Deposit Conundrum

[Daz 1]

A Bit of a frustrating day today.

Last Friday a customer came (with her mum) to view a car we had advertised online.

The advertised price of the car was €4000, they took the car for a spin and asked would we take €3700 and we settled on €3800.

 

The customer left a €400 deposit and filled out the full sales invoice as though the car was being purchased with the balance of €3400 due on Collection the following friday.

The customer brought to my attention following the test drive that she felt the accelerator pedal was a bit stiff, I personally couldn't  feel anything but I agreed to have it looked at by our mechanic.(bearing in mind the customer is 18 years old and has not yet sat her practical driving test)

I Had the mechanic look at it he said its perfect and then got another opinion off a second mechanic who also said it was fine but said to grease it up to make her happy. 

On departure the mother said "if you cant fix the pedal we get our deposit back right?" To which I said I'll get it 100% but if I cant fix it of course you can.

 

I Had the car Professionally Valeted  for Collection last night (€80) Girl and mother arrive today. Look around the car again quick test drive and say "shes just not happy with it, we want our deposit back"

Had taken the add down off all online platforms for the whole week and had a sold sticker on the window in the yard incase any walk in Customers wanted it. 

 

Would you refund A) The full amount                                        B ) Partial amount                                         C) Withold Deposit 

 

Thanks in advance 

 

Edited August 29, 2020 by Daz

[MarkTVS 209]

Refund the full amount as you agreed surely? The car should already have been properly valeted so you can’t count that as an expense?

[MrC 142]

Full refund

[David Horgan 564]

You chose to offer a refund if you didn't make a difference to the pedal . 

Two mechanics may well be correct in their opinion , you should of pointed that out VERY clearly at the point of sale , 

Valet is a for gone isn't it , you would spend £80 on the car to sell it anyway wouldn't you . 

Lesson " Dear customer don't pay a deposit unless you actually want the car , If you want it refunding when you come it will remain on sale at all times and I will sell it " 

Lesson , Don't offer deposits back , or why take one in the first place . 

Pay her back in full like you promised .

 

 

[justina3 518]

This was always going to be a losing battle, one i come across almost every day new drivers are learning to drive in brand spanking new cars often with electronic accelerator peddles then they jump in a ford ka or c1 and straight away it doesnt feel as good. 

Sometimes you have to be blunt and just point that out sometimes they go fair play makes sense or look at you like you have three heads and leave. 

I agree with everyone above refund and move on. 

  

[trade vet 702]

The deal as stated was a non starter Daz.If you were working on a pitch you could have been peddled.Next time if you get a teenage learner and mother recommend them to get a third party inspection first and keep the car on sale.Full refund and you will have dodged a bullet.

[Daz 1]

Thanks guys appreciate the response,

I guess from my point of view I did have the issue resolved. As I brought it to both mechanics and had the pedal greased up to eliminate any possible sticking/stiffness after sitting in the yard throughout lock down.

To be honest I think the girl changed her mind or went looking at other cars throughout the week. As she wasnt interested in viewing any of our other 30 cars currently in stock. 

I'll refund and move on....not worth the stress. But I do still feel a bit hard done by tbh.

2 hours ago, MarkTVS said:

Refund the full amount as you agreed surely? The car should already have been properly valeted so you can’t count that as an expense?

We valet on Collection only Mark, may seem unusual but generally a quick tidy before advertising and a full detailed valet on Collection. Other wise the cars get wrecked by nonsense walk ins who want to kill an hour or two on a Tuesday afternoon 

[Rory RSC 596]

The cars fine, no issue and nothing to sort.

 

in this instance you should have taken control of the customer and explained this in a way they understood and shown confidence in your product and service. 
 

you do this everyday, you sell loads of these, it’s a characteristic of this model etc and then you wouldn’t be in this situation.

learn from it 

[MarkTVS 209]

1 hour ago, Daz said:

Thanks guys appreciate the response,

I guess from my point of view I did have the issue resolved. As I brought it to both mechanics and had the pedal greased up to eliminate any possible sticking/stiffness after sitting in the yard throughout lock down.

To be honest I think the girl changed her mind or went looking at other cars throughout the week. As she wasnt interested in viewing any of our other 30 cars currently in stock. 

I'll refund and move on....not worth the stress. But I do still feel a bit hard done by tbh.

We valet on Collection only Mark, may seem unusual but generally a quick tidy before advertising and a full detailed valet on Collection. Other wise the cars get wrecked by nonsense walk ins who want to kill an hour or two on a Tuesday afternoon 

Use COVID as an excuse to not let that happen, Explain that they can’t sit in multiple cars as they need to be Resanitised afterwards .

[Casper 272]

On 8/29/2020 at 2:19 AM, Daz said:

to which I said I'll get it 100% but if I cant fix it of course you can.

Refund fully and move on you've said you would by the above .. next time if you know its ok say your 100 percent confident the car is fine as all your cars are workshop prepared to high standard though you will have if checked for piece of mind and that if course if she not happy you will refund the deposit minus £100 for the  customer preparation package which is non refundable for you to take the car off sale as if they choose not to buy you have to prepare the car have a resanitised valet afterwards  and have prep and advertising costs . Although of course she is welcome to go away and think it over but the car will remain on sale until then 

Although I tend to agree with you the daughter just simply didn't like the car my thinking is she wanted a brand new car or nearly new one and mum said no so daughter is making up faults with yours to get mum to change her mind  

in all honesty I think you have dodged a bullet there it would be back ever week with this or that wrong which of course it isn't it there just looking for there money back 

keep us updated hope it all works out in the end . 

[BHM 994]

On 8/29/2020 at 2:19 AM, Daz said:

On departure the mother said "if you cant fix the pedal we get our deposit back right?" To which I said I'll get it 100% but if I cant fix it of course you can.

If you felt there was no fault this was the time to terminate the deal.

[trade vet 702]

50 minutes ago, Casper said:

Refund fully and move on you've said you would by the above .. next time if you know its ok say your 100 percent confident the car is fine as all your cars are workshop prepared to high standard though you will have if checked for piece of mind and that if course if she not happy you will refund the deposit minus £100 for the  customer preparation package which is non refundable for you to take the car off sale as if they choose not to buy you have to prepare the car have a resanitised valet afterwards  and have prep and advertising costs . Although of course she is welcome to go away and think it over but the car will remain on sale until then 

Although I tend to agree with you the daughter just simply didn't like the car my thinking is she wanted a brand new car or nearly new one and mum said no so daughter is making up faults with yours to get mum to change her mind  

in all honesty I think you have dodged a bullet there it would be back ever week with this or that wrong which of course it isn't it there just looking for there money back 

keep us updated hope it all works out in the end . 

Ha Ha Casper,you will be right,the daughter was expecting a new one ! Most of us would have recognised that within 2 mins of meeting them.Its all part of the learning process for a newbie ,just another set back Daz,coping with set backs is a major part of the job.

[BHM 994]

21 minutes ago, trade vet said:

Ha Ha Casper,you will be right,the daughter was expecting a new one ! Most of us would have recognised that within 2 mins of meeting them.Its all part of the learning process for a newbie ,just another set back Daz,coping with set backs is a major part of the job.

Selling older cars Daz should assume everyone is a pillock, messer or has unrealistic expectations until they prove otherwise and until they prove otherwise don’t sell them anything.

[LSP Vehicles 11]

I've only recently been in the "game" so not sure if my opinion will count, however the few I've sold so far, they are valeted and mechanically inspected on arrival/before they go on sale.

Deposit, I don't take them, the way I see it, if they change their mind, less hassle for both, if they want it, they'll be back anyway.  I am a little flexible, i.e if some says they' ll be back tomorrow, i'll give them till midday next day.

With regards to the pedal, if you were confident there was no fault, you should have made it clear that is the way it is, or there is nothing to fix.

We keeping learning though :-)

Edited August 30, 2020 by LSP Vehicles

[Casper 272]

46 minutes ago, LSP Vehicles said:

I've only recently been in the "game" so not sure if my opinion will count, however the few I've sold so far, they are valeted and mechanically inspected on arrival/before they go on sale.

Deposit, I don't take them, the way I see it, if they change their mind, less hassle for both, if they want it, they'll be back anyway.  I am a little flexible, i.e if some says they' ll be back tomorrow, i'll give them till midday next day.

With regards to the pedal, if you were confident there was no fault, you should have made it clear that is the way it is, or there is nothing to fix.

We keeping learning though :-)

In my Everyones opinion counts here mate a newbie or someone who has been at years after-all thats what its all about it here . Your also right you get a feel for customers and over time can tell the genuine ones .sometimes you will get people wanting to leave deposits other time some even want to pay in full other times you can tell if they say they will be back tomorrow you know they will be . 

Good luck wish u loads of success in the future 

58 minutes ago, BHM said:

Selling older cars Daz should assume everyone is a pillock, messer or has unrealistic expectations until they prove otherwise and until they prove otherwise don’t sell them anything.

You have the right idea bhm remember you saying before your 100 percent right when selling older stuff you have to not only access the car but also also access the customer who is going to sitting in the drivers seat of said car ..  

1 hour ago, BHM said:

If you felt there was no fault this was the time to terminate the deal.

 

[XDR 15]

I’d give the depo back regardless to wether the pedal is normal or not.

Customers like that can tend to be difficult to deal with after sales, and will expect the world of you .... e.g. the bulbs gone, can you replace it etc etc.

 

Count your blessings and retail it again, now that’s it’s detailed etc, your bound to sell it at near enough asking, as it’s fully prepped! 

[Daz 1]

Thanks all, enjoyed reading all the feedback. 

I will just issue a refund tomorrow morning and leave it at that. I completely agree that they are not the customers we want to be selling to. 

Usually I would have taken the time on the day and properly explained that there was no fault with the pedal etc.

Unfortunately on that particular day I was alone in the yard and had a customer with a prior appointment  waiting on me to view something else & A third customer due about 30 minutes later.

I see where I made my mistake on this occasion and will hopefully not let it happen again. 

[Casper 272]

6 minutes ago, Daz said:

Thanks all, enjoyed reading all the feedback. 

I will just issue a refund tomorrow morning and leave it at that. I completely agree that they are not the customers we want to be selling to. 

Usually I would have taken the time on the day and properly explained that there was no fault with the pedal etc.

Unfortunately on that particular day I was alone in the yard and had a customer with a prior appointment  waiting on me to view something else & A third customer due about 30 minutes later.

I see where I made my mistake on this occasion and will hopefully not let it happen again. 

Dont be to hard on yourself mate everyday is  a school day . It takes a good man to admit his mistakes . It will turn out fine in the end all the best . 

[LSP Vehicles 11]

13 hours ago, Casper said:

In my Everyones opinion counts here mate a newbie or someone who has been at years after-all thats what its all about it here . Your also right you get a feel for customers and over time can tell the genuine ones .sometimes you will get people wanting to leave deposits other time some even want to pay in full other times you can tell if they say they will be back tomorrow you know they will be . 

Good luck wish u loads of success in the future 

 

Thanks Casper, I must say have found this forum extremely welcoming and helpful.

48 minutes ago, Daz said:

Thanks all, enjoyed reading all the feedback. 

I will just issue a refund tomorrow morning and leave it at that. I completely agree that they are not the customers we want to be selling to. 

Usually I would have taken the time on the day and properly explained that there was no fault with the pedal etc.

Unfortunately on that particular day I was alone in the yard and had a customer with a prior appointment  waiting on me to view something else & A third customer due about 30 minutes later.

I see where I made my mistake on this occasion and will hopefully not let it happen again. 

I wouldn't worry too much bud, look at it all as a learning curve, good luck in the future.