Got a deposit on a car, how long do I wait to relist?

[hh76]

I'm selling my old pickup ($1200), and the second day it was listed, someone bought it. Well, kind of. He came alone, and didn't have any way to get it home, so he left me $200, and said he would call me when he knew what time he'd be back the next day. Normally I wouldn't do that, but I was sick of answering questions from potential buyers, and just wanted to be done with it.

Now, it's 2 days later and I haven't heard from him. I called and left a message, but nothing. I still have the truck, and the title. We never discussed a time frame, or refundability of the deposit because I actually believed that he'd be back.

How long do I have to wait until I start listing it again?

If he calls back after I sell it to someone else, does he get the deposit back?
In my mind the whole idea of a deposit is some sort of guaranty from the buyer, so if it were refundable, what's the point?

I'm thinking I'll call him one more time and leave a message telling him that I'm relisting this weekend, and it's going to the first person who shows up with money. If he wants it and his deposit, he'd better be that person.

[maxspeed96ct]

If someone else shows up with $1200 just give them the truck, dont wait , and id give the guy back his deposit when he does get ahold of you .

Im sure something came up $200 is alot of money to someone shopping for a $1200 truck .

[engineboy]

I rarely take a deposit, but have twice.

I made sure they knew it was NON refundable, because you might have been able to sell it while waiting for them, so no refund if they flake.

And I also made sure they knew how long they had to get back.

One time guy was upset about the no refund, but did it anyway and came right back.

The other time dude didnt have a problem with no refund and never came back

I relisted it after the 2 days we agreed on passed and never even heard a word from him. Couldnt tell ya what happened, all I know is I was a couple extra hundo in the green

So basically you should have defined those terms up front, but now that its water under the bridge you are kind of in a pickle. I would email him like you are planning and if you dont hear from him relist it.

If he was a decent guy and not a Dbag then I might think about giving him his deposit back if and when he ever contacts you again...(if you sell it to someone else)....but I wouldnt go out of my way to get it to him......its on him if he wants it back.

[sirsloop]

No way in hell I would take a deposit on a $1200 truck, HAHAH! I leave the car parked on the street and its mine until I get cash and turn over the title. Then its theirs and they can take their sweet time arranging pickup without involving me.

You did agree to hold the truck though, so I would stick to your word. It sucks that you have to chase this guy for the other thousand but you agreed! I would give it bout a week after a bunch of calls. Definitely let the buyer know you can't hold it forever and need it gone in a week. If you don't get a phone call then I would relist. I would return the deposit cause I don't need the confrontation, but I wouldn't do it real nicely.

[hh76]

Originally Posted by maxspeed96ct

If someone else shows up with $1200 just give them the truck, dont wait , and id give the guy back his deposit when he does get ahold of you .

Im sure something came up $200 is alot of money to someone shopping for a $1200 truck .

Once I got the deposit, I deleted the listing, and emailed a couple people to tell them it was sold. I assumed that was the whole idea of a deposit, to make sure that it wouldn't be sold before you had a chance to come back. No one will show up until I relist.

Originally Posted by engineboy

I rarely take a deposit, but have twice.

I made sure they knew it was NON refundable, because you might have been able to sell it while waiting for them, so no refund if they flake.

And I also made sure they knew how long they had to get back.

One time guy was upset about the no refund, but did it anyway and came right back.

The other time dude didnt have a problem with no refund and never came back

I relisted it after the 2 days we agreed on passed and never even heard a word from him. Couldnt tell ya what happened, all I know is I was a couple extra hundo in the green

So basically you should have defined those terms up front, but now that its water under the bridge you are kind of in a pickle. I would email him like you are planning and if you dont hear from him relist it.

If he was a decent guy and not a Dbag then I might think about giving him his deposit back if and when he ever contacts you again...(if you sell it to someone else)....but I wouldnt go out of my way to get it to him......its on him if he wants it back.

Yeah, I wish I would have said something, but the conversation really made be think he'd be back like he said.

I believe he was a decent guy, at least from the little interaction I had. I would feel bad if I felt like he was getting screwed, but at what point does my trouble and time relisting, add up to the $200 he gave me?

[mayday0017]

I had simular situation once, to make it worse the person who gave me the deposite lived a couple doors down. Personally I say if they don't respond to a phone call and didn't keep their end of the deal then sell it so someone else. You do not "Owe" him his money back and I wouldn't chase after him, but to me if you get the same price out of the next guy I would prob give this one his money back. Like others mentioned if he is shopping for a $1,200 truck then he prob needs the money more then I do so why kick a guy when he is down. Also I got what I wanted for it so why should I make extra because things didn't work out for him? At the end of the day though it all depends on if you want to be nice and cut the guy a break or if you want to teach him not to do the same thing to the next guy.... For some reason I would guess him to be in jail (not sure why).

[sirsloop]

I assume you haven't been able to reach him right? I would simply call up and convey all that in a VM. If hes not answering it means hes screening his calls, which indicates another level of shady behavior.

HA Jail is a possibility! Does his phone ring for a while before VM, or go straight to VM? If he his in jail the police certainly confiscated his cell and probably turned it off (straight to vm).

[hh76]

Originally Posted by sirsloop

I assume you haven't been able to reach him right? I would simply call up and convey all that in a VM. If hes not answering it means hes screening his calls, which indicates another level of shady behavior.

HA Jail is a possibility! Does his phone ring for a while before VM, or go straight to VM? If he his in jail the police certainly confiscated his cell and probably turned it off (straight to vm).

Again, I didn't know him all that much, just talke for 15mn when he was looking, but I didn't take him as the type of guy that would be spending time in jail. Said he wanted the truck for his painting company. He didn't want a vehicle that he would be too nice to get pain on.

[cide1]

I would wait another day, and then re-list it and email back the people that the sale fell through. If the guy comes back with the remaining $1000 and buys it, then great. If someone else buys it, and the guy comes back in a reasonable period of time, give him back his $200. If you don't hear from him within two weeks, pocket the $200 and don't worry about it too much.

[hh76]

Originally Posted by cide1

I would wait another day, and then re-list it and email back the people that the sale fell through. If the guy comes back with the remaining $1000 and buys it, then great. If someone else buys it, and the guy comes back in a reasonable period of time, give him back his $200. If you don't hear from him within two weeks, pocket the $200 and don't worry about it too much.

I'm going to give it through the weekend, mostly because I won't be around enough to deal with people coming by to look. I assume I'd give him the money back if he's polite about it, but it kind of pisses me off.

It's not really the money, I would probably taken $1000 for it, but it's the waste of time that gets me. I was hoping to have it gone before this weekend, and now it probably won't be. If he hadn't given the deposit, I assume I could have unloaded it by now, and be done with the hassle.

[TONE]

Did this happen over the 4th of July? LOL, he might be busy with family.

Anyway, back to the point. If you took a deposit, you should have made out a bill of sale that detailed your transaction.

I'm not a lawyer but I imagine if you sell the truck you are going to have to give him his money back.

[hh76]

Originally Posted by TONE

Did this happen over the 4th of July? LOL, he might be busy with family.

Anyway, back to the point. If you took a deposit, you should have made out a bill of sale that detailed your transaction.

I'm not a lawyer but I imagine if you sell the truck you are going to have to give him his money back.

What is the point of a deposit if it is refundable?

[NJHandyGuy]

i take deposits on vehicles all the time under 2500 you get 72 hours 2501-7500 you get 96 anything opver that will be discussed on a case by case basis cuz some banks suck to arrange financing

[NJHandyGuy]

Originally Posted by hh76

What is the point of a deposit if it is refundable?

legal answer to that is (to act as a binding promissory divident linked to the good faith of completion of an agreed upon deal)
translation i will take it at THIS price.

[Hiball]

I took a Deposit on a Boat one time, The guy left $200 bucks and told me that Friday he would bring the rest of the Cash to me. Before i took the Money.. I made it Crystal Clear that he needed to stay in touch with me, If anything came up to Call me. I had the Boat Overpriced a bit (craigslist) and was tickled to get full Asking price so i waited a Week for the Remainder of the cash. Id like to think im pretty easy to get along with, There would have to be a pretty substantial Period of time before i would have sold it to another party and even then i would still return the money. If its only been 2 days and 1 of those days was a Holiday i dont think you are at the point of Panic yet, Obviously its your transaction and if you think a couple days warrants a loss of deposit.. Thats entirely up to you.

I'm a true believer in karma. You get what you give, whether it's bad or good.

[TONE]

A deposit is used for protection for the seller AND the buyer. Generally speaking, the seller wants a deposit so that there is a serious commitment with intentions to purchase.

In the same respect, it protects the buyer. Meaning, when they put down the deposit, it assures they are going to recieve said item at agreed upon terms.

If a person puts down a deposit and then the seller sell it anyway, there really was no point of putting down a deposit at all. However, if a bill of sale is made outling the agreement, it is a great security to have in a transaction, for both parties.

Originally Posted by hh76

What is the point of a deposit if it is refundable?

[engineboy]

Originally Posted by hh76

What is the point of a deposit if it is refundable?

They dont have to be refundable, but it needed to be discussed first.

[engineboy]

Originally Posted by hh76

Once I got the deposit, I deleted the listing, and emailed a couple people to tell them it was sold.

I buy and sell cars all year, have for 20. When ever I get a guy/gal thats interested and Im waiting I never tell anyone its sold, I will tell them I have a deal pending and in good faith I am going to honor it, but if it doesnt go through I will get in touch with them via email.

THEN if I have cash in hand I will usually e mail them all and let them know its sold.

[sirsloop]

I guess we all learn something every day. Next time someone wants to put down a deposit on a private sale item you had better be sure there are crystal clear terms and expectations.

[JimVonBaden]

I would give him a week. I think that is reasonable. If no contact, I would relist it.

I would, however, be prepared to return his deposit if he comes around within a month. No point in pissing him off as you never know what kind of person you are dealing with, and he know's where you live.

Jim