Contracts
The only agreements that are enforceable agreements in a court of law are contracts. In order for a contract to be enforceable in a court of law it must contain the essential elements of a contract. The essential elements of a contract are an offer, acceptance of the offer, consideration, legality and capacity. In most case these elements must be in writing to be enforceable. We will look at each of these elements in depth using the purchase of a car.
Offer
You decide that you want to purchase a new car and you set out and start shopping for a car. You find a car that you really like, the price on the car is $16500.00. You know that you can’t spend more than $15,000.00 for the car so you are not sure what to do. Most cars have a $1500 to $2000 of profit built in, so there’s room for bargaining (Used-car buying tips., 2014). You talk with the salesman about the price of the car and you go back and forth for a little while on what you can offer and what they will accept. You all finally decided on the price of $ 14,850.00. If the dealership agrees with your final offer as in this case you would move to the acceptance of offer stage.
Acceptance of Offer
While agreeing to purchase the car at $1485.00 finished offer process it is just the beginning of the acceptance stage. Accepting the offer takes a little more effort than haggling with the salesman about the price. The dealership will want you to sign an agreement to purchase the car or in other terms they want you to sign a bill of sale. A bill of sale list the year, make, model, color, body style, mileage and vehicle id number (VIN). The bill of sale will disclose any warranties that may come with the vehicle as well as any trade in vehicle information. Most bill of sales used by dealerships will list the purchase price, discounts, and tax, title and license fees. The salesman will go over the bill of sale with you if you agree to the terms on the bill of sale they will have you sign it.
