What would you do?

[1ed]

I have been loolkign for a tow vehicle and posted such in the towing vehicle tread. Well I was going to go out of state and all of a sudden I found a vehicle about 30 miles from my home at a GM Dealer. So I called about the vehicle and saw pictures of it and made arrangements to see if first thing the next day. I arrived at the dealership and inspected the vehicle and took it for a road test and it was a good vehicle but not my first choice but thought it would work for what I wanted. During my inspection of the vehicle I noticed that the rubber around the door that is attached to the body was all ripped so I said we had a deal if they would replace the rubber seal.
They agreed and I put a $500 deposit on the vehicle and agreed to come back the next day with my wife and the money. Well after much discussion and looking at all the aspects I decided not to take the vehicle. So I called the dealership at 0800 the next morning and informed them that I was not going to purchase the vehicle and they said they are gong to charge me $125.00 for the rubber seal. Now that seal was all ripped and they told me I could come and get the rubber if I wanted. My feeling is they are wrong and should have refunded all of my money. HOW IS THIS RIGHT ? What are your thoughts? My plan is to write a review on YELP for what it is worth . Wife says forget it and move on....Don't want to go to small claims court but it just frost me if you know what I mean... Ed

[jfkmk]

Greene728 wrote:
Wow. The same can’t be said for you IMHO.

Oh good grief. Give it up, already.

[Lynnmor]

Greene728 wrote:
Wow. The same can’t be said for you IMHO.

Passing judgement is easy. We don't all have the same means and some of those that have excess might be deficient in character.

[Greene728]

Wow. The same can’t be said for you IMHO.

[1ed]

jfkmk that is exactly what I did. Like I said I think the dealer is a stand up guy.

[jfkmk]

Actually, I would still post a review. But, rather than as negative review you can post a positive review and explain why it is positive.

[1ed]

Just an update
I sent the dealer an email and two days latter he responded and we he sent me a check for $67.00 which I thought was fair. I thanked him and DID NOT POST ANYTHING TO YELP.
I told the dealer he was a stand up guy for call and agreeing to share the cost of the weather strip.

I Enjoyed reading all the different points of view. Ed

[wnjj]

mich800 wrote:
So why the deposit? Seems like a lot of wasted transactions and money changing hands.

I’m going to guess that it’s a bit of “transaction inertia” for the dealer. Anything that can even slightly increase the chance that you’ll be back is worth their effort.

[mich800]

jfkmk wrote:

JALLEN4 wrote:

jfkmk wrote:
A friend of mine just put a deposit on a car. It is completely refundable, non binding pending his daughter taking a look at it. As I mentioned before, most of the time these token deposits are fully refundable.

As for the person who replaces the fuel after a test drive, you gotta be the only one on the planet who does this.

Your friend with the non-binding deposit, what would he say if he takes his daughter back and it is sold since it was non-binding?

This is a VERY common way for car dealers to do business. They aren't going to hold the car for weeks, just one day or two. Sheesh.

So why the deposit? Seems like a lot of wasted transactions and money changing hands.

[jfkmk]

JALLEN4 wrote:

jfkmk wrote:
A friend of mine just put a deposit on a car. It is completely refundable, non binding pending his daughter taking a look at it. As I mentioned before, most of the time these token deposits are fully refundable.

As for the person who replaces the fuel after a test drive, you gotta be the only one on the planet who does this.

Your friend with the non-binding deposit, what would he say if he takes his daughter back and it is sold since it was non-binding?

This is a VERY common way for car dealers to do business. They aren't going to hold the car for weeks, just one day or two. Sheesh.

[JALLEN4]

jfkmk wrote:
A friend of mine just put a deposit on a car. It is completely refundable, non binding pending his daughter taking a look at it. As I mentioned before, most of the time these token deposits are fully refundable.

As for the person who replaces the fuel after a test drive, you gotta be the only one on the planet who does this.

Your friend with the non-binding deposit, what would he say if he takes his daughter back and it is sold since it was non-binding?

[mike-s]

1ed wrote:
Thanks for all your replies . The deal was for a 2004 vehicle with 160.000 miles and the seal was in stock and you could see where the seal had been leaking from the stain on the carpet.
I will move on but it just seems there is a principle involved and it would be a good business practice to eat the cost of the rubber.

There's definitely a principle involved, but it's not what you're thinking. You asked them to replace it and committed to buying if they did. You were the one who didn't keep their word. It's not for the dealer to eat the cost of dishonest and unreasonable customers. It's good consumer practice to not make commitments which aren't going to be kept.

[jfkmk]

A friend of mine just put a deposit on a car. It is completely refundable, non binding pending his daughter taking a look at it. As I mentioned before, most of the time these token deposits are fully refundable.

As for the person who replaces the fuel after a test drive, you gotta be the only one on the planet who does this.

[allen8106]

That's why I'll never pay a deposit on a vehicle. I just bought a new GMC 3500 that my local dealer had to go pick up at another dealer 529 miles away. I didn't offer and they didn't ask for a deposit.

[captnjack]

mich800 wrote:

captnjack wrote:


Your word may be YOUR bond but what about the other guy's word? Are you ready to trust HIM? Going through life on a handshake could cost you tons of lost money. Sad but true state of the world today. Plus, the world changes. Can't do anything about it. Keep up or step off.

Who said it was a bad idea to put pen to paper? In fact, this is a classic example where the dealer probably should have done so to protect themselves from a purchaser that was just window shopping. Written agreements are to protect and give remedies when one party will not fulfill their "word".

Looks like I quoted the wrong post. I meant to reply to BenK, who said his word was his bond.
I agree about written agreements. They protect both parties. And I posted earlier in this thread that I thought the dealer could have "eaten" the cost of replacing the seal since the next buyer would likely want it done and it would be good business overall. But none of that means the dealer did anything wrong.