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      01-03-2020, 11:29 AM   #1
gpdriver17
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Return of deposit for canceled order?

I ordered a car in June, was told it would arrive in September. By the middle of October they said maybe in November the car would arrive. I needed a car, so I bought another one. When I told the salesman he just said, "I'm at a loss of words. I cannot believe you would do this to us." I asked for the deposit back and he said, "That's between you and my manager. He will reach out to you." It's been several months now, I've emailed them, no response. I cannot go into the dealership because they aren't local. Tried having AMEX pull the money back, they did, then the dealership fought it and took the money back. The contract I signed for the deposit said, "This deposit may be returned in accordance with state law." I know may means it there's only a possibility of it being returned, but it says in accordance with state law. So I assumed the only may about that would be if I requested it back.

Any ideas what to do? Anyone else have a similar experience? It's not like they wont be able to sell the car. I'm not sure why they are making such a big deal out of it.
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      01-03-2020, 12:07 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gpdriver17 View Post
I ordered a car in June, was told it would arrive in September. By the middle of October they said maybe in November the car would arrive. I needed a car, so I bought another one. When I told the salesman he just said, "I'm at a loss of words. I cannot believe you would do this to us." I asked for the deposit back and he said, "That's between you and my manager. He will reach out to you." It's been several months now, I've emailed them, no response. I cannot go into the dealership because they aren't local. Tried having AMEX pull the money back, they did, then the dealership fought it and took the money back. The contract I signed for the deposit said, "This deposit may be returned in accordance with state law." I know may means it there's only a possibility of it being returned, but it says in accordance with state law. So I assumed the only may about that would be if I requested it back.

Any ideas what to do? Anyone else have a similar experience? It's not like they wont be able to sell the car. I'm not sure why they are making such a big deal out of it.
I didn't take delivery of an order back in 2015 from my local dealership. I got a better deal elsewhere (in the same state) on the same car sooner than delivery. It was in CA and they gave me the deposit back. They didn't make a big deal of it and I bought a different series from them (my local dealer) last year. I was told at the time that it was state law for them to give it back. I got it back the day after I asked for it.
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      01-03-2020, 02:13 PM   #3
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Thanks. That's what I thought! This dealership is in Ohio, the contract was signed in California though. Not sure if that matters? The law here in California is that the deposit has to be returned. I talked to a few dealerships here, including the one I bought from and they all said it wasn't a big deal to cancel an order, happens all the time and the deposits are refundable. I feel like they are going to make me take them to court to get it back. Maybe I'll contact the manufacturer (Mercedes) before doing that and see if they'll talk some sense into the dealership...
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      01-03-2020, 02:51 PM   #4
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How much was the deposit and which dealership is this? Dealerships usually don't want the hassle of holding deposits bcos it's against law is most states.
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      01-03-2020, 03:19 PM   #5
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How much was the deposit and which dealership is this? Dealerships usually don't want the hassle of holding deposits bcos it's against law is most states.
It was only 2k, maybe they think I wont bother going to court for it? I don't get it either. The salesmen/sales manager get commission on cars, I doubt they'd see a penny of the deposit. It was Crown Mercedes in Columbus Ohio.
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      01-03-2020, 03:25 PM   #6
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Quote:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vink View Post
How much was the deposit and which dealership is this? Dealerships usually don't want the hassle of holding deposits bcos it's against law is most states.
It was only 2k, maybe they think I wont bother going to court for it? I don't get it either. The salesmen/sales manager get commission on cars, I doubt they'd see a penny of the deposit. It was Crown Mercedes in Columbus Ohio.
2k is a lot of money for deposit. The max I paid ever was $500. Small court claims? Letting it go is just encouraging the dealer to do more. Unfortunately Mercedes doesn't have much control over dealerships on this matter but you can try! I would send legal notice of intent to sue!
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      01-03-2020, 03:56 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gpdriver17 View Post
It was only 2k, maybe they think I wont bother going to court for it? I don't get it either. The salesmen/sales manager get commission on cars, I doubt they'd see a penny of the deposit. It was Crown Mercedes in Columbus Ohio.
I cant believe they would reject the reversal with American Express knowing that you didnt exercise the deposit in the form of purchase/lease. I think deposit rules follow the state so that would be where I would start.

Usually getting to a decision maker is the best. Dont use your salesperson anymore but instead get to the Business Manager or Controller. Those are the employees that value following the law and whats in the spirit of the law even if the letter of the law may allow them to keep the deposit. Again I dont know that state's laws but a Benz store should not be holding 2k for any sort of reason.
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      01-03-2020, 04:14 PM   #8
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Contact the general manager directly about the matter.
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      01-03-2020, 04:48 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by Vic55 View Post
I cant believe they would reject the reversal with American Express knowing that you didnt exercise the deposit in the form of purchase/lease. I think deposit rules follow the state so that would be where I would start.

Usually getting to a decision maker is the best. Dont use your salesperson anymore but instead get to the Business Manager or Controller. Those are the employees that value following the law and whats in the spirit of the law even if the letter of the law may allow them to keep the deposit. Again I dont know that state's laws but a Benz store should not be holding 2k for any sort of reason.
Yeah, the reason I just had AMEX pull the payment back was because I assumed their decision to fight that would go to a decision maker that would be unemotional about it and know they had no right to keep the payment. Apparently I was wrong. Everyone I've tried to contact has ignored me. I'll send a breach of contract letter to their controller and give them 2 weeks to return the money and avoid litigation.

I'll update this thread with how it plays out. Thanks for the help everyone!
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      01-04-2020, 07:35 PM   #10
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Hate to say this, but sounds like you may have been too lenient about this from the beginning.

Never had an issue getting my deposit back from my local BMW ($2K) or Porsche ($5K) in Vegas, even after they said it was not refundable.

But then again production hasn't started for those vehicles, but then also, seems like your dealer failed to deliver the vehicle when promised, making the contract voidable, especially if you made it known that time is of the essence.

What documents did you sign, and what do they say? You got any lawyer friends to quickly put together a demand letter summarizing all that?

Last edited by bMm5w; 01-04-2020 at 07:43 PM..
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      01-10-2020, 02:06 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by DirtyVegasMB View Post
Hate to say this, but sounds like you may have been too lenient about this from the beginning.

Never had an issue getting my deposit back from my local BMW ($2K) or Porsche ($5K) in Vegas, even after they said it was not refundable.

But then again production hasn't started for those vehicles, but then also, seems like your dealer failed to deliver the vehicle when promised, making the contract voidable, especially if you made it known that time is of the essence.

What documents did you sign, and what do they say? You got any lawyer friends to quickly put together a demand letter summarizing all that?
Yeah, I should have had something put in the contract about a date.

The contract basically just says:

I authorize them to charge my credit card for a security deposit.

Please Note:

Your security deposit may be returned back to you in accordance with state law. You may also apply the security deposit towards the purchase of products or service. If requested Crown Mercedes Benz of Dublin may also provide a full refund in the form of a check request.

I don't like the usage of may in the last sentence. Sounds like it's up to them. But in the first sentence, may be, in accordance with state law, sounds like that is the law and the only may about it is if it's requested.

I do, they aren't close friends though and I hate to bug them with legal questions.


Update:

Now that I looked at the rest of the paperwork, it does say the deposit is non-refundable on a different page. I decided to ask my friends girlfriend about it, she's seeing if we can get the contract thrown out somehow.
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      01-10-2020, 06:56 PM   #12
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I decided to ask my friends girlfriend about it, she's seeing if we can get the contract thrown out somehow.
You can argue that the contract was voidable because they failed to deliver on their promise - to get you the car on an acceptable date, if the date was ever discussed, which would make it "of the essence."
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      01-10-2020, 08:11 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by DirtyVegasMB View Post
You can argue that the contract was voidable because they failed to deliver on their promise - to get you the car on an acceptable date, if the date was ever discussed, which would make it "of the essence."
We never had the date in writing, I should have. It says it may be used for products or services. I was going to take it and buy a set of PS4S's. Maybe I could order a set of those from their parts department, or ask for 100 Mercedes tee shirts just to piss them off.
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      01-14-2020, 01:58 PM   #14
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Unless you have a signed purchase contract the deposit is refundable

California Vehicle Code 11796 states:

It is unlawful for any dealer licensed under this article to do any of the following when brokering a retail sale:

(c) Fail to refund any purchase money, including purchase deposits, upon demand by a consumer at any time prior to the consumer's signing of a vehicle purchase agreement with a selling dealer AND taking delivery of the vehicle described in the brokering agreement.

http://codes.findlaw.com/ca/vehicle-...ect-11736.html

If you have a complaint against a licensed dealer in California, you may fill out the following form:

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/?1...rms/inv/inv172

Name the dealer and let's light them up
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      01-19-2020, 12:31 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Salespunk View Post
Unless you have a signed purchase contract the deposit is refundable

California Vehicle Code 11796 states:

It is unlawful for any dealer licensed under this article to do any of the following when brokering a retail sale:

(c) Fail to refund any purchase money, including purchase deposits, upon demand by a consumer at any time prior to the consumer's signing of a vehicle purchase agreement with a selling dealer AND taking delivery of the vehicle described in the brokering agreement.

http://codes.findlaw.com/ca/vehicle-...ect-11736.html

If you have a complaint against a licensed dealer in California, you may fill out the following form:

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/?1...rms/inv/inv172

Name the dealer and let's light them up
Thank you!

Do you know if it matters that the dealership is in Ohio though? I live in California, signed the contract in California and they were going to have the car delivered to a dealership here that would do all of the paperwork.
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      01-19-2020, 06:15 PM   #16
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Thank you!

Do you know if it matters that the dealership is in Ohio though? I live in California, signed the contract in California and they were going to have the car delivered to a dealership here that would do all of the paperwork.
If you signed their contract then it probably has a forum selection provision that would use their state as jurisdiction for choice of law.
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      01-19-2020, 08:55 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by DirtyVegasMB View Post
If you signed their contract then it probably has a forum selection provision that would use their state as jurisdiction for choice of law.
I just talked to a friend about this. She said they knew I was in California, the car was to be delivered to California, there's no no choice of law provision in the contract. So I can take them to small claims in California. We are hoping a strongly worded letter threatening to take them to small claims for the deposit and legal fees will motivate them to do the right thing.

Also they never gave me a copy of the contract with their signature, meaning it's not a valid agreement, which opens them up to an unjust enrichment and other things like fraudulent inducement because they promised the car would be here in early September.

Considering it would cost them more than the deposit to come here and argue any of these things in court, I think they'll just give it back.
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Last edited by gpdriver17; 01-19-2020 at 09:35 PM..
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