How do i get my deposit back?

[ricky6791]

So earlier this month I was looking for an frs and found a dealership who was going to receive one by the end of the month. I put a 500 deposit and waited. So today it arrives but my life has changed since the beginning of the month due to a possible career change. So I ended up not pulling the trigger on the car and salesman said deposit was non refundable. so I want to know what's the best way to go about getting my deposit back? I used a credit card and I'm wondering if I should call the credit card company or just keep contacting the dealership. I also never signed anything besides the credit application. The deposit was done over the phone.

[pinoyplaya]

Originally Posted by ricky6791

So earlier this month I was looking for an frs and found a dealership who was going to receive one by the end of the month. I put a 500 deposit and waited. So today it arrives but my life has changed since the beginning of the month due to a possible career change. So I ended up not pulling the trigger on the car and salesman said deposit was non refundable. so I want to know what's the best way to go about getting my deposit back? I used a credit card and I'm wondering if I should call the credit card company or just keep contacting the dealership. I also never signed anything besides the credit application. The deposit was done over the phone.

Call them and if you paid with a credit card, you may have to go to the dealer and swipe your card even though you gave them the credit card number.

But the deposit should be fully refundable.

I find it surprising that other cars/dealers (not for BRZ or FRS) have non refundable deposits.

[encity5]

Need something in writing saying the deposit is refundable. Otherwise its going to be harder to prove your entitled and agreed to a refundable deposit.

Usually dealerships will say if they cant get exactly the car you ask and agree upon, they can refund your deposit.

But it sounds like they got you the car you requested and your changing your mind now, at which point having In writing or some form of documentation that you are entitled to a refundable deposit will be most helpful.

Since you cant really argue that the dealer didnt get the car you ask for without adding senseless addons and crap.

[ricky6791]

The only form I have that mentions the deposit says that a $1000 minimum deposit is non refundable. I only did 500.

[FRSowner]

Call the dealership and ask to speak to the sales manager. Explain the situation and be apologetic as you are the one breaking the agreement. Ask to have the deposit refunded. Try to be nice. If they refuse, mention that you can call your credit card company and do a chargeback and that will cost them money (it does - there's a fee levied on the seller for all chargebacks). If necessary, maybe agree to a partial refund. If not, call the credit company, say the car is not exactly what you specified and request that a chargeback be done.
If you've had the card for years, they will be on your side 100%. If you just received the card recently, they might not go to bat for you as much.

[ZeN6]

I though the $500 deposit was refundable. It was for me. But a deposit down for a dealer, my car got bumped back to another 2 months. Found one two hours away. Got back my depsit from the first dealer.

[FBaxteR-S]

The only case in which all or part of the deposit will not be refundable is if the dealership has incurred costs related to this vehicle as a result of you ordering it and then backing out of the agreement.

These costs could include but are not limited to things such as washing/detailing, licensing and registration, gasoline, etc.

If it just arrived today (yesterday), I would be quick to say I doubt they have done any or all of the things that could reduce your deposit. Even if they have spent $50 on the vehicle, you are still entitled to $450. As FRSowner mentioned, speak to the sales manager, be apologetic and civil (as he is likely not the one who wronged you to this point) and explain your situation. If he fails to comply, ask them what the $500 was spent on and why you can't receive it back (they WILL sell this car, to you or someone else - and quickly). Contacting your credit card issuer will also be a good second-stage escalation.

Good luck! Keep us informed so that others in potentially similar situations can learn (and because we're rooting for you).

[Hix]

Unless you signed a contract saying the deposit is not refundable they are required to give it back to you. If they do not do a charge back with your debit or credit card company.

[jadewbj]

Ask for it from the sales manager, if they refuse call the credit card company and dispute it. It becomes the vendors responsibility to prove the validity of the charge. Unless they have a signed contract with you stating that the deposit is not refundable they credit card company will side with you. They side with the consumer almost all the time.

[ToxicSneakers]

Buyer deposit funds are always refunded prior to sale. A down payment is also refundable in instance of seller non-performance. A judgement would include your costs of process - maybe more if the seller acted in bad faith.

[FT-86GOD]

No matter what happens be sure to post what happens so others can learn from this issue..

And good luck.......

[Books]

I hope everything works out! This is just another obstacle when buying a car, and in this case you just weren't careful enough. It's much like signing papers without getting an agreed price (or even reading the fine print), you've locked yourself in and it's going to be very hard to get out. But the only difference is that they've done everything on their end correctly and you are, in a sense, screwing them over (I know, i'm sure the car will easily sell)

In some states, all deposits are refundable by law so you need to check that. I'm just going to say that this is going to be tough, since you essentially signed the papers without reading the fine print (you had the right to ask whatever questions you wanted before giving them your credit card info over the phone). If you were to look at the deposit receipt fine print (at least for me), the act of them charging my card was my "agreement" ("By charging this card, you agree to... blah blah blah") and in your case, doing it over the phone they were "acting as you" (or whatever legal jargon).

I know it's going to suck but you will need to push really hard on the dealer. And just an FYI, despite all the suggestions to go through your credit card company, from my experience the same thing happened to my friend (it was for some cheap car, stuff happened, couldn't afford a new car) and he wasn't able to get his $200 deposit back (chargeback didn't even work, after the credit card company investigated). The only difference was that he was there in person and signed the usual credit card receipt, but I believe legally it's the same as doing it over the phone. (disclaimer: i'm not a lawyer) I just wanted to give you a heads up. Good luck!

[Stu baru]

Good advice on the "refundable unless expressly stated otherwise" comment. Besides, this was a car they had on their inbound inventory regardless. All you did was put a dibs on it and then decided otherwise.

[thermobox]

Some dealers are starting to make the deposits non-refundable due to so many customers cancelling orders. We (Dealers) get penalized for every car that is delivered outside of the original Order Form customer.

So if Joe X orders the car and we deliver it to Jane Y, then we can be penalized that type/model of car in our next allocation of vehicles. There is a percentage of false deliveries that we are allowed until they exceed a certain percentage.

There is nothing in/at Subaru that states that the deposit is refundable. This would be a dealer to dealer, case by case basis.

Most "reputable" dealers will make the deposit 100% refundable. Some will not.

You will need something in writing stating that your deposit was refundable or you can stand on a soap box and yell until they give it back.

Either way, Good Luck and let us know how this turns out.