Deposit Advice

[mphJ]

Hi all, i'm a bit unsure what to do in regards to buying a car and need some advice if ok

Basically a guy is selling a car on Ebay, I went and had it look at it the other week but at the time I said I want to have a look at a few others first, which we were both cool with.

Long story short it ended on Ebay last week where he had accepted a best offer from someone else, that was that, oh well I missed out on that one I thought

So the car has appeared again on Ebay this week, so I call him up and have another chat about the car and we agree a price etc and I was going to go and get the car today, I asked him why the other guy didn't want it and he said they left a £2k deposit on the car and both signed on a bit of paper that the deposit will be non refundable if the remaining amount isn't paid within 7 days, it turns out the guy who was buying it couldn't sell his car in time to raise the cash to buy this one so the seller is refusing to give him his deposit back as the agreed 7 days had passed

So, my question is, if I go and buy this car is there anything that can backfire on me in terms of this deposit fiasco ? I know it's between them 2 but I don't want a situation where the guy who left the deposit starts contacting me and says

"I have £2k of my money in that car I want the £2k back"

Or is it strictly to do with them 2 and doesn't involve me at all ?

Hope all that makes sense

I don't want to name the car or advert if that's ok as I don't really want the seller to know i'm asking around about it etc

Thanks for any help

[valverguy]

Sounds fishy to me at best.

I'd leave well alone, and find another example. it's not like the guy can track you down for his 2k, it wouldn't be anything to do with you if you did buy it, however i wouldn't buy it

Edited by valverguy on Tuesday 29th January 19:24

[anonymous-user]

How much is the car?

[mattshiz]

Id leave well alone also, if the guy isn't going to give him a little extra time for £2k then I wouldn't trust him to serve you well.

[mike9009]

Before you back out the deal, what deposit have you left?

[mphJ]

Car is just under £20k

I've not left any deposit

It's a classic car, when I went and saw the car the guy seemed perfectly ok and not dodgy or anything

I'm not really sure how any of the deposit thing could affect me though ? If at all ?

[Herbs]

I originally thought a £2k deposit was high but on a £20k it's only 10%.

From your point of view there is no comeback so if you want it just buy it and leave them to sort it out between them.

[caprirob]

The agreement the seller had/has with the guy who has already left a deposit has nothing to do with you.

If you buy the car I dont see how the previous "buyer" can come after you - its the current seller he has a problem with.

Going on what has gone on so far though if you like the car I'd be inclined to go with cash in your pocket, get any checks done you want doing ( HPI, pre purchase inspection etc ) and then do the deal in one hit.

£2k is a stupid amount of money to leave as a non-refundable deposit IMO - the seller is out of order asking for that much on a non refundable basis but the previous "buyer" is equally dumb for giving £2k away on the basis that he could sell his car within 7 days.

[mphJ]

Thanks for the replies all

[jtx]

You won't be under any obligation whatsoever to whoever may have paid a deposit previously. Having said that though, someone who takes £2000 of someone and then sells the car to someone else so gets what he wanted but offers the deposit payer nothing in return isn't someone I'd want to buy a car from. Let alone a 20k car ...

[mrdemon]

2k is a high deposit, I would never leave more than £500

But they both signed a non refundable 2k deposit form if the total was not paid within 7 days.

The buyer then broke the contract, so the sellers has kept the 2k
This was agree up front, so what's the issue ?

[icetea]

mrdemon said:

2k is a high deposit, I would never leave more than £500

But they both signed a non refundable 2k deposit form if the total was not paid within 7 days.

The buyer then broke the contract, so the sellers has kept the 2k
This was agree up front, so what's the issue ?

Depends on the details. If the original sale was for 20k and the sale to the OP is for 20k, I'd give the original person the 2k back minus any costs. If the original sale was for 22k and the new one for 20k then I think he's perfectly entitled to keep the 2k as it would have been lost otherwise.

If he's just going to pocket 2k extra profit at the first guys expense then I don't think he's trustworthy and he isn't someone you should be buying a 20k car from in a private sale.

[New POD]

mrdemon said:

2k is a high deposit, I would never leave more than £500

But they both signed a non refundable 2k deposit form if the total was not paid within 7 days.

The buyer then broke the contract, so the sellers has kept the 2k
This was agree up front, so what's the issue ?

I've never left a deposit bigger than the cost of 2 weeks advertising. (ie £50) Mind you I wouldn't actually go and view a car if I didn't have the money to buy it.

[mphJ]

As long as I can't be implicated in their dispute if I buy it that's all I really wanted to know, thanks again for the replies

[icetea]

mphJ said:

As long as I can't be implicated in their dispute if I buy it that's all I really wanted to know, thanks again for the replies

Legally you're fine but what happens when the other guy turns out to be an arse and sees the car 'that cost him £2k' and keys it or kicks the mirror off.... I hope he doesn't live anywhere near you.

[Grenoble]

jtx said:

Having said that though, someone who takes £2000 of someone and then sells the car to someone else so gets what he wanted but offers the deposit payer nothing in return isn't someone I'd want to buy a car from. Let alone a 20k car ...

Indeed. He (probably) hasn't suffered 2k of loss.

[300bhp/ton]

mphJ said:

I'm not really sure how any of the deposit thing could affect me though ? If at all ?

I suspect it wouldn't, but it would depend on exactly what the owner agreed. If they "sold" the car with proof based on a £2k down payment, then despite the new owner not completing the sale there may still be a case of them claiming they own part of the car. I doubt it would become an issue, but it does sound like uneeded risk. I would also question the ethics and moral aptitude of the seller.