deposits for cars

[hippy]

ok this has happened to 2 of my friends in the past 6 months ... in the process of finding themselves a car, they put a deposit on a car which they thought they liked only to find something better. now what happened afterwards just made me feel angry yet frustrated at the same time ... the car dealers which are pretty big and well known refused to give back their deposites saying they had to buy the car or something like that. 1 has got her money back and the other is still in the process ... the girl i know signed a form but was told that she could get it back but after she requested it back she had to go through all this BS ... is this normal policy for car dealers?? ever since i bought my car which is about a year ago and now having a good knowledge about cars and the car industry in general i would have to say that generally if u work in the car industry selling and maintenance wise you'll turn out to be a low life or the words customer service don't turn up in your dictionary... thats all i can say according to my experiences.

[G0DF4Th3R]

yeah usually the deposit isnt refundable

if u dun buy the car, the take the cash

if they dun hear from u after 30 days, they take the cash

[sewid]

yeah thats why you leave a deposit as small as you can. I left $100 on my Skyline but wouldve left like $50 if i wasnt really into the car.

[Brody]

Whats the point of having a dep. if u can get it back if u change ure mind?

[predator]

If you put a deposit down, and its actually signed, written on paper and things, then i am pretty sure there is no legal requirement to give the deposit back if the sale falls through. They have every right to keep the deposit if you "find something better". That is your problem.

If you weren't pretty definite in buying the car you should NEVER EVER put down a deposit. If you go for something else for whatever reason, the seller has every right to keep the deposit.

While frustrating as it may be, also look at from their perspective. If they "put aside" every car for a buyer that walzes in and says "i'll take it, but I don't have any money right now" then they would have a heck of a lof cars sitting there and wasting potential sale time if they have to resell it. That takes time and effort.

Its no different to a private sale. I have refunded a deposit to a young guy before, but only coz i felt a bit sorry for him - I wasn't too happy about it, and I probably wouldn't do it again.

I don't see how they can be complaining... and well women who buy with their heart rather than their brain well doesn't suprise me. But that doesn't give them the right to get their deposit back.

[G0DF4Th3R]

yeah i agree with Predator...they're basically covering their own backs

just leave as small a deposit as possible next time

[Steve]

Hippy, I used to work in the used car industy - I got out because there were too many cases where people didnt even leave a deposit and were held to contracts - basically the ploy was that to see if you could get the finance, just sign the form.

Once finance was approved, the car was sold - cut and dried, because the paperwork had been signed and it is a legally binding contract.

I do believe that it is fair if you leave a deposit, then change your mind that the deposit is forfeight. It might piss you off if you see something nicer, but as pointed out, if someone else wants to buy the car but doesnt because it is potentially 'sold' (the deposit has been put down) then car yards would go out of business.

[Ant97GTR]

Hippy,

Mate as far as I know (my wife is in the legal field) a deposit is a legally binding arrangement between a buyer and seller.....esp. if there is signed paperwork involved. If the buyer never comes back the seller keeps the deposit (compensation for turning people down) and in turn if the seller sells the item to someone else after you have put a deposit down, the seller is legally obligated to provide you with the same item at the same cost as what was agreed to.

[chops]

Agreeing on a price and leaving a deposit constitutes the formation of a legally enforceable contract.

They could actually take you to court for not buying the car if they could be bothered, and sue for the difference if they ended up having to sell the car cheaper.

[hippy]

well what happened was the girl got her money back in the end but my other friend is havin a little trouble get his back ... it just doesn't seem fair to me thats all ... but he didn't even sign any forms and got his mate to do it for him ... so i'm not too sure what happens there ...

[Ant97GTR]

hippy, I think legally it is upto the dealer.....if he/she wants to be a real prick about it they are under no obligation to give it back........esp. without any paper work to go with it......did your mate even get a receipt for the deposit?

[hippy]

well i think of it like this ... if u go to the shop and u buy something... u can then return it unused and get all your money back right?? whereas this is just a deposit ... u haven't even got the thing ... he wouldn't have put the deposite down if he wasn't honestly interested in it ... thats all i'm saying ... if u compare it to anything else u buy anywhere ... clothes , books etc ... it doesn't really compare ...

[hippy]

i guess this is the point of the matter ... never put a deposit down unless u are 200% sure u want the thing.

[hippy]

also,, what about the conditions .. subject to finance etc?? what if u can't come up with the money? they keep ur money?? whats to say u can't just say to the dealer u just can't come up with the money?

[Spook's_Skyline]

we didnt put a deposit down until we found the car we wanted

we stopped looking after we found it so had no such problems

the only reason we put the deposit down was so that no one could steal the car away while we organising our finances

[JimX]

Originally posted by hippy

well what happened was the girl got her money back in the end but my other friend is havin a little trouble get his back ... it just doesn't seem fair to me thats all ... but he didn't even sign any forms and got his mate to do it for him ... so i'm not too sure what happens there ...

As Brody said, what's the point in the deposit if you can just change your mind and get it back? If that were possible, it seems like a big waste of time and effort to hand over the money in the first place.

I'm not really sure how you think it's unfair, because this is the whole point of the deposit. To compensate the seller if the buyer doesn't end up buying it. I can sympathise, but it's just business. It's a buyer's market anyway, your friend shouldn't be hung up over a small deposit (unless it was a couple of grand). He should be able to find a nice enough car and bargain down what he lost and then some.

[silverskyline]

the people arnt low lifes, thats there job description to be like that, you want them to say dont worry about a deposit, here u take the keys so we cant sell it to somebody else, oh do you need a courtesy car untill u decide if u want the car, there job is to sell the car, ofcoarse their going to be ruthless, thats their job, no job, no money, think next time, their trying to sell u the car especially when uve got some many places to go and get one, different story if its something rare, like 10 in the world

[Shell]

a deposit is an intent to buy the car...i don't know the legal side of it....but really, if you put a deposit down and then "find something better" that's your bad luck i reckon. Don't put a deposit down unless you actually are planning on buying the car! That's the whole point of them! It holds the car for you while you organise a mechanical inspection, a bank cheque, and shit like that...

[predator]

You can always put on your deposit receipt - "Subject to satisfactory mechanical inspection" or something like that - that should cover your own ass if you are a bit worried. Although again that would be open to interpretation as to what is "satisfactory"

Even if you have paid a deposit, or signed a finance agreement - in the end you still have a legal 3 day cooling off period that is, for whatever reason you like you can decline to take the car.

p.s. For Victorians here is a nice little site about your rights and obligations as a consumer when buying a car:

http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/cbav/fairsi...f/pages/of_cars

[RSR33]

Had to chase this up for work and checked with the accc, You are not entitled to get your money back for simply changing your mind, and if you do get your money back your lucky cos they dont have to.