Should I refund a deposit for a classic used car sale?

[900dukess]

I am after everybody thoughts?

I advertised a classic ford for sale and after a few phone calls and sending extra detailed photos etc the purchaser offered a $500 deposit which I took.

I also took the car around for somebody else to do a pre-purchase inspection on the buyers behalf which was all good and the buyer wanted the car.

Anyway long story short the purchaser can't get the required funds to complete the purchase and I was wondering if I should refund his deposit or should I just keep it as payment for the extra running around etc I did for him.

The purchaser offered the deposit which I took

The purchaser said it would only take a couple of days to transfer the money to my account as he said he already had the money (which after many messages etc back and forth has extended to almost 5 weeks).

I removed the car from being advertised at his request after receiving the deposit (and thus I will have to re-advertise and re-pay advertising fees etc)

What is everybody thoughts, keep the deposit and call it a f##k around tax or give it back.

He hasn't asked for it back yet.

[PaulXR50]

Guess you could ask how would you feel if in same case. You don't mention if is young fella or older.

I guess if they don't ask then is yours, if they do i would send them $400 keep a $100 for stuff around cost.

[PridenJoy]

I wouldn't keep all of it. Just an amount proportional to the extra time and effort you spent on going out of your way.

[Pepscobra]

I was in the reverse position recently as a buyer.
The seller kindly refunded the deposit.
I think what goes around comes around.

[FG50T]

Keep all of it.

[Iggle Piggle]

What was the purpose of the deposit and what did you write on the receipt (did you do a receipt)?

Were you to hold the car / withdraw it from sale for a certain period of time or til a certain date?

Was there any mention of what happens to deposit if old mate couldn't come up with the balance?

Considered he was selling a similar classic Ford and wanted yours off the market? His now sold...can't get finance, can I have my deposit back?

[CoupeKing]

Originally Posted by PridenJoy

I wouldn't keep all of it. Just an amount proportional to the extra time and effort you spent on going out of your way.

^This. Plus an additional $25.00 for a Parma and Pint.

[Craig@AUDI]

Depends how easily you reckon your "Classic Ford" would resell again too.

[Rallye Sport]

Keep it for your time and hassle. Why would you look at or commit to buy a car when you don't have the funds. Sounds like a bit of a numpty...

[MITCHAY]

I reckon keep costs incurred and refund the difference if any. Are you allowed to do that without a written and signed contract of some sort anyway?

I wouldn't keep a deposit if it didn't actually cost me anything.

[900dukess]

He didn't ask for a receipt or no mention of what would happen to the deposit as he was confident about going ahead with the purchase.

I do feel a bit sorry for him as he was super excited about the purchase however I did invest a considerable amount of time sending extra photos, getting the third party inspection done etc.

I think I will consider it for a couple of days and maybe just give him his deposit back but he did take a fair bit of time to get back to me about not going ahead with the purchase.

Anyway I have re-advertised it and awaiting the usual time waster phone calls and text messages from tyre kickers, I can understand why people use auction houses now to sell their classic/collectables.

[Mont5.0]

The deposit was paid so you would remove the car from sale.
If he has forfeited on paying the rest, or cant pay the rest, then i believe the deposit is all yours.
What you choose to do with it is up to you.

[Mont5.0]

Originally Posted by 900dukess

He didn't ask for a receipt or no mention of what would happen to the deposit as he was confident about going ahead with the purchase.

I do feel a bit sorry for him as he was super excited about the purchase however I did invest a considerable amount of time sending extra photos, getting the third party inspection done etc.

I think I will consider it for a couple of days and maybe just give him his deposit back but he did take a fair bit of time to get back to me about not going ahead with the purchase.

Anyway I have re-advertised it and awaiting the usual time waster phone calls and text messages from tyre kickers, I can understand why people use auction houses now to sell their classic/collectables.

what is it? got any pics?
You might find being on a Ford Forum could be the place to advertise...

[Cav]

Some good opinions there.

I doubt if I will ever sell a car online - too many scammers.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by Mont5.0

The deposit was paid so you would remove the car from sale.
If he has forfeited on paying the rest, or cant pay the rest, then i believe the deposit is all yours.
What you choose to do with it is up to you.

I always thought that was the purpose of a deposit. A time frame is usually included. The car can't be not for sale and not payed for forever. I bought mine from a dealer in 2010, signed the paper for the deposit. 1% of the purchase price which $200. They took it off carsales. Milled it over for a night, checked the interweb 100 times to see if a better one had come up. Went back the next day with proof of income and sorted the finance and drove it home. I knew that if something better came up then losing the money wasn't an issue. It was clearly stated on the paper I signed. The fact the car in the op had had some money and time spent after the deposit makes it seem more of a reason to keep it. The buyer obviously wanted the car but did no background work into if they could afford it. That's their problem. The time off the market may have let others buy a different car not the one that was held back by the deposit taken.

[Tassie f100]

I guess legally you could keep all of the deposit but morally I think you should be able to do a bit of a deal with the "buyer". Maybe suggest keeping a couple of hundred bucks to cover your running around and maybe potentially a lost sale.

[OzriderXR8]

Originally Posted by 900dukess

I am after everybody thoughts?

I advertised a classic ford for sale and after a few phone calls and sending extra detailed photos etc the purchaser offered a $500 deposit which I took.

I also took the car around for somebody else to do a pre-purchase inspection on the buyers behalf which was all good and the buyer wanted the car.

Anyway long story short the purchaser can't get the required funds to complete the purchase and I was wondering if I should refund his deposit or should I just keep it as payment for the extra running around etc I did for him.

The purchaser offered the deposit which I took

The purchaser said it would only take a couple of days to transfer the money to my account as he said he already had the money (which after many messages etc back and forth has extended to almost 5 weeks).

I removed the car from being advertised at his request after receiving the deposit (and thus I will have to re-advertise and re-pay advertising fees etc)

What is everybody thoughts, keep the deposit and call it a f##k around tax or give it back.

He hasn't asked for it back yet.

I've been in a similar position with a motorcycle, I had sold it, as far as I was concerned, and cleared the finance I had on it so I could sell it with a clear title. The day before he was due to pick it up he texted me and said a family member was sick and he couldn't buy it. Obviously bullsh$t as he wouldn't answer his phone....

So I was $5K out of pocket clearing the finance and had his $500 deposit in my pocket....did I refund it? What do you think?

Luckily I sold it a week later to someone who had wanted one for years and his wife was buying it for him as a 60th birthday present.

[Kryton]

Whats the point of a deposit if you give it back?
How do you know you wouldnt have sold it if it was still advertised in the time frame he was stuffing around?
its not your problem he didnt get his funds sorted before he committed to a purchase.

[xr8territory]

Originally Posted by OzriderXR8

I've been in a similar position with a motorcycle, I had sold it, as far as I was concerned, and cleared the finance I had on it so I could sell it with a clear title. The day before he was due to pick it up he texted me and said a family member was sick and he couldn't buy it. Obviously bullsh$t as he wouldn't answer his phone....

So I was $5K out of pocket clearing the finance and had his $500 deposit in my pocket....did I refund it? What do you think?

Luckily I sold it a week later to someone who had wanted one for years and his wife was buying it for him as a 60th birthday present.

you made a mistake as well, clearing your finance in advance relying on others good will. his good will changed unexpectedly, as did yours.
And you boast you sold it next week as well.
So what is your point. You profited from sale and took his money as well.
and still having a whinge.

[MattstaF6]

If you refund it. Then whats the point of a deposit?

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

I guess legally you could keep all of the deposit but morally I think you should be able to do a bit of a deal with the "buyer". Maybe suggest keeping a couple of hundred bucks to cover your running around and maybe potentially a lost sale.

I also personally would be stuck in the moral dilemma, but that's just me always trying to be the nice guy. The purpose of a deposit still remains though. If you show interest and claim to come back with the money with no deposit and 10 minutes later someone rocks up with the cash in hand. Then it's now theirs. It's pretty black and white. The deposit was paid as a promise to buy the car. Turns out it was a cheque they couldn't cash. There isn't any risk of that happening if you know what you have or have spoken to the bank and know what you can borrow then shop to your budget. It's a life lesson to the person who couldn't afford it. Yes they might get a little burnt, but next time they will be smarter about it. Give it back to be nice then go about selling again, whats not to say they won't reuse the cash and have the same issue on the next car they find.

[xr8territory]

When I sold my GT, everybody wanted it. I had many, many people come and look, I took them for a drive, me driving, them passenger. No deposits. bloke turned up one day with money. bloke drove away with car. No problems.

[OzriderXR8]

Originally Posted by xr8territory

you made a mistake as well, clearing your finance in advance relying on others good will. his good will changed unexpectedly, as did yours.
And you boast you sold it next week as well.
So what is your point. You profited from sale and took his money as well.
and still having a whinge.

I did the right thing, clearing finance on a vehicle so a purchaser could re register it with no issues. Goodwill has nothing to do with it, a deposit paid is a contract to purchase.

I didn't profit of anything, I was just lucky....

Anyway, what's your problem, it wasn't you that backed out the day before you had organised to pick it up was it?

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by Cav

Some good opinions there.

I doubt if I will ever sell a car online - too many scammers.

Scammers aren't that bad, they are easy to spot so you just ignore them or tell them the cars has already sold.
The worst people are people who ring you up and say "I'll be there at 4pm" and you never see or here from them again.

[FPV+fteT3]

I would return the majority of the deposit less any costs to myself. There may be good reasons for the cash not to be available I wouldn't want to be responsible for putting anyone in financial hardship. I am sure most have committed to buying or doing something then before its finalised something unforeseen pops up.
Selling cars can be a pita with time wasters and low ballers.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by xr8territory

When I sold my GT, everybody wanted it. I had many, many people come and look, I took them for a drive, me driving, them passenger. No deposits. bloke turned up one day with money. bloke drove away with car. No problems.

Thats the power of being prepared with cash. Cash is king. I did get finance on my car (paid off early) but my old man was in the finance game and did the maths in the background and it was never going to be a problem. I spent more time bartering for a towbar without taking the cost out of my trade in then the finance. A sack with a dollar sign may have saved me half an hour to get finance approved, but I came through on the deposit and promise to buy the car. The dealer held up their end of the bargain and took it off carsales. Had a better car come up in the time I had with the deposit on, I would have gone out and got it and not been concerned about the deposit spent.

[cro142]

Over the years I have been on both sides of this issue. Recently I paid a $500 deposit on a car I was buying for a young nephew. His pre-approved finance was withdrawn when they discovered the car (2006 Landcruiser 100 V8), had done 204,000km and their limit was 200,000km. Silly, as we all know that a 200,000km Landcruiser is still very healthy!!

So I had to pull out of the sale for a genuine reason, but the seller would not refund the deposit. In the end I wore the $500 as my nephew was thin on funds and couldn't really afford to cop the loss. It left a very bitter taste in my mouth, and I considered the lady seller to be a pig.

I have also had another sale fall through and I got my deposit back, no questions. Very happy.

As well, I have refunded deposits when others have pulled out of sales for whatever reason. That's just me - it reduces hassles and so has more value to me than arguing over $500.

As for claiming that you should keep deposits for recompense for your "running around", that is just rubbish. This "running around" is all part of the game of buying and selling cars privately.

If you don't like the running around, go to a dealer and get a "free" cup of coffee, a cheesy smile, a fake handshake, and pay $5K more for the same vehicle and get $5K less for your trade-in. No running around though - it suits some people, so you can choose which way to go.

In other words - Yes, do the right thing and return the deposit.

[Rallye Sport]

Originally Posted by Ben73

Scammers aren't that bad, they are easy to spot so you just ignore them or tell them the cars has already sold.
The worst people are people who ring you up and say "I'll be there at 4pm" and you never see or here from them again.

That one ***** me too. I call them back when I get up for a leak at 3am "Duh are you still coming, cause I'm still of waiting"

[paulie]

Quick google search and this link (yeah its tassie, was 1st one that popped up )

http://www.consumer.tas.gov.au/fair_...motor_vehicles

Has a fairly good explanation of rights etc with deposits.

Seeing as they have no signed receipt/contract then you're in the clear.
It's re-advertised so if they're still keen etc they'd see this and be in touch.
Keep the cash handy for a few weeks and if nothing eventuats then keep it.

[mike_nofx]

How about you agree to refund the deposit once it finally does sell?