Deposit - mine or the dealers?

MrsCMF

My husband and I changed our mind on a vehicle we put a deposit on. The dealer says as we are cash buyers we are not entitled to the full deposit back (£500). He says they had costs to get the vehicle ready for us, cleaning, brake testing etc and it will be at least £250. He also argued they have lost a week of being able to sell the vehicle, and won't be able to re-advertise until tomorrow. We have seen it advertised online today. Also, I stated the garage would have to do all the checks for any purchaser, and the garage will be able to sell the van.
What are our rights? Is the dealer pushing his luck?

neilmcl

I think the dealer is being fair. A deposit is your commitment to buy the car and the dealer is entitled to keep a reasonable amount of that to cover any costs or losses they've incurred due to you reneging on that commitment.

motorguy

neilmcl wrote: »

I think the dealer is being fair. A deposit is your commitment to buy the car and the dealer is entitled to keep a reasonable amount of that to cover any costs or losses they've incurred due to you reneging on that commitment.

+1

A dealer can decline to refund based on "reasonable costs".

Keeping the full £500 sounds a bit steep, but he can probably justify that quite easily, and could argue that he had to turn other prospective buyers away

Marktheshark

Deposits are totally at odds with any money saving advice.
A lying crook now has your money and you will not get it back.

Fat_Walt

Marktheshark wrote: »

Deposits are totally at odds with any money saving advice.
A lying crook now has your money and you will not get it back.

You're a !!!!, you've decided he's a crook and a liar based on what?

force_ten

if you find a vehicle on the internet or in the press and call the dealer and pay a deposit to hold the car pending viewing/inspection then that would normally be a refundable deposit amount

if you have gone to the dealers and viewed and test driven the car and on the strength of this agreed to buy the car and paid a deposit then this would be a different matter

as soon as you leave the dealership they will put the wheels into motion prepping the car for delivery and they will send the V5 off to the DVLA to register the car in your name so they now have a car which is technically registered to you so the log book now shows an extra keeper which could put people off buying it and raise suspicion as to why the car is back up for sale so soon

we all know the dealer can say the car was sold and the buyer changed his mind but nobody ever believes a secondhand car salesman

you should have gone home and thought about the purchase before placing a deposit and agreeing to buy the car

rich13348

force_ten wrote: »

if you find a vehicle on the internet or in the press and call the dealer and pay a deposit to hold the car pending viewing/inspection then that would normally be a refundable deposit amount

if you have gone to the dealers and viewed and test driven the car and on the strength of this agreed to buy the car and paid a deposit then this would be a different matter

as soon as you leave the dealership they will put the wheels into motion prepping the car for delivery and they will send the V5 off to the DVLA to register the car in your name so they now have a car which is technically registered to you so the log book now shows an extra keeper which could put people off buying it and raise suspicion as to why the car is back up for sale so soon

we all know the dealer can say the car was sold and the buyer changed his mind but nobody ever believes a secondhand car salesman

you should have gone home and thought about the purchase before placing a deposit and agreeing to buy the car

I've only every signed the V5 after purchase and send it off after I have signed. They can't send it with no signature.

BeenThroughItAll

rich13348 wrote: »

I've only every signed the V5 after purchase and send it off after I have signed. They can't send it with no signature.

They can, and they do. I've also sent V5s off with no signature and they've always been processed in exactly the same way and timescale as a signed one.

force_ten

rich13348 wrote: »

I've only every signed the V5 after purchase and send it off after I have signed. They can't send it with no signature.

i have never signed a V5 when purchasing a car form a dealers but i have always received the new V5 in my name a few weeks after purchase

what you said may be the case for a private sale but i have never done that in a car dealership

motorguy

Marktheshark wrote: »

Deposits are totally at odds with any money saving advice.
A lying crook now has your money and you will not get it back.

As has been asked, on what basis is the dealer a lying crook?

Deposits are non refundable otherwise what would be the point?

Nodding_Donkey

While not 100% the fact that he is a car dealer does provide a clue.