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]

mich800 wrote:

jfkmk wrote:

mich800 wrote:

captnjack wrote:

2edgesword wrote:
The deposit is the cost of removing the vehicle from the market. You forfeit the deposit if you back out of the deal. I think the dealer is letting you off lightly by just charging the cost of the new rubber.

"the cost of removing the vehicle from the market"

What does that even mean? Sounds a little like "dealer speak" to me.

Plus I doubt they would "remove it" until it actually sold (deal done and closed out and vehicle fully paid for).

It was sold. Unless you are suggesting it would have been ok for the dealer to sell it to someone else after receiving the deposit. Having just purchased a used car last week I know how quick a good used vehicle can sell. I missed out on a half dozen just because I could not get to the location quick enough.

You dont know that because you dont know what the original agreement said.

So you are one of those that would sell it to someone else for a better price even though you took a deposit from someone else? I don't do business that way.

Absolutely not. I'm saying, as I've pointed out before, a lot of times you can put a token downpayment to hold the vehicle for a brief period of time while you make a final decision. The token down payment is almost always refundable if you decide not to take it. The op called first thing the next morning.

However, none of us here know, with the exception of the OP, if the original agreement said it was refundable or not. Were all speculating.

Were talking about a 14 year old half ton with stains on the carpet, not a 63 split window Vette. I highly doubt the dealer had them lined up at the door chomping at the bit for the opportunity to drive it away.

[mich800]

jfkmk wrote:

mich800 wrote:

captnjack wrote:

2edgesword wrote:
The deposit is the cost of removing the vehicle from the market. You forfeit the deposit if you back out of the deal. I think the dealer is letting you off lightly by just charging the cost of the new rubber.

"the cost of removing the vehicle from the market"

What does that even mean? Sounds a little like "dealer speak" to me.

Plus I doubt they would "remove it" until it actually sold (deal done and closed out and vehicle fully paid for).

It was sold. Unless you are suggesting it would have been ok for the dealer to sell it to someone else after receiving the deposit. Having just purchased a used car last week I know how quick a good used vehicle can sell. I missed out on a half dozen just because I could not get to the location quick enough.

You dont know that because you dont know what the original agreement said.

So you are one of those that would sell it to someone else for a better price even though you took a deposit from someone else? I don't do business that way.

[jfkmk]

mich800 wrote:

captnjack wrote:

2edgesword wrote:
The deposit is the cost of removing the vehicle from the market. You forfeit the deposit if you back out of the deal. I think the dealer is letting you off lightly by just charging the cost of the new rubber.

"the cost of removing the vehicle from the market"

What does that even mean? Sounds a little like "dealer speak" to me.

Plus I doubt they would "remove it" until it actually sold (deal done and closed out and vehicle fully paid for).

It was sold. Unless you are suggesting it would have been ok for the dealer to sell it to someone else after receiving the deposit. Having just purchased a used car last week I know how quick a good used vehicle can sell. I missed out on a half dozen just because I could not get to the location quick enough.

You dont know that because you dont know what the original agreement said.

[jfkmk]

fj12ryder wrote:

jfkmk wrote:

One poster found it on the internet for 55, I found one for just over 50 for genuine gm part. I'm sure they're making money.

...

Well, I would hope they're making money, that's what keeps the doors open. They aren't going to stay open very long selling a $55 for $60.

My point was that if the internet price is 50, and they're making money, then the dealer paid a lot less for the piece of rubber. This was in response to someone questioning the original price.

[fj12ryder]

jfkmk wrote:

One poster found it on the internet for 55, I found one for just over 50 for genuine gm part. I'm sure they're making money.

...

Well, I would hope they're making money, that's what keeps the doors open. They aren't going to stay open very long selling a $55 for $60.

[mich800]

BenK wrote:
"....What would you do?..."

I'd honor

"MY"

word/commitment...but find that am in the vast minority on many threads here...

Betcha folks would sue that dealer if they sold it to another 'buyer' who offered more money...

Also think the OP is lucky they offered to charge a lesser amount...I'd not have complained if they kept the whole $500 bucks...

I agree 100%. This post is a sad commentary on how entitled we have come in this society. The fact someone can back out of a deal and contemplate writing a bad review about the damaged party is just beyond my comprehension.

[mich800]

captnjack wrote:

2edgesword wrote:
The deposit is the cost of removing the vehicle from the market. You forfeit the deposit if you back out of the deal. I think the dealer is letting you off lightly by just charging the cost of the new rubber.

"the cost of removing the vehicle from the market"

What does that even mean? Sounds a little like "dealer speak" to me.

Plus I doubt they would "remove it" until it actually sold (deal done and closed out and vehicle fully paid for).

It was sold. Unless you are suggesting it would have been ok for the dealer to sell it to someone else after receiving the deposit. Having just purchased a used car last week I know how quick a good used vehicle can sell. I missed out on a half dozen just because I could not get to the location quick enough.

[Grit_dog]

Half of you people are the reason the concept of putting a deposit down came to be.
If you think a deposit is refundable then your mistaken unless it’s expressly states as a refundable deposit.
Do I like dealers? nope.
Did they spend $135 that is now un-recoverable ? Probably not.
Did they sort of do the right thing by refunding the majority of the OPs deposit, due only to his indecision? Yup

[jfkmk]

Bird Freak wrote:
Seems to be a few folks here that have no idea how a dealership really works.
If the door rubber really cost the dealer $35.00 which I really doubt. That would be cost to the parts dept. They would then mark it up to the used car dept and then add more to the service dept. Of course this imaginary $35.00 is just a guess made by someone here. I was raised in dealerships and its amazing how many times a part is marked up. Each dept will make a profit on it.

One poster found it on the internet for 55, I found one for just over 50 for genuine gm part. I'm sure they're making money.

I've stated before that sometimes the deposit is refundable, sometimes not. Were all speculating and casting opinions that are baseless.

[BenK]

"....What would you do?..."

I'd honor

"MY"

word/commitment...but find that am in the vast minority on many threads here...

Betcha folks would sue that dealer if they sold it to another 'buyer' who offered more money...

Also think the OP is lucky they offered to charge a lesser amount...I'd not have complained if they kept the whole $500 bucks...

1ed wrote:
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

[rhagfo]

nodepositnoreturn wrote:
Sorry I’m going against the tide here, the dealer acted to quickly .There was no signed contract ,he should have waited till the vehicle was paid for before replacing the $35.00 part.

If the OP said I’ll buy this truck if you paint it orange, do you guys think the dealer would have painted it with out being paid for? I understand a $35 gasket and a paint job don’t cost the same I am saying if the paint job were made as part of the deal.So the way I see it dealer was angry truck did not get sold, kept money out of spite, OP could have said don’t do anything till my wife looks at it..
Generally everything in life is a learning experience. This one cost $135 to the OP and a potential customer to the dealer.I was in business for many years,I personally would have taken the time and found another truck for the OP to buy. But that’s just the way I think.

Well OP put a deposit, and stated they would buy if the dealer replaced the door gasket/seal. I would think for the dealership to take a deposit would require at least a simple deposit agreement.
I doubt very much the retail on the door gasket is $35 and labor to replace. Granted the dealer just improved saleablity of the truck, but might sold without fixing!
Just call it a life lesson!

[Bird_Freak]

Seems to be a few folks here that have no idea how a dealership really works.
If the door rubber really cost the dealer $35.00 which I really doubt. That would be cost to the parts dept. They would then mark it up to the used car dept and then add more to the service dept. Of course this imaginary $35.00 is just a guess made by someone here. I was raised in dealerships and its amazing how many times a part is marked up. Each dept will make a profit on it.

[philh]

contract has two parts, offer and acceptance.

Dealer could keep your whole deposit.

Take the $125 loss as a lesson learned!

[2edgesword]

nodepositnoreturn wrote:
Sorry I’m going against the tide here, the dealer acted to quickly .There was no signed contract ,he should have waited till the vehicle was paid for before replacing the $35.00 part.

If the OP said I’ll buy this truck if you paint it orange, do you guys think the dealer would have painted it with out being paid for? I understand a $35 gasket and a paint job don’t cost the same I am saying if the paint job were made as part of the deal.So the way I see it dealer was angry truck did not get sold, kept money out of spite, OP could have said don’t do anything till my wife looks at it..
Generally everything in life is a learning experience. This one cost $135 to the OP and a potential customer to the dealer.I was in business for many years,I personally would have taken the time and found another truck for the OP to buy. But that’s just the way I think.

How do you know there was no signed contract? Did the buyer just hand $500 in cash or a check or have his credit card charged and get nothing in writing as proof that the deposit was given? I must of missed that in the thread.

I think in some situations paying a deposit is equated with entering into a legal contract. Beyond that, in my opinion your word is a contract. Yes, I'm well aware of the status of things in this day and age but if the words come out of my mouth it's going to happen unless I get hit by a bus.

[2edgesword]

jfkmk wrote:

2edgesword wrote:

captnjack wrote:

2edgesword wrote:
The deposit is the cost of removing the vehicle from the market. You forfeit the deposit if you back out of the deal. I think the dealer is letting you off lightly by just charging the cost of the new rubber.

"the cost of removing the vehicle from the market"

What does that even mean? Sounds a little like "dealer speak" to me.

Plus I doubt they would "remove it" until it actually sold (deal done and closed out and vehicle fully paid for).

It means that the vehicle is sold pending some final approval. It means the dealer can't commit to selling the vehicle to anyone else for some period of time. If someone came in and was willing to pay cash on the spot for the vehicle an HONEST dealer would tell the person he is not allow to accept the offer pending the outcome of the agreement with the person that left the deposit.

The dealers don’t take the vehicle off the market. In the unlikely event that this old vehicle actually had two interested parties in the same night, I’m sure they would told the next customer that someone had a deposit on it and they would call back if the deal fell through.

That’s what happened to me years ago when I was purchasing a car. The other person DID buy the car, and I wound up buying a different car from the same dealer.

The op called back first thing the next morning. It’s not like he left the dealer hanging for a week. And it’s not like he was buying an exotic highly sought after vehicle that the dealer put thousands into at his request. It was a cheap piece of rubber they were probably going to need to replace anyway.

Actually your statement confirms that the vehicle was off the market. If it was on the market there would be no need to refuse the new offer even temporarily. Suppose in the meantime the other person moved on to buy a different vehicle. The point is, likely or not, while the dealer is hold the deposit he is NOT free to sell the vehicle to anyone else.