freebass55

Oh, my bad. The car had not even been pulled yet. Then yep your right.

rex

If the shoe was on the other foot...for example the dealer wanted to sell your car (the one you have a deposit on for extra money to someone else willing to pay more) you guys would be screaming up and down and rightfully so...so why isn't the dealer guarenteed the same right...Deposits exist just for these type of situations...people who won't keep their word!

adrenalin

At the time you gave them the deposit they would have said whether it was refundable or not. If it was not then it is your own fault you cancelled so they do not need to give it back to you. If you want to fight it and take it to court it will cost you more in lawyers fees than what you lost on the deposit.

Karpro

Before I ramble on a little, I agree he should get his deposit back, BUT, where are the false promises? If they promised a car by 12/30/2004 and it's not here, fine but if not it is the customer that is delivering the false promises (agreeing to order AND purchase a vehicle and now cancelling).

What is the purpose of a deposit if you get it back if you just change your mind? This is why we don't bother to ask for a deposit. If everyone can just cancel but get a refeund, why bother in the first place?

Just trying to play devils advocate.

Giddyup

Dan....you don't have to "Settle For" anything. If you are letting them get away with $200 of your deposit, or any other amount, then you are doing yourself a disservice. It doesn't matter how your contract reads.....you are entitled to 100% of your $$$ refunded. It's called 'Good Business', and especially since the car isn't even scheduled yet......and even when it is, they will have people lining up to get it. You just gave them $200 for nothing if you cave in to this practice.

Karpro

This is great in theory but will never happen. Watch an hour of TV tonight or look at tommorow's paper. Most dealers spend hundreds of thousands if not a million a year advertising. Nobody in their right mind is going to risk losing a dealer's advertising account to help you get your $500 bucks.

Unfortunately, but realistically, money talks in the media.

Domainer

Before I ramble on a little, I agree he should get his deposit back, BUT, where are the false promises? If they promised a car by 12/30/2004 and it's not here, fine but if not it is the customer that is delivering the false promises (agreeing to order AND purchase a vehicle and now cancelling).

What is the purpose of a deposit if you get it back if you just change your mind? This is why we don't bother to ask for a deposit. If everyone can just cancel but get a refeund, why bother in the first place?

Just trying to play devils advocate. [/b][/quote]

My point was, to raise a stink and make the dealership look bad in front of prospective buyers in the showroom to get your money back ..

This tactic works whether people think it's ethical or not..


.

HastaLaVista

It does matter how the contract reads. If the contract reads "nonrefundable under any circumstances", no, he's not entitled to anything.

Retro GT

Sorry friend, an automobile purchase contract is not and never has been a legally binding agreement. I've been working in new car stores for over 20 years. I've even backed out of a few deals of my own in the past.

FYI... my Father is also an attorney (please no flaming). I have consulted with him on this issue a few times.

6505pony

You don't need an attorney for small claims. Most attorney's wouldn't touch it anyway not enough money involved.

The dealership wouldn't get an attorney involved either for the same reasons.

HastaLaVista

A purchase contract is a legally binding document. If you'd care to cite (case) law stating otherwise, please do.

Because you can get out of it and most dealers will let you out of it doesn't make it nonbinding. Just makes it good business to refund the money.

HUGLE

This is great in theory but will never happen. Watch an hour of TV tonight or look at tommorow's paper. Most dealers spend hundreds of thousands if not a million a year advertising. Nobody in their right mind is going to risk losing a dealer's advertising account to help you get your $500 bucks.

Unfortunately, but realistically, money talks in the media. [/b][/quote]
I tend to agree with most of what you say. In this case, no. Numerous, numerous times here in Michigan, I have seen several stories on the 5, 6 and 10 pm news covering subject matter similiar to this. They cover all realms of disputes to varying degrees. In some cases I was familiar with, the "defendant" in the dispute saw the light and made good on whatever. It might be worth being said though, there are some political deviations out there that nobody would touch, but that is rare.

mgdumont

I went thru the same thing with the dealer I ordered from, after seven weeks of no updates, vin #, etc. , I canceled my order and purchased off the lot from another dealer. The dealer I ordered from told me it was non refundable, so I asked to see the manager. He said that he would call me, so i could make an appointment to talk to manager. I got home, put a stop check on the check. The dealer never called me and three days later they sent me my check.

holderca1

Have they cashed the check yet or are they just holding it? Here's an idea, go to your bank and put a stop payment on it if it hasn't been cashed, usually costs $20-30 to do that. Better than $500.

poldrv

Dan,

I have tried to explain to some of the members on the forum that Ford cannot produce these Mustangs like one makes a bag of Orville Redebacker Popcorn. Considering the overwhelming orders for the new mustangs it is inevitable that AutoAlliance will not be able to produce these new mustangs in a timely fashion and that anyone that has a set delivery date given by their dealership will probably be disappointed. In my case I gave the dealership my $2000.00 deposit on SEptember 25, 2004 and explained to the dealer that I am not in a "rush," the actual order went in on 26 November, 2004 just before the price increase. The Salesman predicted that he would be able to give me the new vehicle VIN number before Christmas this has not happened and I am not suprised. The salesman also predicted a February delivery date I told him it will more than likely be April or May 2005 as I had some information thanks to this forum on the IUP problem and the Shaker Stereo problem. For those of us that have pre-ordered the new mustang this is obviously the car of our dreams and it is also Forbes Magazine's number one car of the Forbes Year. In hindsight it might have been more prudent to wait for your pre-ordered mustang rather than jump ship and buy the other Mustang GT from another dealership. After fifty one years on the planet I have found that patience usually wins out in the end. As for your $500.00 deposit you have to realize that the dealership is counting on your order for their bottom sales line for the year. If you cancelled your order then the dealership as made nothing. If I cancelled my order I would expect that the dealership would give me a lot of grief in trying to get the deposit back unless there was extenuating circumstances such as a death in the family and the money was need for funeral expenses. I would suggest if you read the fine print in the contract that the dealer is not obligated to return the deposit. All of us on this forum that have order new Mustangs and new GT Mustangs want the new cars but brow beating the dealerships is not going to get the autoalliance plant to produce them faster than is possible considering the current amount of orders and problems with certain parts like the IUP back orders.

poldrv

Dan,

I have tried to explain to some of the members on the forum that Ford cannot produce these Mustangs like one makes a bag of Orville Redebacker Popcorn. Considering the overwhelming orders for the new mustangs it is inevitable that AutoAlliance will not be able to produce these new mustangs in a timely fashion and that anyone that has a set delivery date given by their dealership will probably be disappointed. In my case I gave the dealership my $2000.00 deposit on SEptember 25, 2004 and explained to the dealer that I am not in a "rush," the actual order went in on 26 November, 2004 just before the price increase. The Salesman predicted that he would be able to give me the new vehicle VIN number before Christmas this has not happened and I am not suprised. The salesman also predicted a February delivery date I told him it will more than likely be April or May 2005 as I had some information thanks to this forum on the IUP problem and the Shaker Stereo problem. For those of us that have pre-ordered the new mustang this is obviously the car of our dreams and it is also Forbes Magazine's number one car of the Forbes Year. In hindsight it might have been more prudent to wait for your pre-ordered mustang rather than jump ship and buy the other Mustang GT from another dealership. After fifty one years on the planet I have found that patience usually wins out in the end. As for your $500.00 deposit you have to realize that the dealership is counting on your order for their bottom sales line for the year. If you cancelled your order then the dealership as made nothing. If I cancelled my order I would expect that the dealership would give me a lot of grief in trying to get the deposit back unless there was extenuating circumstances such as a death in the family and the money was need for funeral expenses. I would suggest if you read the fine print in the contract that the dealer is not obligated to return the deposit. All of us on this forum that have order new Mustangs and new GT Mustangs want the new cars but brow beating the dealerships is not going to get the autoalliance plant to produce them faster than is possible considering the current amount of orders and problems with certain parts like the IUP back orders.

LilHog

I had placed an order for an 05 Mustang GT and 3 weeks into it, I found one almost identical to the one I had on order on a local dealers lot. I called the dealer that I ordered from and asked about a refund and was told it would be ok. So I bought the one on the lot and went back and got my $500 deposit back, no questions asked. In fact they said they were sorry that they couldn't provide me with the car I wanted. Now that is a dealer that I will return to and buy from again, they have earned my business.

icemant180

Dan,

I had a very similar problem when I ordered mine and then they renegged on the x-plan and said they would return my $500 deposit but did not. They kept telling me the check was in the mail (3 weeks went by) I wrote a letter to the owner and got a call within a few days, they said they would mail out the check. (2 more weeks go by) So I looked in to taking them to small claims court. My receipt for the $500 did not say non-refundable or refundable. Before filling a small claims in Massachusetts you have to send out a 30 day demand notice (certified mail). So I got the form online filled it out and before I went to the PO to mail it, I called the owner one more time. I told him I was sending out a 30 day demand notice. I got a call from the dealer in less than hour to come and pick up my check.

SixtySix

It's unfortuneate that you had to even go that far, some dealerships

sync007

Screw that!!! :angry: They will have noproblem selling it so what is the deal about giving your money back!!! I hate some of those dealerships they act like there doing you a favor letting your buy a $28,000 car.