Deposit to view second hand car - is this right?

Mercdriver

unholyangel wrote: »

Its not evans halshaw "move me closer" service is it?

http://www.evanshalshaw.com/move-me-closer/ (terms and conditions link at the bottom of that page too).

If it is, they have 10 working days to move the car. From the time they notify you the car has arrived, you have 2 working days to view the car. That seems a little one sided/unfair to me.

Sounds like motorpoint. They will come up on a local search on Autotrader even if the car isn't at the branch nearest to you...

motorguy

Puddylove wrote: »

Clearly there isn't a market for the car in the geographical market segment it's in, or the dealer would just sell it locally, so they are obliged to find a buyer further afield.

So they have to move the product in the hope of obtaining a sale - why is the customer liable for the logistics?

I would never pay, on principle.

What evidence have you of that?

Big dealer groups are happy to move cars about if it gets them sold quicker - that doesnt mean they wont sell where they are at some point. There is of course a cost involved in doing so.

Can you imagine the costs if there was no financial commitment and someone in Southampton were able to request, on a whim, that a car be moved from say Edinburgh, didnt buy it then someone in Manchester fancied viewing it?

As its refundable / deductable, you're not "paying" - you're simply demonstrating a small amount of commitment to perhaps actually wanting to buy the car - which i dont think is unreasonable.

motorguy

Puddylove wrote: »

Car dealers will sell to the first buyer, they are not going to turn local people down in order to move the car round the country.

So, if they can't sell it locally, they have to widen their net of potential 'idiots'. And if they can get these 'idiots' who are willing to pay, they're onto a winner! :rotfl:

They are minimising costs to maximise profits, purely in their interest, not the customer's.

But yes, the market may be littered with idiots ('fools and their money...').

So you're saying people who buy cars from dealers are idiots and fools?

cajef

Puddylove wrote: »

Clearly there isn't a market for the car in the geographical market segment it's in, or the dealer would just sell it locally, so they are obliged to find a buyer further afield.

In fact I had the opposite I wanted a particular model and had contacted my local main dealer who I had bought vehicles off before, they had none avaiable at any of their dealerships.

Two months later they phoned me to say they had a twelve month low mileage one owner one coming in to one of their dealerships at the end of the month and was I still interested, as they were a model that were in demand which I knew to be true they would be willing to have it transfered to them if I would put a fully refundable £100 deposit to give me first reserve on the vehicle.

As they are a dealer I know and trust I was quite happy and did end up purchasing the vehicle.

prowla

A couple of years ago I phoned ahead and went to view a car at a dealer; when I got there and said I'd like to have a test drive they asked if I was serious about buying it, to which I replied that I'd phoned ahead and just driven 30 miles to be there.

Maybe I've got that face, because I had another dealer ask me if I was serious about buying a car there, to which I replied I'd buy it if I liked it. They were a bit taken aback when I got back from the test drive and said I'd have it on my debit card.

I would not pay to view a car; if the garage wants my custom then they need to show me the goods, rather than get it into their heads that they're doing me a favour.

motorguy

prowla wrote: »

A couple of years ago I phoned ahead and went to view a car at a dealer; when I got there and said I'd like to have a test drive they asked if I was serious about buying it, to which I replied that I'd phoned ahead and just driven 30 miles to be there.

Maybe I've got that face, because I had another dealer ask me if I was serious about buying a car there, to which I replied I'd buy it if I liked it. They were a bit taken aback when I got back from the test drive and said I'd have it on my debit card.

I would not pay to view a car; if the garage wants my custom then they need to show me the goods, rather than get it into their heads that they're doing me a favour.

I think we've longsince established that the car originally in question was rare and had to be taken out of storage and transported 100 miles specifically for the O/P to view, so perhaps not unreasonable for the seller to ask for a deposit as a sign of commitment.

For your average car out there and down the road in your local dealers, there should be little reason to pay a deposit to view it.

david_a

“Thanks all. I've found a similar car about the same distance away so I'm going to view that tomorrow and at least test drive so that I know whether I'll be interested. If I don't buy the car tomorrow, but I test drive and know that I'm happy with the drive, I'll pay the deposit once I have terms for repayment. ”

This is why dealers request a fee.

The op doesn’t even know if he’s is interested in the car.

He is visiting another dealership and is going to drive a car there. Which he might not buy even if he is happy with the drive.