Car Dealers and deposits

naefeart

naefeart

naefeart

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Morning,

Has anyone ever managed to get some/all of their deposit back from a dealer after initially being refused?

To give you a brief rundown of events: I went to look at a car at an independent dealership, I placed a deposit and then reneged on the deal the following day. I then politely asked about the possibility of getting some of my deposit back after meeting their costs.

Now I was fully aware I was the one breaking the contract of sale and was prepared to take the hit on the chin (500 quid on credit card). However, the dealer's subsequent conduct raised an eyebrow:

Sunday 2pm - I view car and place a deposit.
Monday 2pm - I phone dealer and pull out of sale. Told the salesman needs to clear the refund with the owner of the company.
Tuesday 4pm - I have a conversation with the salesman and then a rather aggressive ‘manager’ who informs me the car has had to get a PDI and they have had to put two new tyres on.

At this point I was effectively told to ‘get lost’. Fine well my fault, what did I expect. Although I was unhappy about this 'PDI and two new tyres story'. There was no previous mention of the car needing tyres, and they were happy for me to take the car on the Sunday had I so wished.

I spoke to a chap at ConsumerDirect who has told me to write a letter to the dealer asking for a breakdown of their costs and that it is reasonable to ask for a partial refund after meeting the dealer’s costs. Atm I feel like an idiot and that I should just walk away taking the hit, but I am quite angry the dealer is now making up stories. The receipt does not state 'non refundable deposit' and they have got the car back up advertised for the full amount with no mention of any new tyres.

Now regardless of the particulars of the mess I have gotten myself into, I was interested in hearing from people that had managed to get some/all of their deposit back after initially being refused. It doesn't have to be under the same circumstances.
 
I would say you are ****ed, if you ask for a breakdown he will just make it come to 500 quid.

Also your not actually sure he is telling lies are you.

Take it on the chin, a deposit is a deposit after all. What car was it by the way, why did you have a change of heart?
 
DiamondMark said:
Also your not actually sure he is telling lies are you.

Take it on the chin, a deposit is a deposit after all. What car was it by the way, why did you have a change of heart?
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Mark, you are quite right I have no proof. The dealer is 230 miles away so not easy to check. It just seemed too convenient a story.

Yes its only £500, but I was more annoyed about the tyres story and being shouted at down the phone when I questioned it.

It's an Audi RS6 (2003). I pulled out due to the amount of work needed to get it to a state I was happy with (service, cambelt, paint). Having slept on it I decided the hole was too deep. Tbh I had a really bad feeling about the dealer afterwards and was worried the car had been poorly looked after. I have also since bought a new car.
 
naefeart said:
Mark, you are quite right I have no proof. The dealer is 230 miles away so not easy to check. It just seemed too convenient a story.

Yes its only £500, but I was more annoyed about the tyres story and being shouted at down the phone when I questioned it.

It's an Audi RS6 (2003). I pulled out due to the amount of work needed to get it to a state I was happy with (service, cambelt, paint). Having slept on it I decided the hole was too deep. Tbh I had a really bad feeling about the dealer afterwards and was worried the car had been poorly looked after. I have also since bought a new car.
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500 quid is 500 quid still, but if that was me i would tell myself i walked at the right time, better before than after.

No need for him to be rude on the phone though, especially as you were obviously not a messer, you had just changed your mind.

Did you get another Audi? Are you happy with it? Would you have paid an extra 500 quid for it? If so call the other an expense of finding that one :)
 
but if you can easily get a deposit back what the point of them taking a deposit.. I would not expect to get a deposit back in full.. at the very minimum Iwould expect to loose some of it for their admin costs etc... I would be happy to get any back but would expect nothing...

if the story was more like I paid a deposit and the next day I lost my job I would expect them to be more considerate..
 
phone your CC company say you put a deposit on a car and when you went back the next day they had claimed to do some work on the car and attempted to raise the price by the cost of the deposit, you werent happy they did work to a car you were planning on buying and beeing expected to pay for that work with the deposit when you werent told anything needed doing.

your CC company will probably do a chargeback and the dealership almost certainly wont try to chase the money its not worth trying to fight a credit card company.
 
arknor said:
phone your CC company say you put a deposit on a car and when you went back the next day they had claimed to do some work on the car and attempted to raise the price by the cost of the deposit, you werent happy they did work to a car you were planning on buying and beeing expected to pay for that work with the deposit when you werent told anything needed doing.

your CC company will probably do a chargeback and the dealership almost certainly wont try to chase the money its not worth trying to fight a credit card company.
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Thats just a recipe for a day in the county court.

If someone did that to me i would go the extra mile to drive them mad.
 
You paid a deposit and broke the deal, why is it confusing that you won't get the deposit back?

Unless you've got it in writing that the deposit was refundable (and it's far more likely the writing says non-refundable), you're screwed.
 
I cant remember the details but a mate of mine got a deposit back from a small time garage about five years ago but it took quite a long time, it was a smaller amount and a different situation in which the car had no work done and trading standards were involved before the garage refunded him
 
Mark, you are on the ball as usual. It’s a £500 lesson not to put a deposit on a car I have some misgivings over. But even £500 down I feel I have saved myself upwards of £4k in bills. So I still feel happy in walking away.

No he was rather aggressive, I said I thought he was being harsh and he said he ‘didn’t care what I thought’. Nice.

No actually I didn’t get another Audi – I don’t think I can justify the bills RS6 ownership brings. I have infact bought something that Fox would like, a lot perhaps. Wrong colour combo thou. I won’t derail this thread, I’ll start another when I take delivery.

Edscdk – getting a deposit doesn’t have be ‘easy’ to make it work. I didn’t expect a refund in full at all. I broke the contract. I chanced my arm by asking for a partial refund after covering the dealer’s costs (minimum after a day). Its still £500 at the end of the day, was worth a try.

Arknor – I don’t believe credit card companies work like that, it’s not a simple case of faulty goods etc.

Dolph – it’s not confusing at all, see my response to Edscdk. Receipt doesn’t state anything about depost being refundable or non-refundable.

Edit - my reason for posting is not 'how do I get my deposit back' but to hear from people where perhaps the dealer broke the contract but they still managed to get a refund after first being denied.
 
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What is it with some dealers, they go from all nicey nicey and if you don't sign on the dotted line after seeing the car for 5 mins their attitide completely changes and they turn into complete twerps.

Same thing here, you don't want to car but they sound like they being completely unreasonable, you don't want the car no more you they basically treat you like something on the bottom on their shoe.

It just reinforces that
decision to walk away.
 
arknor said:
you might most if not all dealerships wont waste the time for 500quid
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Thing is its not a dealership, its a man who happens to sell cars, and rest assured if you went your route its not the 500 quid that will get on his nerves its the way you did it.

So now you got a man with the hump when you are actually in the wrong in the first place, so they do go the extra mile, i'l go the extra mile for 50p once iv got the hump.

As for him being rude, well **** him you were there to buy a car, not make a new mate.
 
My dad is a car salesman and he refunds every deposit that is given. Why? Because he will sell the car regardless, so, at worst, he has lost an increase in expected cash available, and his business doesn't get run so lean that it's going to make a difference.

Not refunding a deposit is a guarantee that the person will never, ever buy a car from you, and he will probably tell his friends and family.
 
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PMKeates said:
My dad is a car salesman and he refunds every deposit that is given. Why? Because he will sell the car regardless, so, at worst, he has lost an increase in expected cash available, and his business doesn't get run so lean that it's going to make a difference.

Not refunding a deposit is a guarantee that the person will never, ever buy a car from you, and he will probably tell his friends and family.
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I would give a deposit back as well as long as i had incurred no expenses, and always return deposits on diamonds because i believe in "catch them next time round"

But i know a few dealers who wont, and i cant really blame them, if you dont want a car, dont leave a deposit.
 
What a lot of people don't know is that by placing the deposit you are agreeing to buy the item.
OK, understood.
Decide not to buy the item and you don't get the deposit back - as you would expect.

However a car dealership can force you into the purchase.
Your deposit simply secures the vehicle and if you've signed documents to say you're going to buy it your penalty for walking away can be a lot higher than just your deposit.

I think the OP should be happy that all he is losing is his deposit.
Subjective, but there is no telling at all if the seller would have been able to actually sell the car after you'd placed your deposit on it.
 
I put down a £1k deposit on a a new focus with Essex Fords and after being messed around with delivery too many times I demanded a full refund which required authorisation from the manager but it happened non-the-less.

In my case, the dealer failed to meet their side of the contract though so they in effect terminated the agreement so I was able to get a refund.
 
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