Bombfixer wrote:
If you had put a deposit on that unit, that constitutes an implied contract of your good faith to purchase the unit. If the dealer sold the unit to another person after you deposit was accepted the dealership was liable for fraud and you should have demanded compensation for your wasted time. Once I was visiting a car dealership looking at new trucks, I turned my trade-in key over to the dealership for an appraisal while I browsed the lot. Long story short, they sold my car while i was shopping. I didnt find out until i tried to leave. Selling a vehicle without legally owning it cost the dealership a brand new truck with all the bells and whistles for free in return for my signed release not to pursue legal action.
Sounds like a couple of doses of internet urban legend to me. A dealership would not be able to sell a vehicle they did not own. It wouldn't appear in their inventory, they wouldn't have the information necessary to fill out a sales contract and they surely wouldn't deliver a vehicle they hadn't even checked into their inventory. Then they wouldn't give away a new truck to someone. Even if they made all those mistakes, they would just get the trade in back and give it back to you. As for a deposit equating a commitment to purchase...bunk. Try enforcing such a policy the other way around, the dealer suing the deposit placer for specific performance to complete the transaction. Cannot happen. A deposit without an accepted and valid sales contract is worthless. Doesn't create any obligation to either party.
