Photo: metro.co.uk
At the end of January 2020, Britain will start the process of leaving the EU, which may happen with or without a deal in place. Should the latter happen, car dealers here are already preparing for a price boost due to tariffs on goods entering the UK.
Given that an overwhelming percentage of Brits voted for Brexit 3 and a half years ago, it’s shocking to see that they’re surprised at its possible outcome. Take for instance this gentleman from Scotland, John Hamill, who recently put down a deposit for a brand new Mercedes-Benz with a local dealership.
He tells Metro that he spoke to staff at the dealership and was told the car would be delivered to him in March. He made the deposit (£500) and was shocked to find out that the reality was another. For starters, staff couldn’t tell him when exactly his car would be delivered, nor how much it would cost. As in, they couldn’t give him a final price for it – not even an estimate.
Moreover, they stamped a Brexit disclaimer on his invoice.
“I ordered the car, I paid the £500 deposit and then they handed me the invoice – and that’s when I found out the price I’ll finally be paying is actually unknown. You couldn’t miss the big stamp,” Hamill tells the publication. “You would think they’d tell me this before, but they didn’t.”
“They couldn’t give me an estimate of how much the price could go up by because they don’t know what’s happening,” he continues. “Normally it would be delivered at the end of March. They’re saying it could be April or May. So not only do we not know the price, we don’t know the delivery day. They’d usually be able to tell you but they can’t even do that.”
It sounds like Mr. Hamill is upset because he wasn’t informed of this before shaking hands on the deal, in which case he has every right to do so. Brexit isn’t something that happened overnight, and staff at the dealership should have been informed on the uncertainty of the final price – and communicated it to the potential buyer.
At the same time, it also sounds like Mr. Hamill is upset because he got a Brexit stamp on his invoice and because Brexit is messing up his car deal. In that case, he’s off-base, because this is something the local and European auto makers have been talking about non-stop for the past 3 years and a half. With the threat of tariffs looming over imports, it’s only natural for automakers and dealers to take some precautions, especially when the decision regarding said tariffs is out of their hands.
In a statement to the same media outlet, Mercedes-Benz stresses that the Brexit disclaimer is “to notify customers that should a customs duty tariff become applicable on cars imported into the UK after leaving the EU, we will review our pricing to adapt to the changed circumstances.” Which is fair game.
He tells Metro that he spoke to staff at the dealership and was told the car would be delivered to him in March. He made the deposit (£500) and was shocked to find out that the reality was another. For starters, staff couldn’t tell him when exactly his car would be delivered, nor how much it would cost. As in, they couldn’t give him a final price for it – not even an estimate.
Moreover, they stamped a Brexit disclaimer on his invoice.
“I ordered the car, I paid the £500 deposit and then they handed me the invoice – and that’s when I found out the price I’ll finally be paying is actually unknown. You couldn’t miss the big stamp,” Hamill tells the publication. “You would think they’d tell me this before, but they didn’t.”
“They couldn’t give me an estimate of how much the price could go up by because they don’t know what’s happening,” he continues. “Normally it would be delivered at the end of March. They’re saying it could be April or May. So not only do we not know the price, we don’t know the delivery day. They’d usually be able to tell you but they can’t even do that.”
It sounds like Mr. Hamill is upset because he wasn’t informed of this before shaking hands on the deal, in which case he has every right to do so. Brexit isn’t something that happened overnight, and staff at the dealership should have been informed on the uncertainty of the final price – and communicated it to the potential buyer.
At the same time, it also sounds like Mr. Hamill is upset because he got a Brexit stamp on his invoice and because Brexit is messing up his car deal. In that case, he’s off-base, because this is something the local and European auto makers have been talking about non-stop for the past 3 years and a half. With the threat of tariffs looming over imports, it’s only natural for automakers and dealers to take some precautions, especially when the decision regarding said tariffs is out of their hands.
In a statement to the same media outlet, Mercedes-Benz stresses that the Brexit disclaimer is “to notify customers that should a customs duty tariff become applicable on cars imported into the UK after leaving the EU, we will review our pricing to adapt to the changed circumstances.” Which is fair game.
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