does deposit guarantee an actual car?

Guarantee?? No I am pretty sure it does not guarantee anything...Up to your dealer as to what the conditions of the deposit are...Some desposits are refundable some aren't...and it is questionable depending on state law that all deposits are refundable...

 

Not only doesn't it guarantee you a car, it doesn't even guarantee the final price. I believe price increases can be passed on prior to delivery. When supply is ample this may not happen, but when it's this tight I am a little worried myself about a potential increase. Additionally there has been some speculation on these pages of people being put into the cue for 2005 models already. We (the unlucky "dreamers" :lol: ) can only wait and hope the production increase, which our esteemed admin so correctly noted, actually starts to make an impact on the marketplace. Though it appears that this has yet to be the case.

 

here's to hoping, anyways!

I'll be putting down a deposit tomorrow on any BC #9 Prius (prefer no red, no black, prefer green or blue, but really any!), and from what the dealer tells me, the dealership I'm working with is #3 in the country for previous Prius sales, meaning they get the 3rd highest allocation rate - he's told me that it should be about two months.

Of course, word going around is that average wait time is 4-6 months, and honestly, if I'm waiting 6 months, I'd prefer to wait another 3 or so for the 2005 - as freaking hard as that'd be to do, since I'm obsessed with this car.

With all this ordering and people waiting, you'd think toyota could double production without any losses or overproduction worries. Oh well, I'm keeping myself optimistic and hoping for a great experience. I know once the car arrives, I won't be disappointed in it at all!

-Matthew.

 

According to the fine print offered on my New Jersey contract:

Manufacturer's Price Increases - are a pass through increase, unless the customer wishes to cancel the order.

Delays in Delivery - "Dealer shall not be responsible for failure to deliver or any delay in delivering..." beyond their control.

 

It sure sounds as if they're using the same contract in NJ as the one my dealer is using in IL.

Re the clause about not being responsible for failure to deliver, my contract goes on to state, "except where such failure or delay is due to Dealer's gross negligence or willful misconduct". Soooooo, if I discover that I was next in line for a Silver BC but my dealership sold the next Silver BC it received to someone who walked in off the street (willing to pay well in excess of MSRP, of course), I think that would clearly fall within the category of "willful misconduct". Further, taking orders far in excess of the number of cars the dealer could ever hope to receive (after taking into consideration a certain percentage of cancellations) could also be considered willful misconduct, IMHO.

 

I thought that too, but we'd need a Toyota freedom of information act to find out if this ever happened!

 

I've been asking around some dealers,
one required a $500 deposit, non refundable.
two required a $500 deposit, refundable and they wouldn't cash the check until I got the car.
one required a $500 deposit, refundable, but they would cash the check now.

Is it legal in California for them to not refund my deposit ?
If they say they will refund it, must I get that in writing?
Does it even help get the car sooner if I put deposits in at several dealers?
Any advice, experiences appreciated.

thanks

 

I recently got on the list in NJ. When they wanted me to sign the part that said that no promises had been made except those on the contract, I wanted them to include the "6 months" promise. They demurred, but offered to include their other promise: that the deposit was refundable. I took that, so I have that promise in writing on the contract.

 

I've read a number of posts stating that, in California, it is illegal for a dealer to require a non-refundable deposit or to refuse to refund a deposit placed by a customer upon request. Problem is, I haven't been able to locate any legal authority for that proposition and the authors of the posts haven't provided any cites.

What I did find was the following:

California Vehicle Code:

Unlawful Acts

11713. No holder of any license issued under this Article shall do any of the following:

........

(p) Accept a purchase deposit relative to the sale of a vehicle, unless the vehicle is present at the premises of the dealer or available to the dealer directly from the manufacturer or distributor of the vehicle at the time the dealer accepts the deposit.....

 

I should add re §11713(p) that, although the phrase "unless the vehicle is present at the premises of the dealer" is clear and umambiguous, the phrase "available to the dealer directly from the manufacturer or distributor" is not.

Several questions might arise with respect to the "available to the dealer" terminology. For instance, does the mere fact that vehicles are being produced, shipped, and dealers are receiving them, albeit on some screwy allocation system, mean the vehicle is "available to the dealer"? Must the dealer have the ability to order the car specified by the customer directly from the manufacturer (i.e. be able to inform the customer that his or her order has been transmitted, received, and accepted by the manufacturer) or have the immediate ability to obtain the vehicle from the distributor?

I'm not certain whether the aforementioned questions have been answered definitively but, since these kind of issues are rarely litigated, the answers are probably subject to speculation.

 

Took a test drive last weekend, impressive, shot up the foothills west of Denver 72 mph, no problem. The dealer is asking $1000 on a credit card to get the order in (or on a list) and they don't run (so they say), if you cancel, they will have the vehicle and they will sell it, it's a huge Lexus Toyota dealer.

 

Endrun - which dealership in Denver did you go to? I just put a deposit down on a Prius at Burt Toyota on Broadway. They let me do $500 and the salesperson said he would make it refundable - if for nothing more than the fact that he'll probably have 10+ people on the list who would take the one I ordered if something happens and I pull out.