Used car deposit

LoftusSi

Hi,

My wife and I need to update our very old 3dr car, as we now have a baby. So we looked on auto-treader and found one we liked about 40 miles away.
It was a trade seller(family run), who ran his business from his home. The guy met us, and one of the first things he mentioned was that the engine management light had come on, but not to worry as he know what the problem was and it will be fixed and the car would also get a new MOT, as the current one only had 10 days left to run. We took the car for a test drive and looked it over. We said we would like to buy it, on the understanding that the "easy fix" problem would be sorted and the MOT passed. We put down a deposit of £200 and were handed a receipt with the deposit amount and the remaining balance. Nowhere on the receipt does it say that the deposit is non-refundable. We are told it will take up to a week to do the work. "Fine" we say. I hear nothing for six days, so phone the chap to see if its still okay to collect the car the next day. He says that the supplier had sent the wrong part, so the work and MOT hadn't been done, but he now had the correct part and hoped to have it "sorted" the following day(Tuesday). We both agreed that I pick the car up on the Wednesday, and he would ring me Tuesday after all the work and MOT had been done to arrange a good time to collect. Well, 6pm on Tuesday came and went. So i rang him again. He replied with "i was just about to ring you" and then told me that the part had been replaced and the car had passed its MOT with no advisories BUT the engine management light had reappeared on the return home, therefore the part that had been replaced was therefore not to blame. He then said that the electrics would need looking at by the main dealer and we were welcome to still come up as planned, pay the remainder of the money, and they would travel the 40 miles to our house. However, they are going on holiday on the Thursday and the work would have to be done on their return or the car could stay with them, and they sort the problem on their return.
After giving this much thought, we have decided that the care should stay on their premises until their return and the engine management light/problem be rectified. However on reflection after discussion, we feel that as this is a very important purchase as we are travelling with our 4 month old son, we need something reliable and that will not potential be a bad penny. So.... my question is.... Where do we stand on getting the deposit back? Is it my understanding that the £200 was a 'holding' fee in order to prevent others from purchase? we have looked at their website and it is still listed? Many thanks

visidigi

Do you have it in writing that they agreed to deliver the repaired car to you on a set date?

If so you have a case for claiming back your deposit as they have failed to honor the agreement made.

Hintza

I normally feel a deposit is made when you have decided to buy the car and you should be willing to lose it (which goes slightly against the normal advice on here)

But in this instance the dealer is seriously messing you about and I think you should take copious notes for a timeline (if it gets ugly) and move on. You could very well struggle to get the deposit back which might require court action.

So in the short term count it as lost and then send a LBA asking for the return of your deposit and stating that their timescales were unreasonable and you had to buy elsewhere.