Car won on eBay but dealer wants out after auction ended

[scottmcooley]

What is the name of your state? I live in California but the dealer is in Nevada

Won the car on eBay at $34k - auction was officially completed. Dealer claims they made a mistake by not taking the auction down and that they already sold the car. I'll need to pay a higher amount for a similar car because the auction was won for a price well below market. My guess is that the dealer set the reserve price too low and didn't want to sell it to me. I will now have to buy the same car at a much higher price - at least $4k higher. Once I buy another car, I believe I would have real damages for the difference between the two so long as the car is the same. Would a small claims court award me the difference of which I expect to be about $4k? Dealer is a large dealer in Las Vegas though I'm in California. This is a question of contract law. An eBay auction is binding but no money was ever changed hands in this case. The dealer refused to take the money since they no longer had the car to sell. I've tried to work with the dealer and already filed complaints with eBay and they have taken their action. Still, I will have to pay more for a car because the dealer did not honor the contract. What are my legal rights here?

 

[seniorjudge]

You have no damages so you have no case.

 

[Merlin2000]

Leave negative feedback for the dealer and see if you can stir up some trouble with the dealer through eBay.

My guess is that the dealer set the reserve price too low and didn't want to sell it to me.

- So there is no way that the dealer could have forgot about the auction?

 

[JETX]

Would a small claims court award me the difference of which I expect to be about $4k?

In theory, yes.
The problem is, absent this being a brand new vehicle, there is no such thing as an IDENTICAL vehicle.
Further, no one can guess what a court would award you... even if you are able to prove your case.

What are my legal rights here?

See above.

 

[scottmcooley]

Responses

I appreciate all the feedback. I see a ray of hope in the last message. I do feel I can accurately demonstrate the value of their car vs the others on the market where the judge would see a sizable difference in price for the same car. Still, the first message says I have no case and the last said I might. It would be great if I had a little more legalesse here that said definately if the case would be thrown out or I have a chance. Seems like there should be some past cases for this sort of thing.