Did Jim and Laura Buy a Car?
Worth 200 points
HINT: See Chapters 10-14 of the text to help understand some
of the legal issues covered in this assignment.
Jim and Laura Buyer visit the local car dealership because
they are interested in buying a new car. The car they currently have is aging
and is starting to have mechanical problems. Jim and Laura would share the new
car, and use it to go back and forth to work and school. Before going to the
dealership, Jim and Laura decide that they can only afford $400.00 a month in
car payments.
Once at the car dealership, Jim and Laura meet Stan
Salesman. Stan shows them several vehicles and Jim and Laura test-drive several
of the cars. Jim and Laura particularly like the blue 4-door sedan. Therefore, they agree to give Stan Salesman a
$100.00 deposit to hold the car for a day. Stan Salesman does not give them the
receipt but guarantees that the $100.00 is refundable. No documents were
signed.
The next day, Stan Salesman calls Jim and Laura to ask them
when they would like to take delivery of the car. Jim and Laura, on the way
home from the dealership, decided that they were not going to buy the car
because they did not want to spend that money each month. Therefore, Jim and
Laura tell Stan salesman that they have decided not to buy the car and request
their $100.00 deposit back.
Stan insists that the $100.00 was a deposit on the car and
was meant to be part of the contract to buy the car. Stan is very persistent
and insistent that Jim and Laura have contracted to buy the car; therefore, the
$100.00 will be applied to the purchase price of the car. Jim and Laura are
shocked and angry as not only do they not want to spend the money, but now feel
as though they are being duped by Stan Salesman.
Jim and Laura have an appointment to see a lawyer in a few
days, but know you are a student taking a business law class and come to you
for advice. They are very frazzled, and understandably upset that they may have
just purchased a car. Since you have been taking business law, you have read
and understand the elements of a contract and the defenses to a contract.
Therefore, although you are not a lawyer, you provide some basic advice from
what you’ve learned in your business law class.
In three to five (3-5) pages, advise Jim and Laura based on
the above facts as presented, the material provided in the text, and material
covered in the lecture. In your paper, be sure to address the following:
Define the elements of a legal contract using examples from
the scenario where applicable.
Decide whether or not there was a contract for the purchase
of the automobile.
Identify the facts from the scenario which support your
decision on whether or not a contract exists for the purchase of the
automobile.
Use at least two (2) quality academic resources in this
assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as quality
academic resources.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting
requirements:
Typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12),
with one-inch margins on all sides.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment,
the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The
cover page is not included in the required page length.
Include a reference page. Citations and references must
follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page
length.
