanks, Jeff."

The problem is that I went down and he brought out a "sport" model and I said no, we talked about a Grand Touring model. In the end, they did not honor the email and I am mad. Is the email a written agreement? Do I have any recourse?
Thanks for any help,
Janice

Answer 1

I doubt it. You can edit an email.

Answer 2

Read what he said. He said "as long as I can get ... from the boss..." - so no, you don't have any kind of binding agreement. There's nothing to honor - he was just playing "what if" and frankly trying to get you to come back in, which you apparently did.

What kind of recourse do you think you would have, given that he didn't promise you anything at all, just said he'd try? Car salesmen have been playing the "I'll see if my manager will approve this" game since well before email was ever even invented, probably since cars were invented.

And by the way, anyone trying to trade in a 3 year old car with only 32K miles, and still with over $8K owed on it, looks like fresh meat to a car salesman.

Answer 3

That all depends on contract law in your state. Some states honor a verbal agreement, some require a document with signatures.

I know that in the commonwealth of Virginia, spoken word is binding where written word is not allways binding. If someone says something to the effect of "I promise to pay you $500 for this (insert item here)." then it would be a binding agreement - here in Virginia.

If something is written, but not signed - it's not binding.


Also, keep in mind that a salesman's job is to get people in the door and make a sale. You're talking about the worse of the bunch - a car salesman. They will tell you whatever you want to hear in order to get you in the door and close a deal.

My advice? If you're not out any money and haven't really lost anything but time and energy - then let it go. Talk to someone else. If you did buy a car you didn't want a feel like you got hosed - talk to a lawyer who is licenced to practice in your state and is familiar with contract law.