Gazundered

[buccal]

Sold my CLK on tuesday (private sale) to a buyer who shook on the deal agreed and left a small deposit.

Alarm bells started to ring when he insisted in only paying in cash. To the point where i even opened an account in the local bank which was open on a saturday to deposit the cash (big thanks Jay Manek for advice).

On the big day buyer phones half an hour before he is due to collect the car and:

"just to let you know i'm on my way to collect the car, i have the money but i'm going to be offering you a thousand pounds less for the car"

"i've read yadda yadda yadda in parkers guide and times are hard just now what with this credit crunch"

I had cancelled a trip home to hang around this week and close the deal and was seriously hacked off yesterday. Better now.

Is it just me or was this seriously cheeky?

 

[MBManInKen]

Yes, it was cheeky, but some people will try it.

Did you take his lower offer??

 

[sylvester]

Sold my CLK on tuesday (private sale) to a buyer who shook on the deal agreed and left a small deposit.

Alarm bells started to ring when he insisted in only paying in cash. To the point where i even opened an account in the local bank which was open on a saturday to deposit the cash (big thanks Jay Manek for advice).

On the big day buyer phones half an hour before he is due to collect the car and:

"just to let you know i'm on my way to collect the car, i have the money but i'm going to be offering you a thousand pounds less for the car"

"i've read yadda yadda yadda in parkers guide and times are hard just now what with this credit crunch"

I had cancelled a trip home to hang around this week and close the deal and was seriously hacked off yesterday. Better now.

Is it just me or was this seriously cheeky?

Very Cheeky indeed but if your unhappy with the deal and or think that you can secure a more agreeable price you always have the option to reject the buyers lower offer and send him his deposit back.

 

[buccal]

No, decided i'd rather keep it on a point of principle.

Will phone a couple of viewings i cancelled.

 

[The Dent Guy]

Very Cheeky indeed but if your unhappy with the deal and or think that you can secure a more agreeable price you always have the option to reject the buyers lower offer and send him his deposit back.

I thought the whole idea of a deposit was it's non refundable - otherwise whats the point in accepting a deposit in the first place if it can be withdrawn?

 

[buccal]

I thought the whole idea of a deposit was it's non refundable - otherwise whats the point in accepting a deposit in the first place if it can be withdrawn?

I took it as a given that his deposit was staying with me.

Sad thing was i liked the guy (mug) and actually spent a few quid getting a few stone chips touched up and a full valet done before i thought he was collecting it.

 

[Rory]

If he hadn't pressed for an answer on the 'phone then I would have let him still come and make his lower offer and then refused it - maybe settling half way, depending on how much I needed to shift the car. Would he go away empty handed?

 

[Gareth]

I think you've done the right thing, send him on his way and keep his deposit, joker.

 

[PXW]

Some lawyers on here will doubtless know the full ins and outs but I'm sure the deposit is non-refundable (though when I've sold cars privately I've always put that in writing to make it VERY clear).

I think there might even be a theoretical argument that he is bound by the orignal deal, since a contract doesn't have to be in writing to make it binding, so he could conceivably be on the hook for your loss - i.e. anything less than the agreed price that it eventually goes for. Had a similar position a few years ago with a paving contractor at home who turned up to do the job, got scared and walked off the site. Apparently I could have got it done by someone else and sued him for any extra it cost - but in practice of course that sort of thing is inevitably going to be contested with debates about evidence etc and it's just not worth the hassle.

 

[MBManInKen]

Some lawyers on here will doubtless know the full ins and outs but I'm sure the deposit is non-refundable (though when I've sold cars privately I've always put that in writing to make it VERY clear).

First of all, I'm not a lawyer, just a bloke on 't Internet, so my comments ought to be taken in that light .

What it all boils down to is what kind of contract both parties are perceived to have entered into.

I would think that the basic principle is that by agreeing verbally to buy the car and by handing over his deposit, the buyer has in fact agreed to buy the car of the OP at the agreed price and the deposit is part of that agreement. Based on the information provided, it would appear the buyer has breached the contract and so would not be entitled on getting the deposit back I would have thought.

Obviously if you as the seller would breach the contract, the deposit would need to be refunded.

As always, it's probably best to get all of this in writing rather than just a verbal arrangement which would boil down to your word against his. That being said, I'd be surprised if in this particular case the buyer would find an angle to claim the deposit back.

 

[Defiant]

Hm. I'd have thought his putting down a deposit not only prevents you from selling to another buyer (such as, for a higher price), but also shows he agrees to pay your asking price.

Still, probably best he tried his trick at telephone's distance. It can be quite painful when your hand strikes someone's face. You can even bruise a knuckle in doing it.

 

[C240Sport97]

sorry to hear about this ..

keep the deposit ..

 

[Dieselman]

I think there might even be a theoretical argument that he is bound by the orignal deal, since a contract doesn't have to be in writing to make it binding, so he could conceivably be on the hook for your loss -

I am sure you are correct. The deposit was part payment for the car at an agreed price. The buyer accepted the price and paid a deposit.

 

[R129mine]

i would also say keep the deposit

i like the fact that you did not accept his new lower offer out of principle. good on you!!

 

[Mudster]

I would have told him to whislte too, a handshake and a mans word used to mean something.

It's got less to do with the actually money, just the principal of the arrangement.

I've done a very similar thing with a business deal. I had a guy wanted to buy part of my company, we agreed a suitable price, the money was to arrive by a certain date. Rather than take the money myself I'd decided to leave it in the business and invest in another stock line.......

Just before the deal was meant to be finalised they started to renegotiate on the assumption I actually needed the money.....I told him there and then to get up and leave, I don't do business like that and I'd have no trust in partner in my business that dealt in that manner.

He was also a friend so I was a little dissapointed, in hindsight so was he...but sometimes principals overcome money.

 

[Ian_Mac]

I don't know how some people have the nerve. I've heard of people winning cars on Ebay at a certain price then turning up to collect and argueing about the price but not in a private sale when a deposit has been left.

I guess it's something for all of us to be wary of.

 

[Smiley]

Keep the deposit. If he asks for it back then tell him you want the balance of the agreed price and the car is awaiting his collection; also that you will be charging him £25 per day storage costs!

 

[buccal]

Thanks for all the replies!.

Good news is my E class looks to have sold to the first viewer so i get to keep the CLK !

Buyer has left a depsoit and collects on Friday, surely lightning can't strike twice

 

[Shude]

Buyer has left a depsoit and collects on Friday, surely lightning can't strike twice

To avoid this kind of activity you should wait for the day of collection and then add a grand to the price!

That's what happened here:

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=35046

resolved here:

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=46735

Didn't end too well for the seller by all accounts.

Good luck with the sale, hope both sides get what they want

 

[C240Sport97]

Thanks for all the replies!.

Good news is my E class looks to have sold to the first viewer so i get to keep the CLK !

Buyer has left a depsoit and collects on Friday, surely lightning can't strike twice

That E class is a stonking deal .. I have been trying to convince friends to buy it to no avail