rsx_r04

Hi all,

As some of you know, I purchased a PWP 2004 TSX 6 speed subject to financing @ 3.9%.

Well, I got approved for financing as my dad agreed to cosign it. The car (thus the contract) is under my name.

Anyhow, there has been a recent death in our family () and my dad is not in a position to help me out (family problems).

Since I barely make enough money to cover for the payments (my brother is supposed to help me out with it), I figured that I would not get approved for financing and that I can obtain my $1,000 (Canadian) deposit back.

I talked with the business office people and he would not return my deposit saying that I was clearly approved for financing (it was NOT me, it was my dad) and that he wouldn't be able to get the deposit back for me. Is he right? Seems like he just wants to keep the thousand bucks for him, doesn稚 it?

Anyhow, I was trying to reason with him but he hung up the phone on me! I was very shocked by how I was treated. I called my dealer right away and he was stunned as well, though he said that in order to get my deposit back, I would have to talk to business office, and that he would talk to that person himself. I知 still waiting for their call.

The dealer, by the way, is Lougheed Acura in Coquitlam, BC.

The person @ business office who hung up the phone on me is Tom.

I知 very appalled by his disrespectful behaviour. The last thing I expected was for them to hang up on me while I知 saying something over the phone.

What shall I do? I need your help guys. Especially since there's been a death in our family, and I知 not even getting the car that I love, and now on top of all this, I get rude treatment.

Please help your fellow TSX lover. I知 very grateful for all your support, and will appreciate all the advice you can give me.

Thank you,

Rsx_r04

bgillette

if YOU cannot afford the car....you should have not bought it.

i'm sorry to say that, but its the truth

humperdood

First and foremost, let me be the first to apologize for your loss. I know you must be going through a very hard time right now, not to mention what a prick Tom is being. Since you did not actually BUY the car, the dealer needs to give you your money back. Threaten him with legal action. Contact the Canadian equivalent of the BBB and give them your case. Like I said, you just got approved for financing, you didn't buy the car (unless there is something else you're not telling us). I assume the dealer did not state explicitly that the deposit was non-refundable. Hopefully you can come out of this situation with the money.


On another note, this is why I would never co-sign any type of loan. The person can just stop paying the payments, thus ruining your credit. If you need a co-signer, you need to work on your credit rating first (or save the money for a car so that you don't have to finance, or even, better yet, get a very small loan and start to build up your credit rating).

stuckthrotle

sorry about your loss.If you didnt take delivery of the car id try to get it back.i only put a $500 deposit down, even then i was damn sure the i wanted and could afford the car.sounds like you got in bit above ur head.if you can barely make the payments how did you expect to pay for insurance,gas,maintainace. i hope you didnt sign any contracts i didnt sign until the day i got the car.

rsx_r04

I was utmost certain that i would be getting this car. I had no idea that there would be this family emergency.

Please keep the suggestions coming.

I know i could barely afford the car... i guess i'll have to wait until i can really afford it on my own.

BTW, my dad has yet to sign the papers to make the contract official and binding, and thus far, i'm the only one on the contract and i can guarantee that they wouldn't approve me for the loan.

Yes, the reason why i'm not getting the deposit back is because they said it's non-refundable as long as i (me, RSX, NOT my dad!) get approved.

Thanks for your inputs, guys.

rsx_r04

Don't be sorry.

Shit happens.

Please keep the suggestions coming.

rsx_r04

I was paying my entire salary on the car, and my brother was going to cover the rest. The car would be insured under his name (he'd be the primary driver, and me secondary), and since first 2 maintenace is free, i didn't have to worry about it.

I'll be working like crazy during Christmas break, and would've earned more than enough to cover for gas and future maintenance cost for the car until i graduated. I already have a decent job lined up after graduation.

I grad next June, but start work end of April.

The reason i went for a nice car now is 'cuz i got an awesome deal and the interest rate is only 3.8% as oppose to being 6.3%.

I'm not sure if you would consider my situation as stretching myself too thin?

lokman

rsx_r04, sorry to hear about your loss - I hope everything in your family situation will work itself out.

With respect to the financing, you AND your dad have both been approved for the financing as he has co-signed, meaning that if you can't make the payments, the lender just goes to your dad - if your dad doesn't pay then his credit gets affected as well. The loan is your dad's as much as it is yours.

That said, have you explained to the original salesman who sold you the car about the death in your family and the change in situation? They may be a lot more understanding if that's the case and may allow you to cancel the deal and get your deposit back. Be calm and understanding with them, try not to escalate your level of behaviour to Tom. Tom might not have been in a position to get your deposit back for you. Also, to Tom there is no distinction between you and your dad on the loan, therefore your argument to him probably didn't make much sense to him - the loan was approved and your dad co-signed so legally he doesn't care if you can't make the payments since then it goes to your dad (see first paragraph).

I'm not sure about whether everything is a done deal legally, but if you haven't taken delivery and possession of the car yet, then I say you have a good chance at trying to work this out.

Good luck.

edit: Your follow up posts made things a bit clearer. If your dad hasn't signed anything yet, then it sounds like the financing has not yet been approved, in which case if you don't get approved on your own, then you get the deposit back. Sounds simple enough. So your dad was originally going to co-sign, but didn't get around to it before the family emergency?

rsx_r04

Thanks all for your support.

Yes lokman, my dad has not yet signed the deal, so the contract is thus not binding. There's no contract with him. And since i've signed the papers i know i won't get approved due to my limited monthly income.

Tom (who is not a dealer) is form busiess office and i guess he is just pissed that he worked "hard" for this deal (if anything, my dealer should be pissed off 'cuz he is not getting any sort of commission, yet he's so very understanding).

Tom is pissed 'cuz i'm not buying the car (yet, atleast) and that he doesn't get any commission for his minimal work. That's pathetic.

The fact that he hung up on me got me quite frustrated.

gfxdave99

Can you give me his number? I think we as a board should annoy the fuck out of this dealer till they give you your money back, (or at least most of it)

See the point of a non-rufundable deposit is to prevent people from just saying they want the car, forking over a grand and then changing their mind and then the dealer might lose a sale because somebody was jerking their chain.

You on the other hand had full intention of purchasing the car and had an unfortunate life event that prevents you from completing the transaction. In this scenerio although they may have the 'right' to keep your money due to the documents you signed I think its fucking disgusting and dispicable that they are trying to.

I will be glad to call Tom and give him my 2c

rsx_r04

I totally agree with you about non-refundable deposit.

BTW, you've a PM.

samir786

Talk to his manager, and if that doesn't work, call the customer service 800#. I'm sure they will be able to resolve your issue without having them hanging the phone on you. I hope you gave a check, if so, you can do a stop payment. Or if it was through a credit card, dispute the charge. If all else fails, i agree with gfxdave99. he should get at least 10 calls/day until he refunds the money. got his cell number too?

blackjackman

My condolescence to your loss. dude.
I am not sure i understand if the "biz office" and dealer are related or totally separate entities.

I don't have much to suggest. Just that if phones don't work go in person.
One thing I strongly suggest is first do your homework and when dealing with them be FIRM but not NASTY or threatening. What I mean is unless you have some Soprano goon buddies do not get rough. Keep a cool head & be civilized but be firm and persistent.

rsx_r04

Thanks.

The business office is part of the dealership. My dealer said don't worry about the car, just take care and that come to him when i'm gonna buy the TSX next summer.

The Tom guy is from the business office and he is pissed but i do not know why. Seems like he took his anger out on me for something else?

I wrote them a nice letter saying please give me my deposit and i also told them about the incident.

If they don't get back to me within the next few days, i've planned of writing another letter.

If they still don't get back to me, it'll be time to contact Honda Canada, in which case i'll post the letter here first and ask for your suggestions, again.

Keep the suggestions coming, please. I can use all the help/criticism here.

zircon

Sorry to hear of your loss.

I have mixed feelings about this. Deposits are used to keep people from backing out of deals for whatever reason, and they do have your money.

On the other hand, if your dad has not signed, then officially you are the only person who can be held accountable for the contract (did you sign one?). If you did (as it sounds), they can try to squeeze you to live up to the contract. If your finances are soft, you may indeed fail their means test. In that case, you should get your money back.

I am surprised that they are squeezing you, as the car (same set-up as mine) is selling well. Then again, I don't think Acura dealers run a good ship.

You mght have to split the difference with them or some other type of compromise. Good luck.

sipark

I hope everything works out for you.

sauceman

Damn, I'm sorry about your loss, and please accept my most sincere condolences.

Now, I'm not an expert on the matter, but the way it looks, the sale isn't a closed deal, and so you should be able to recover your deposit. I know I've once recovered a deposit on a car for a much less solid argument.

Good luck, and I wish you the best.

rsx_r04

Thank you all for your sincere suggestions.

On one hand, i'm really sad about what's happening in my life, and on the other hand, i do feel sorry for the dealer.

I'm not too upset about the car as i know i can afford it in the near future. Waiting is no problem for me.

Yes, i did sign the paper, and like zircon mentioned, i would certainly fail their means test as they would not approve me for the loan.

Once again, thank you all.

McGriddle

I'll chime in here as well. Again, sorry to hear about the loss in your family.

About the deposit: I'm not sure from your posts... was the deposit considered non-refundable? That is, is is specifically written in your contract that it is non-refundable? If not, then you should have every right to obtain your deposit back. If it is clearly stated that it is non-refundable, then you may be stuck. Deposits are clearly meant as a means to prevent one party from backing out of an agreement, regardless of the situation.

Still, that doesn't mean that they might not understand and return your deposit given that you can clearly not be approved for financing alone. You may want to simply state to them to run your credit check alone since your father will no longer cosign for you.

That aside, in my opinion, you should definitely look into buying a car that better fits your budget! Of course, you could just wait a little while until after graduation to get your TSX (after saving up a bit for it). That might be more sensible.

stuckthrotle

i wouldn't really feel sorry for the dealer.If they have apply that much pressure to get a sale maybe you should go to another one.you should feel you have a good relationship with the dealer since you will be get service from them for as long as you have the car.

During the time i was shoping for cars i walked out on a few deals due to poor service, pressure tactics and just pure bs(like vw trying to charge $1400 for freight and pdi).

rsx_r04

Well, it would be nice to have a car now, rather than asking ride from my dad or taking my bro's car out on weekends.

But yes, the contract which i signed said that the deposit is non-refundable so long as i (me, not my dad) get approved for financing.

I think i should've just simply said to them that my dad will no longer co-sign, and that would've solved all the problems.

My dealer, Spencer, was understanding. Though i could tell that he is fake as well.

Freakin' Lougheed Acura dealers.

How was everybody treated by their dealers? Were they sincere or could you tell that they just want the sale and don't really care about you?

DGH

I echo the sentiments of others about your loss and your nasty situation at the dealership.

If you only need it for weekends, and only need it for less than a year, why not just buy an old beater now to tide you over? Especially if you are successful in getting your $1k back. Obviously not what you want but might solve your temporary problem.