Protocol on deposit for car purchase?

[cabmandone]

You keep the deposit... period.

[greglepore]

Originally Posted by motion

I suspect the right thing to do is give the guy his money back, but only because I almost always choose to take the high road, and generally, I do not fight for anything in this short life. But if the roles were reversed, I would call myself an idiot and not expect anything back for wasting someone's valuable time.

I should ask this on my motorbike racing forum. Those guys are hardcore. I suspect they would not be as nice and understanding as this group

Hear you. I would take the high road as well, but it's not really what a deposit is for. I just put a 1k deposit on a cl600 that's 1400 mi away in NOLA and am going to drive it home. Fully anticipate losing the cash if I get there and don't like the car.

Would you not be equally pissed if you put a deposit down and the seller sold to a higher bidder?

And yeah, the requests now for 1000 photos and service records etc on used cars is why I don't sell often.

[EMJ]

Give the deposit back. You don't need the hassle and you'll be done with it.

[Norm K]

Some people think I'm too detailed in my Bill of Sale language - particularly the portion regarding deposit - but I'd prefer to lose (or further negotiate, if necessary) the sale at that point than to see a transaction drag out like the one in this thread. The Bill of Sale, of course, reflects the overall terms of the sale and provides a signature line for both Seller and Buyer, but I always include a separate section for the deposit, including its own signature section. Even if no deposit is tendered (depending on the transaction value, the buyer, etc.), that portion of the BoS is still acknowledged by both parties.


"Seller acknowledges receipt of a (insert $$$ amount here) deposit from Buyer. In return for this deposit, along with Buyer's promise and assurance that Buyer will complete the transaction as noted in this Bill of Sale, Seller will inform other potential buyers that the subject vehicle is not currently available due to a pending sale and will hold the vehicle for Buyer under the terms agreed to above. If Buyer fails to complete the transaction as noted herein Buyer will forfeit any or all of the deposit amount, at Seller's exclusive discretion. In addition to reading and signing this portion of the Bill of Sale, Seller and Buyer have verbally discussed it, and the parties acknowledge, understand and agree to these deposit terms."

Whether or not the language would hold up in court isn't the point. It's designed to separate strokers, who will quickly find a reason to "think about it", from real buyers, none of whom have ever objected to it.

_

[asphaltgambler]

Business is business. I'd keep his deposit until you sell it to someone else and that money is in your pocket. At that point you could decide to refund all or part of that. I can't believe his wife was unaware of the color. It does smell of a scam.

Largest point here is it's his problem now, not yours - you have his money on his word, he has changed his word

[McLovin]

If the deposit is refundable, what's the purpose of it?

[jamesnmlaw]

If you need the $1,000, prepare for the fight. If not, give it back. Life's too short and there are too many a-holes.

[stevej37]

^^^ this

[Jay Auskin]

Deciding to not give back the deposit and ignore all future correspondence with this guy seems like a lot more work.

[Crowbob]

I hate selling things so much so that I actually give them away instead.

Once in a while I wonder why I haven't heard from those guys who know walked themselves away with deals of the century.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by jamesnmlaw

If you need the $1,000, prepare for the fight. If not, give it back. Life's too short and there are too many a-holes.

After the effort Richard invested so far I can understand the desire to keep the deposit. That said I agree with the above, I would return the money in full immediately and move on with life. Who knows what sort of mess the prospect buyer is willing to create for $1K.

[Rot 911]

I too would be worried the Paypal money is a scam. But assuming it isn't, I would do like some others have suggested and hold the deposit until you are able to sell the car for at least what the buyer agreed on. Then refund the deposit.

[Joe Bob]

Reading the replies, I am changing my mind and I would go with keeping it. If he is an old phart with no huevos he will blink if you tell he gets his money back AFTER you sell the car he committed to as Plan "A", if that what you feel like doing.

See what he says.....you can always pay him later. You could also call PayPal and register your concerns and document the issue. I assume you have more than a few transactions w/o any major disputes? It would be fun listening to him squeak....

[bbturbo]

I have only kept one deposit in the four or so times I have taken one. I hate taking them! The only time I haven't given it back was after two weeks of running the car to several different places, sending endless pictures, his mechanic talking to my mechanic, I talked to his mechanic, scanned receipts, and moved a flight to visit family, all for him to decide he wanted a C2 instead of a C4. The guy wasted close to 15 hours of my time, so I told him the deposit is mine for the inconvenience. He whined and such, but I felt no guilt in this situation.

The "wife doesn't like the color" is a BS excuse. I would refund half at best. Lesson learned on his part and the internet gives plenty of images to see colors of cars. Time is money and I don't have time to waste on indecisiveness. They should have that figured out prior to wasting your time. Hope you figured something out as this is always an annoying issue to deal with.

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

So what exactly is the point of taking a deposit if you give it back just because the buyer flakes out of the deal without even looking at the car?

I thought the buyer puts down a deposit to hold the car for him. After inspection and the buyer backs out is a different situation than the buyer just changing his mind at some point before even looking at the car.

This

Certainly he does not expect 100% of his deposit returned. He ought to lose at least half, if not all of it.

Originally Posted by mreid

I think he should take the Amtrak over to pick up his deposit. So, wait for him to show.

This is excellent

The entire episode reaks of shenanigans.

[javadog]

The obvious answer is, "what does it say about the deposit in the contract for sale?"

I'm sure your next comment will be "you have no contract." So, refund the deposit and move on. Do not send him a Paypal payment, instead refund his payment to you with a note describing the reason. It's a minor distinction, but worth noting.

JR

[Scott Douglas]

The reason the car 'looks bluish' on his computer is because the paint is reflecting the blue sky it was photographed under.

I think I'd give him his deposit back only AFTER I've sold the car to someone else for more than what he agreed to. If he has a hard time with waiting tell him you had a hard time turning down other buyers who were ready to buy it.

[vonsmog]

Give him $750 back and keep $250 for your troubles. Life it too short to deal with A-holes.
Hell one time I paid in deposit ($1k cash) for a Unimog that I was only going to part out. Drove 2 hours to see it, and then was there for two hours, then two hours home. So the day was done. Next day the guy calls me and said he changed his mind, and was not going to sell the truck, and was going to restore it. I told him I have a contract but did not want to push it. But he wasted my time, so I said I would take my deposit plus $250 to rip up the contract. Just was not worth the effort to deal with it in court, and said I would be glad to sell him parts when he got around to fixing it. He has called for advice, but has not got anything from me yet, but hey, you never know!

[dad911]

Originally Posted by javadog

...... Do not send him a Paypal payment, instead refund his payment to you with a note describing the reason. It's a minor distinction, but worth noting.

JR

JR, I disagree. All he as to do is dispute with Paypal, and they will reverse charge. If you send it in another manner, Paypal will not know it was returned.

I believe you can include comment with paypal transaction.

[Crowbob]

Give him the money back. Sell the gd car and move on.

Or just sell the car and move on.