Cancelling car purchase from main dealer

GMAD

Evening everyone
Ten days ago I put down a deposit on a used Kia (main dealer). Deal is on HP with p/x. Didn’t get to see the actual car as it was at another dealer within the group, but I tested the exact same model and all was well. However, with Coronavirus kicking off big time in the last few days, it really doesn’t make sense to continue with the deal. Chances are I won’t be able to drive it for much of the next few weeks/months and my employment might now be under threat.
Where do I now stand on the deposit (not picked up the car yet - it’ll be ready on Tue)? I understand a deal is a deal but given how things are changing right now, I’d like to think the dealer will refund me in full even though they’ve had to buy it in from the other site.
Thanks
GMAD

Nuggy96

non-refundable deposit. you will be losing that £100

Alanp

All you can do is ring the dealer explain your circumstances and, hopefully given the current situation they will be understanding 

Jonesya

When you put down the deposit, presumably you signed and received some paperwork with the details of your contract?
You need to read through it because it should cover this. Unfortunately we can't know what your agreement states.

GMAD

Jonesya said:

When you put down the deposit, presumably you signed and received some paperwork with the details of your contract?
You need to read through it because it should cover this. Unfortunately we can't know what your agreement states.

It’s the usual contract that pretty much states the deposit (£750 in my case) is non-refundable. I get that. But with this virus causing chaos and possible job loss, continuing with the purchase doesn’t make sense.

GMAD

Alanp said:

All you can do is ring the dealer explain your circumstances and, hopefully given the current situation they will be understanding 

That’s the only way I see it too. Just wondered if anyone else was in a similar position or had been through something like this.

Peter999_2

I bought (with part exchange) a car on Wednesday.     Things were already kicking off by then, but I saw no reason to not go ahead with the purchase.  I got a good price from them, and the part exchange was about £1,500 more than webuyanycar.com (which has really plummeted).

I had it in my head that my car was going down in price every month anyway, and my new car wouldn't be much different in loss every month.     It's also an electric car so I know I will be saving a lot of fuel/maintenance costs as well.      The final point was that I also like my local garage and I can imagine they are going to have a rough time over the next few months so I thought I'd help them as well.

GMAD

Peter999_2 said:

I bought (with part exchange) a car on Wednesday.     Things were already kicking off by then, but I saw no reason to not go ahead with the purchase.  I got a good price from them, and the part exchange was about £1,500 more than webuyanycar.com (which has really plummeted).

I had it in my head that my car was going down in price every month anyway, and my new car wouldn't be much different in loss every month.     It's also an electric car so I know I will be saving a lot of fuel/maintenance costs as well.      The final point was that I also like my local garage and I can imagine they are going to have a rough time over the next few months so I thought I'd help them as well.

I see logic in your decision for sure. I’d possibly do the same, however, I’m financing over £20k after p/x is accounted for - not a number I’m willing to take on right now.

DUTR

GMAD said:

Jonesya said:

When you put down the deposit, presumably you signed and received some paperwork with the details of your contract?
You need to read through it because it should cover this. Unfortunately we can't know what your agreement states.

It’s the usual contract that pretty much states the deposit (£750 in my case) is non-refundable. I get that. But with this virus causing chaos and possible job loss, continuing with the purchase doesn’t make sense.

GMAD said:

Alanp said:

All you can do is ring the dealer explain your circumstances and, hopefully given the current situation they will be understanding 

That’s the only way I see it too. Just wondered if anyone else was in a similar position or had been through something like this.

If you get that, then prepare to forfeit your deposit.
I doubt any reader here has experienced a pandemic on this scale in their lifetime.

marlot

You entered into a contract to buy the car.  The dealer can't make you buy it, but is entitled to be put back into the position he was in before you entered into the contract.  That normally means that he can deduct the cost of advertising the car again etc from your deposit.
But these are unusual times.  In a normal world, you could reasonably expect a lump of a £750 deposit back.  If they don't play ball, you could try to sue in the small claims track - but that could take some time.

billy2shots

I’m not sure what has changed in the last 10 days. This pandemic has been coming for months. Other countries have been locked down for more than 10 days and it’s pretty obvious we were heading that way. The £750 loss will hopefully help you make better decisions in the future. 

Please don’t see this as overly harsh it’s just the facts. Any chance to learn in life is an opportunity to improve so turn this into a positive because your risk planning should now be better in the future.