So the Car dealer won't give me back the Deposit...

[ironk]

We put a deposit on a car so the dealer could put it on hold, but then we found a better deal. The dealer holding the car is threatening us and saying that they won't give us the deposit back if we don't buy from them. How do i approach this situation? Has anyone ran into this before?

BTW, the deposit was on a credit card ($500), so what are my chances of getting it back via a dispute with the credit card company?

Thanks.

 

[cjgallen]

Did you sign anything when you made the deposit?

 

[ggavinmoss]

Do you have a copy of an agreement which states that the amount the dealer will hold as a deposit and the terms under which you can get your deposit back? Are you dealing with some peon car salesman or have you appealed to the Sales Manager or General Manager?

-geoff

 

[richardycc]

not sure what state you are in, but it's illegal for the dealer to do that in my state(MA), check your state laws.

 

[Tates]

Dispute it with the credit card company, and call the local tv station (consumer advocate) and let them know these guys are trying to rip you off.

 

[Malak]

Originally posted by: Tates
Dispute it with the credit card company, and call the local tv station (consumer advocate) and let them know these guys are trying to rip you off.

First call the local media, then tell the dealership what you did. See if they cough it up then. If not, then dispute it and keep the media informed. Losing $500 that you never had isn't worth it to lose potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost sales. If they are dumb enough to not give it back to you, they deserve it.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

dont they take a deposit to guard themselves against the situation where you change your mind?

 

[VWhed]

Did they actually "charge it" to your card, or did they just take your CC number? They tried that to my GF once, but they never actually charged it.

 

[ironk]

Did you sign anything when you made the deposit?

Yeah, the credit card slip was signed and also some other papers.

Do you have a copy of an agreement which states that the amount the dealer will hold as a deposit and the terms under which you can get your deposit back? Are you dealing with some peon car salesman or have you appealed to the Sales Manager or General Manager?

Yeah, i have the agreement, which is also signed by us and the dealer. There is something about it in there that says that if we don't take the car in 48hrs after its ready for delivery, the deposit goes to the dealer. But, i only received a call today about the car, and we had done this on the 28th of January.

not sure what state you are in, but it's illegal for the dealer to do that in my state(MA), check your state laws.

I am in MA as well.

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

ian't the whole point of a deposit to make sure you don't change your mind?

 

[DannyLove]

Originally posted by: VWhed
Yeah, i have the agreement, which is also signed by us and the dealer. There is something about it in there that says that if we don't take the car in 48hrs after its ready for delivery, the deposit goes to the dealer. But, i only received a call today about the car, and we had done this on the 28th of January.

"there is something"... come on now. you signed a contract, you need to read the damn fine print and come back and say "it says this."

good luck, they are trying to scam you, contact an attorney asap.

 

[LuNoTiCK]

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
dont they take a deposit to guard themselves against the situation where you change your mind?

 

[EagleKeeper]

You are trying to screw the dealer.

You made acommittment when you provided the deposit.

You are backing out of the committment, therfore you should be penalized.

 

[bootymac]

I thought you can't get a deposit back?

 

[Yossarian]

omg that's the whole point of a deposit. what a dumbass.

 

[Bryophyte]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
You are trying to screw the dealer.

You made acommittment when you provided the deposit.

You are backing out of the committment, therfore you should be penalized.

 

[z0mb13]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
You are trying to screw the dealer.

You made acommittment when you provided the deposit.

You are backing out of the committment, therfore you should be penalized.

ethically yes

but by law, he is able to get the deposit at anytime before he takes delviery of the car

 

[blahblah99]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
You are trying to screw the dealer.

You made acommittment when you provided the deposit.

You are backing out of the committment, therfore you should be penalized.

Exactly. OP, how would you feel if that car was an extremely good deal and you left the $500 deposit only to find out that the dealer sold the car for 2x the amount to another person?

The whole point of a deposit is to SECURE the deal for a future date.

 

[ELopes580]

How would you feel if after the deposit the dealer called you and said that they sold the car because someone paid more for it than you would?

That is the whole point of the deposit. It is for the dealer to hold the car from selling to anyone else and from you to back out of the deal.


But I do understand that $500 is a lot to lose.


EDIT: Ahhh someone beat me to the logical explaination!!!

EDIT #2: Deleted wrong info.

 

[richardycc]

I did some digging around for you, and I thought this was illegal in MA, since I have backed out 2 deals before, and got my deposits back both times, anyway, here is some info:

Deposits In Dealer Sales


You may be asked to leave a deposit to hold a car, even before you have agreed on all the details or your financing has been approved.


You should be aware that the dealer may not be required to return your deposit if you decide to cancel the deal and if:


You and the dealer have signed the contract and;
The contract has a special section on the front page, clearly blocked-off, that states the circumstances under which your deposit will be kept and;
The specific dollar amount is filled in and;

You initial that clause, separately from your signature at the bottom of the contract.

Do not place a deposit on a car unless and until you are serious about buying the car.


this info is from http://www.massconsumers.org/carsmart/003-5.html



more info from mass attorney general:

I am negotiating the purchase of a car with a local dealership and they are now asking me to place a deposit to "reserve" the car I want. This should be refundable, right?


A: That depends. A dealer may not be required to return the deposit if you and the dealer have signed a contract that specifies what is to be done with the deposit. Do not place a deposit on a car unless and until you are serious about buying the car, and try to make your deposit as small as the dealer will accept in case you have to forfeit it. It is important to remember that there is no automatic cooling off period, or three-day right to cancel an automobile contract in Massachusetts. Your deposit may depend on other factors in your agreement with the dealership, so be aware of the details of your transaction. Buying a vehicle is serious business, so do your research and read any contracts carefully.



hope you didnt sign that section that you are willing to give up the deposit, etc. I swear, I thought we have the 3 day cooling off period in MA, oh well...

 

[ironk]

Let me give a little bit of background about the dealer since it looks like i am the bad guy here:

We gave them a call and even got it in writing via email the quote for the car. When we arrived there, they looked at the quote, and started to privately talk to each other about it. They came back and said that the quote was for a standard transmission car and not a automatic. Even though we had had confirmed three times over the phone that it was a automatic, they still just said it was for a standard car. After about an hour of negotiating, we settled on a price which was higher, but still looked good enough. So, after signing, deposit, etc, we went home. Ofcourse, some other dealer called up with a better price, and here we are.

I probably will end up buying if from the current dealer with the deposit anyways since most of the paperwork is done. However, i do not like them one bit. Do feel like i am screwing them? No, they screwed us first with a quote and wasted time. Yeah, i am a dumbass for doing the deposit, but, i was tired after the negotiating and it was getting very late. So, sh!t happened.

Anyhow, thanks for the input guys, it helps.

 

[acemcmac]

gl bro :beer:

btw, why not just get the manual

 

[zixxer]

Originally posted by: RaynorWolfcastle
ian't the whole point of a deposit to make sure you don't change your mind?

 

[Injury]

This may be a $500 lesson of "read what you are about to sign instead of listening to what the dealer says".

I read EVERY SINGLE WORD of a 3 page, single-spaced, 10pt font contract I signed for my car and had my dad explain everything to me that I didn't understand before I put ink on paper.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: ironk
Let me give a little bit of background about the dealer since it looks like i am the bad guy here:

We gave them a call and even got it in writing via email the quote for the car. When we arrived there, they looked at the quote, and started to privately talk to each other about it. They came back and said that the quote was for a standard transmission car and not a automatic. Even though we had had confirmed three times over the phone that it was a automatic, they still just said it was for a standard car. After about an hour of negotiating, we settled on a price which was higher, but still looked good enough. So, after signing, deposit, etc, we went home. Ofcourse, some other dealer called up with a better price, and here we are.

I probably will end up buying if from the current dealer with the deposit anyways since most of the paperwork is done. However, i do not like them one bit. Do feel like i am screwing them? No, they screwed us first with a quote and wasted time. Yeah, i am a dumbass for doing the deposit, but, i was tired after the negotiating and it was getting very late. So, sh!t happened.

Anyhow, thanks for the input guys, it helps.

If you sat there and haggled AFTER they changed a deal then you are a idiot. You signed something saying you would buy the car and left a deposit.


I hope they keep your deposit and you dont get the car.