Did Jim and Laura Buy a Car?

Did Jim and Laura Buy a Car?

Did Jim and Laura Buy a Car?
Obligations that the law can enforce are called contracts. When there is a breach of any contract made between two parties, the law allows different remedies to the offended. The existence of a contract becomes possible when there is a promise in place by one party to another. The idea of legality is often important, and for the contract to be binding it has to fulfill the four elements of contracts that are an offer, the intention of entering into a legal agreement, consideration and acceptance.
For a contract to be binding, it has to have an offer, which can lapse due to the expiry of the acceptance period when it is reversed before being accepted and after a period which is reasonable (Governatori, 2010). For the case of Jim and Laura, there was no offer for the Blue Sedan, which the buyers decided to test drive for one day after giving out a deposit of $100. The salesman was in the process of marketing their cars and the buyers had not decided on which one to buy, however, they liked the sedan and paid $100 for it as deposit for one day, an amount which was refundable. It is vital to note that an offer can be oral or written to make it binding.
On the same note, and offer ought to be accepted without conditions. Offers made by individuals are never binding unless they are accepted by those parties the offers are made. Acceptance usually allows negotiations to end and the ultimate process of buying a product of service to start.

Jim and Laura declined the offer of buying the sedan car from Stan, hence making the contract null and void. In like manner, a contract ought to have the intention of entering into a relationship that is legally binding. The idea of legal relations is never stated but presumed by the two parties entering into a contract. Individuals that never want to enter into any legally binding contract are always advised to do their contracts in writing because they are never enforceable in a court of law. In the case of Jim and Laura, they were not ready to enter into a legally binding relationship from their initial transaction with the salesperson.
In overall, a contract needs to have a form of consideration that is valuable (Di Lorenzo, 2007). When a party promises to give out a product or service, the receiving party is often obliged to offer some consideration in the form of money or any other item that has value. Jim and Laura were informed to give the salesperson $100 which was refundable. This amount was never given back to the duo as the salesperson decided that it was part of the car’s buying price. This was a breach because it was not the initial plan by Jim, Laura and Stan.
There was no contract of buying the car by Jim and Laura. This is because the four elements of a contract were not in effect as required. A contract often requires that an entity makes a promise with the desire of getting some form of value which is often known a consideration. This is one area that is always complicated because most dealings have promises that end up without consideration, as in the case of Jim and Laura. Other important elements that were to be in place to ensure a contract between Jim and Laura and their salesperson were the acceptance of the offer and the intention of entering into a legally binding relationship.
Jim and Laura desired to have a car of their own, and in the process were in search for a better one that would have been in their favor regarding cost and efficiency. After meeting with Stan Salesman, they were shown several vehicles but particularly were interested with one of them. They later provided $100 as a deposit for one day to stay with the Sedan car, and this amount of money was to be refundable. However, they were shocked when the salesperson told them the money was part of the buying price of the car. It is vital to note that there existed no offer in the engagement between Stan Salesman and the two buyers. Stan did not make any offer that was to be accepted or rather the two buyers were still in the process of searching for a better car that was of high quality and pocket-friendly.
In conclusion, the two buyers were to make their decision on their test drive, and this was the time when the company selling the car was supposed to give an offer to them. On the same note, there was no consideration that was promised by the buyers as they were not ready to make the purchase. A consideration often induces one party to give in to the agreement leading to a contract. In like manner, Jim and Laura did not accept any offer from the salesperson, it is vital to note that for acceptance to be available there is a need for one party to make an offer. Lastly, the idea of mutuality was not embraced in the agreement as the parties did not come to some form of consensus regarding the buying of the car. All the above elements never occurred, and this clearly indicates that Jim and Laura never purchased the car.

References
Di Lorenzo, V. (2007). Business Ethics: Law as a determinant of business conduct. Journal of Business Ethics, 71(3), 275-299.
Governatori, G. (2010). Law, logic and business processes. 2010 3rd International Workshop on Requirements Engineering and Law, RELAW 2010, 1-10.