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this is about a car dealership We live in the State of Virginia

 
RobertJDFL's Avatar
  • Answered by:RobertJDFL
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Customer Question

this is about a car dealership

We live in the State of Virginia VA
city of Virginia Beach.

We were looking to purchase a new vehicle for a dealership.
The vehicle turned out to be dissapointing...
They/Dealership offered an upscale model for the same price
I was in a hurry had to take my spouse to work

At the time the substitute vehicle seemed Ok as I said to the we had to leave
ended up with 2 documents....will cut and paste the one..please see below



SPECIAL ORDERS DEALER LOCATES

&

HOLDING VEHICLES





i my name /here ,understand that my deposit of $500.00 is non-refundable and is to be used to hold,locate

or reserve a 2012 Honda Accord .These funds will be used to procure this vehicle & for the undersigned.



If the undersigned has a trade the Appraisal is good for 15 days from the date of evaluation..The trade will ahve to be
reevaluated oncethe 15 days has expired .The conditin of the trade ,miles book value and market treands are factors in th reevaluation from the original figure.

Any estimated dates of vehicle arrival are exactly that ,estimated and no guaranteed arrival date are express or implied.


CUSTOMER SIG..

CUSTOMER ADDRESS

we did not sign a contract just a promise,the above is one document :i paid $500.
the other document was not given a copt of but if memory serves me correctly it states the total price ..basically
This all happened yesterday;We went to take a test drive today not in love with this vehicle for my tastes the steering is not up to par..ext

Need to know legally where do we stand am i correct in assuming we are not legally obligated to but this Car?

&

can the keep my deposit,definately we are not interested in it...I believe this covers the basics....

 

Optional Information:
State/Country relating to question: Virginia

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Submitted: 294 days and 10 hours ago.
Category: Consumer Protection Law
Value: $59
Status: CLOSED
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Expert:  RobertJDFL replied 294 days and 9 hours ago.

Thank you for your question today. I appreciate your patience while I responded to you. Please remember to only rate my answer when you are 100% satisfied. If you feel the need to click either "Poor Service" or "Bad Service", PLEASE STOP and reply to me via the REPLY TO EXPERT button with the issue you have. I will be happy to continue further and do everything I can to provide you with the service you seek.


Based just on these facts and without seeing the other agreement, I would agree with you that you are not legally obligated to purchase the vehicle, because you did not sign a contract for purchase.

 

As for the $500, they could legally take that (it's a valid agreement) but was the car they found a special order, or reserved, or a hold specifically for you, or just another car on their lot? This agreement specifies it is only to hold, locate, or reserve a 2012 Honda Accord. So it depends on the circumstances -if it does not fit into one of those conditions, then they should not keep the $500.



If you would like any additional information or have more questions please don’t hesitate to ask!

Customer replied 294 days and 9 hours ago.

Thanks well the car was already on their lot with was quite huge before I test drove it it had a sold sticker in the window...

Customer replied 294 days and 9 hours ago.

additionally if the other doc.was legally binding shouldnt I have been give a copy by law??? I just want to be prepaired when we return to the dealership..

Picture
Expert:  RobertJDFL replied 294 days and 9 hours ago.

Hmmm... so then it's clearly not a special order nor were you reserving it. This agreement doesn't define what a "hold" is. Did you ask them to hold the vehicle for you while you thought about it?

Why is the dealership refusing to return the deposit?

And no, there's nothing that says they have to give you a copy of a contract -you should always ask for a copy. However, I was saying the agreement regarding the $500 can be considered a valid contract.

Customer replied 294 days and 9 hours ago.

No i didnt....I have not called yet we wanted to know what side the law would fall on ..no to be as ignorant as before

Customer replied 294 days and 9 hours ago.

Thank you

Accepted Answer

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Expert:  RobertJDFL replied 294 days and 9 hours ago.

Sorry for the delay, I was assisting another customer. My reading of the agreement then is that they have no right to hold the $500.

It was not a special order. The dealer didn't have to locate the vehicle for you from somplace else. It was right on their lot. You weren't reserving the vehicle, they were readily available for purchase, and you didn't ask the dealership to hold the vehicle.

There are no other conditions stated in that agreement where the dealer has the right to keep the $500 other than those the way it is written. I think you have every right to ask for the $500 back.

Expert TypeLawyer
Category: Consumer Protection Law
Pos. Feedback: 98.0 %
Accepts: 372
Answered: 7/8/2012

Experience: Experienced in multiple areas of the law.

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