Car advertised at the wrong price

[sanden]

Need some advice please ..... I saw a car advertised on Autotrader this morning and clicked on the link to the advertiser who was in fact a main dealer. I phoned and asked various questions about the car and the salesman had to phone back a couple of times to confirm condition (as the car was new in) and a part ex price for my trade in. He told me there had been quite a response and if I was interested it might be best to put a credit card deposit on it. I discussed the trade in price and then confirmed the difference, he then hesitated a bit and said my calculation was wrong. I then went through the sum and he told me that I had the wrong price. In fact it turned out that they had advertised it on Autotrader and on their site at the wrong price - he said it should have been nearly £3000 more! I had printed out both adverts so have the price in writing, so can I do any more about this. He phoned me back later this afternoon to ask if I had any more thoughts about it, so clearly it didnt sell today as he anticipated.
I think a seller has the right to refuse to sell an item if he so wishes - am I right, or can I push for the car at the advertised price?

[factor-fiction]

You are right- the seller has a right not to sell. You may be able to negotiate a good price now but you can't force a sale at the initial price.

[sanden]

Thanks factor, I just hoped that as I had copies of both the ads I might have a little comeback. No wonder they had a lot of response!!! Back to the drawing board.

[ummmm]

It was a mistake. It happens.

[bednobs]

my take on it is that it might not be an honest mistake - they advertise a car at a super low price to get lots of people phoning, then pressure them as the op was pressured!

[flip_flop]

Advertised prices are merely an invitation to treat - they invite you to buy at the price shown, but the seller is under no obligation to sell at the price shown.

A seller is perfectly within their rights to refuse to sell a box of cornflakes mistakenly priced at 99p if the price should have been £1.99.

[netibiza]

The seller can withdraw the car from sale and put back on market at different price. You cannot demand to buy it at the mistaken price.

[milly143]

Never listen to them if they tell you there has been lots of interest in that car either. If there had been so much interest in it already, he would have known more about the car and not had to call you back later to answer your questions. It's one of the oldest lines in the book for car dealers.