Joined Nov 2011
L7: Teacher
Forum Thread
Bad Situation....
May 14, 2013 at
12:28 PM
in
Chat
So I went to a car dealership to look at a Mitsubishi Eclipse I'm interested in. I took it for a test drive and was convinced to put down a deposit for the price they were giving it to me for. I asked if I could get a refund if it falls through (they don't offer financing, full cash only). They said yes and go back and forth telling me "congrats on your car!". "I'm like dafuq?" I signed a purchase contract that stated a deposit is non-refundable yet the dealer told me I could if worse comes to worse. Even the manager came up to me and said if need be, we can refund it. Bad situation. Am I SOL? 
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How did they refund your deposit?
How did they refund your deposit?
Via a credit.
Via a credit.
Why? Because the banking regulations says so.
Why? Because the banking regulations says so.
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On a side note, just bought a car myself the other day... here's a few pointers for used (and even new):
1) be sure to research any car (there are tons of sites out there with reviews) before you buy
2) be sure to check kelley blue book and edmunds to get a general idea of what you should be paying (make sure you select the appropriate situation; private party/retail/trade, the numbers will vary ALOT), if you're going new, check out truecar.com, you can "build" the exact car you want to show msrp, invoice, and average prices... pretty slick.
3) be SURE to call your insurance company to check on an estimated price... this can add quite a bit to your monthly expenses if you get decent coverage
4) for a used car in a private sale, spend the $25 on a carfax... most reputable dealers will probably have it... if they won't offer it, chances are there's a reason
5) READ anything and everything before you sign (this is important for ANYTHING in life) If you don't understand something, ask... (my dealer said the same thing about my deposit... "oh yeah, if we can't find the car you want, you'll get it back", on the contract I was going to sign, it said "NON-REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT" in big red letters.. I had him write in MY terms and had him initial and date it)
6) Find out the fees... You say the car is $7000 on the internet.. well, from a dealer, its' not going to be $7000.. guaranteed. There's sales tax, most likely they're going to charge a documentation fee, registration/title/license, etc etc. These can add up. Some are negotiable, some aren't. ASK. This is true for a private party too, you're not going to escape sales tax... you'll get the smack down when you go to register it at your motor vehicles office.
That's about all I got...
--rob
Finance car lots are a snake pit. They shine those cars up like nobody's business, clean them to perfection and get them running enough to make it off the lot. After that, you're on your own.
I would never give those guys a penny of my money.
The purchase contract only had the $500 deposit on it. I got the managers word that I could get a refund.
Bless your heart.
We all know, nothing is more solid than a cash lot used car salesman's word. Unless you have the word of the cash lot used car manager's word. Now, *that* is s-o-l-i-d.
That changes everything!
Be nice buddy.
This person is obviously new to the world of adulthood.
We all had to go through the learning curve.
On a side note, just bought a car myself the other day... here's a few pointers for used (and even new):
1) be sure to research any car (there are tons of sites out there with reviews) before you buy
2) be sure to check kelley blue book and edmunds to get a general idea of what you should be paying (make sure you select the appropriate situation; private party/retail/trade, the numbers will vary ALOT), if you're going new, check out truecar.com, you can "build" the exact car you want to show msrp, invoice, and average prices... pretty slick.
3) be SURE to call your insurance company to check on an estimated price... this can add quite a bit to your monthly expenses if you get decent coverage
4) for a used car in a private sale, spend the $25 on a carfax... most reputable dealers will probably have it... if they won't offer it, chances are there's a reason
5) READ anything and everything before you sign (this is important for ANYTHING in life) If you don't understand something, ask... (my dealer said the same thing about my deposit... "oh yeah, if we can't find the car you want, you'll get it back", on the contract I was going to sign, it said "NON-REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT" in big red letters.. I had him write in MY terms and had him initial and date it)
6) Find out the fees... You say the car is $7000 on the internet.. well, from a dealer, its' not going to be $7000.. guaranteed. There's sales tax, most likely they're going to charge a documentation fee, registration/title/license, etc etc. These can add up. Some are negotiable, some aren't. ASK. This is true for a private party too, you're not going to escape sales tax... you'll get the smack down when you go to register it at your motor vehicles office.
That's about all I got...
--rob