About to put a deposit down, does that guarantee the car is mine?
 

The car I want won't arrive until another month and I'm willing to put a deposit down but i'm just worried that if they find someone who's willing to offer more, they'll sell it to them or make something up. I'm not haggling on the price at all since it's already cheaper than the local dealers here.

Oh i'm buying out of state of as well.

In my experience, a deposit means nothing.

They do whatever they want... Best bet is to read up on the dealer and see what other peoples experiences have been. And cross your fingers.

I pre ordered a car nearly half a year in advance, and frequently kept up to speed on the order process... vin number... build date... shipping date etc.. etc..

The day it arrived they posted my car up for sale on craigslist. And almost had someone come in and snake it.

They lied to me non stop about everything, I had to get all the info myelf.

That was with 5,000 down, and I was paying the full balance in cash @ MSRP.

Most dealerships I've been through have been so shady.

Only look at it this way:

It is only yours when the final sales agreement is signed by both parties and the vehicle is registered in your name. Others might say it is really only yours when one does not owe the 'bank' any more $$$.$$.

It might mean something if you have a vin...

Did you have a signed contract on the vehicle? Also, what make and model of car was it?

To my understanding in MO if you have a signed intent to purchase they have to reserve the car for you.

According to post #2, apparently not.

Placing a deposit does not necessarily = a binding contract.

I ordered mine, got it the day it got to the dealer. I never heard of issues with dealers.

I'm not a lawyer but there are three parts to a contract, an offer, acceptance and consideration. You offer to buy the car for MSRP, they accept and you give them a deposit (consideration). In return they give you a written acknowledgement of your deposit. I'm not saying there can't be a screw-up at a dealership with all that goes on there but I can't imagine a dealership wanting to put themselves in a position of being liable for violation of a contract. I know it certainly worked for me.

It doesn't "guarantee" but if you have a verbal agreement on price and the car comes in undamaged and you still want it then it should be yours no problem.

Deposit shows you're interested. That's all.

They can lock down the vin number so the dealership doesnt sale it. Ask them to do thay

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Ahh up here you don't just put a deposit down neccessarily. You can write up the whole deal at the time of deposit. I did, but in my case the car was on the lot and will sit for more than 2 months before I take delivery. (4 weeks to go)

The original car I ordered (another dealer) they wrote up the whole deal, sat me down with finance the works and took my deposit.

Good suggestions.

Specifically ask for a buyer's order with all details listed:
Make/model
Vin
Options
Total price
Price w/tax
Deposit amt
Total due upon delivery.

Good luck

When I ordered my car I was going to be out of country for an extended period of time. I let my sales rep know this and we wrote up an agreement on the car and proceeded with ordering the car. I put the bare minimum I could for the car, $500. We kept in contact during my time away and everything he said to me matched with SOA. I was feeling good about everything. Up until December when delivery was supposed to take place. SOA was still telling me Dec, the dealer was saying upwards towards end of Jan. So finally the last week of Dec, SOA emails me a VIN. Saying it has arrived at port and is on a train. I call the dealer and they confirmed. Needless to say it got there in 12 days and my sales rep never tried selling the car to anyone under the table. I got it for MSRP. What I am getting at is I was always in contact with the sales rep. I emailed him on a bi-weekly basis. I always got a reply. If you order the car, just keep in contact so they know you are still buying it. If I was a sales rep and had an order taken but never heard from the person for an extended period of time, I would start to try and sell the car as well.