Zyuan10

Yay or Nay?

Have anyone/you put down a deposit before to a car dealership so they could get you the car of your choice (since it's not on the lot)? any opinion on such experience?

Is it usually a bad idea? (not recommended) or is there really no significant harm except the hassle of demanding a refund if you decided you don't want the car even after the long wait?

I'm asking about deposit using credit card.

It seems like I would have to put a deposit for my TSX because my color choices aren't carbon grey or silver.

PACman

I put a deposit down for mine. It was an act of goodwill that I am serious about purchasing my car in the way I wanted my car to be. But they never charged my credit card.

cmschmie

I did the same, but wrote out a check. They only had one CGP/Quartz MT and I wouldn't be able to get back to the dealership till the end of the next week. Besides, that deposit goes towards your down payment.

In that time I set up insurance, financing and sold my "current" car.

Car was ready when I went back and was at the dealership for a little less than an hour.

LuvMyTSX

I put $1000 deposit down on my credit card as well. It goes towards your down payment so it's not a big deal. Just make sure it's refundable in case you change your mind or something doesn't go right.

jliggy

I too put down a deposit last week because they did not have my vehicle color choice (black on black) on the lot. Dealer wanted $500 said I'll leave you a $100 as good faith. If for what ever reason the deal fell thru and stealership gave me an agrument on returning my dep. I'd only take $100 risk. In my eyes why give them more than necessary, I'd rather be collecting the interest instead of them on my hard earn cash or paying f/c on the CC

Reach

Since I originally asked the dealer to truck in 2 different cars, I agreed to put down $1k on my CC, with the express agreement that it was refundable in the event I went somewhere else.

I would not mind putting down any refundable deposit, but would stay away from any non-refundable deposits.

gftgrill

I put a 500 refundable deposit on my cc. and got 1% cash back.

the dealerships do it to make sure you're serious about buying the car so they know that you're not wasting their time. if you can afford the 500 just have it taken off of the price of the car. otherwise ask for it back when you finance the car. though if you can't afford 500 to deposit, you might need to consider a cheaper car.

Tex929rr

Never.

I've ordered a truck from the factory with no deposit (8 weeks build time) and another (out of state) dealer held a Corvette for two weeks based on a phone call.

msbesq

Gave the dealer $1500 in a check, which they held, because my 05 took three months to build and ship.

Zoopa

You just opened a whole can of memories....I put $500 in September '05 so I could get a Milano red/ebony 6-spd w/navi model. The car arrived seven-months later!!! Despite my calling the dealer every two weeks to check up on he status, after three months they notified me that they accidentally never placed the order!!! Despite the problem, I didn't want another car, so I waited for my car to come in.

If you do this, get verification like the VIN# of your car. The dealer has access to it after the car is built in Japan.

1Louder

All they're trying to do is provide some kind of hook so that you don't go find what you want somewhere else and buy it while you're waiting for theirs. Clearly they don't want to be stuck with the inventory they order for you if you go elsewhere. So it's not totally unreasonable or out of the question that they ask.

I would, however, demand (IN WRITING) that the deposit is refundable if they do not produce your car by a certain date, or if any terms or conditions of the deal change.

You have a negotiated deal that you can really take to another dealer and have a good chance of them matching it, so make the dealer document the condisions of the deal they must meet so you're not waiting around for 9 months.

Zoopa

Yeah that's funny. Every dealer I went to had like 20 carbon grey, but never had white, blue or milano red.

clee109

It's ok to put down the deposit and since I know where you're buying it =P, they should have you the car in a matter of a day or two typically unless it's a special order from the factory, but typically a couple days if it's at another dealership in state. It doesn't effect the deal at all, just goes towards your down payment.