Couple feel cheated on Soremar car purchase

July 17, 2012 8:48 PM

MARIGOT--An American couple with long standing residency and businesses on the island say they were sold a new car by the French side car dealership Soremar that turned out to be two years older than the year stated on their purchase invoice.

They consequently feel they were deceived by the garage selling them the car under false pretenses.
 
The car, described as a Chrysler Crossfire Roadster 3.2L V6 2007 on the pro-forma invoice, was purchased on May 21, 2007, for US $36,000 from the branch of Soremar that was located in Cole Bay.
 
But it was only recently in March, 2012, that the owner, when enquiring about shipping it to the USA and asked to enter the VIN number of the vehicle on the internet that she discovered its year of manufacture was 2005 and not 2007.
 
Since then the couple have been seeking justice from Soremar to no avail.
 
"Obviously if we had known the car was a 2005 model we would not have paid that amount of money for it in the first place," the owner said. "We had registered the car as a 2007 model and done the inspections and insurance for that year.
 
The pro-forma invoice and a second invoice No.070521, both of which have been seen by The Daily Herald and are written in English, clearly state among the details that the car is model: "Crossfire Roadster Limited 3.2L V6 2007." Both invoices are signed by the Soremar salesman and written on Soremar letterhead paper.
 
The standard original Soremar bill of sale in French describes the car as: "Chrysler Crossfire 3.2L ESS 2PRT Roadster Ltd Aut Cuir" and followed by the digits "005." If these digits correspond to the year of manufacture it is not clear to the customer, and directly contradict the year stated on the two English invoices.
 
"We complained to Soremar who told us the car was indeed a 2005 model and basically we cannot claim and also because five years have passed since we purchased it no money can be returned", the couple added. "We want the public to be aware that something is not right. We don't know if what they (Soremar) did was intentional or unintentional. But they are not invoicing cars correctly. It has left us with a bad taste in the mouth."
 
Responding to the allegations, Soremar through its lawyer wrote to the couple's lawyer on March 16 indicating the fact that 2007 was stated on the pro-forma invoice by the salesman was of no consequence "since 2005 and 2007 models were exactly identical." The letter stated 2005 was mentioned on the original invoice and that the purchaser had signed an official delivery receipt (bon de livraison). Furthermore no recourse was possible once the conditions of sale had been accepted by the purchaser, the letter added.
 
The above couple is not the only one to complain. Another lady M.E. told The Daily Herald she also bought a Chrysler Crossfire Roadster from Soremar in 2006 with the belief it was a 2006 model when it turned out to be a 2005 model.
 
"I went back to complain but they said they could not do anything about it and that I had been given a good price," she said. "It's sad what they are doing and it leaves you very disappointed."

(The Daily Herald)