(Solved) Dealer Deposit Refund on Botched Order

[TwelveGaugeSage]

When I asked my salesperson if the deposit was refundable, I made sure to do it in a text message and forced him to reply to me via text

I was told it was non-refundable up front, but that doesn't matter much when they fail to hold up their end. They failed to order what I was putting a deposit on. Should be end of story.

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[ShadowsPapa]

But I need the answer to the burning question of whether or not a realtor is worth retaining or not!

BBB is awaiting response from dealer. Jeep doesn't seem to have done diddly with my dealer complaint yet. When my wife wakes up I will ask her if she received a credit on her credit card yet since we used one that she is the main on and she is a day sleeper(RN).

Don't even bother imagining that Jeep will "do diddly with your dealer". That's not how it works. That dealer is independent. Jeep cannot do anything about a deposit or screwed up order. Technically, they aren't involved until you have a Jeep and have troubles with said Jeep. Jeep built it, Jeep doesn't sell it.

 

[TwelveGaugeSage]

Don't even bother imagining that Jeep will "do diddly with your dealer". That's not how it works. That dealer is independent. Jeep cannot do anything about a deposit or screwed up order. Technically, they aren't involved until you have a Jeep and have troubles with said Jeep. Jeep built it, Jeep doesn't sell it.

I don't know about all that. The dealership may be independent, but not entirely. I believe Jeep has some leverage here. Either way, I just got off of Jeep chat, which called the dealership and talked to the sales manager. He maintains that the order was correct, so I am emailing Jeep all of the evidence.

 

[kevman65]

If the dealer is not a member, then the BBB can't do much. They will make the complaint and response public so others can read.

If you have a signed order form, then your CC carrier won't even think twice about cancelling the charge. BUT, it can take 14-30 days for the dispute to clear and the charge reversed.

 

[sharpsicle]

Don't even bother imagining that Jeep will "do diddly with your dealer". That's not how it works. That dealer is independent. Jeep cannot do anything about a deposit or screwed up order. Technically, they aren't involved until you have a Jeep and have troubles with said Jeep. Jeep built it, Jeep doesn't sell it.

I don't know about all that. The dealership may be independent, but not entirely. I believe Jeep has some leverage here. Either way, I just got off of Jeep chat, which called the dealership and talked to the sales manager. He maintains that the order was correct, so I am emailing Jeep all of the evidence.

I'd think, in this case, that it is somewhere in the middle. Dealerships are independent, yes, and if they lose their brand affiliation they still continue to operate, just without the fancy sign or the vehicle order capability. How that dealership operates, provides services, or sells off the lot is not Jeep's concern.

But that ordering part of the affiliation right there is what gives me hope to the situation. This is a clear abuse of the new vehicle ordering procedure, and that is something Jeep definitely has control over. Not only that, they have a vested interest in it. That alone might be enough to get Jeep to step in.

 

[maligator]

I was told it was non-refundable up front, but that doesn't matter much when they fail to hold up their end. They failed to order what I was putting a deposit on. Should be end of story.

Yeah, you essentially gave them collateral to hold a random car in inventory instead of the one you ordered. Kinda bs. I wouldn't order a car that didn't have a refundable deposit. Especially in 2021 where most any car can sell If it's on a lot. Seems shady to me. Sorry that you haven't figured it out.

 

[flsupraguy]

But I need the answer to the burning question of whether or not a realtor is worth retaining or not!

BBB is awaiting response from dealer. Jeep doesn't seem to have done diddly with my dealer complaint yet. When my wife wakes up I will ask her if she received a credit on her credit card yet since we used one that she is the main on and she is a day sleeper(RN).

Don't waste your time with BBB, they have no legal jurisdiction. Just file a fraudulent charge with your CC and move on......

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Yeah, you essentially gave them collateral to hold a random car in inventory instead of the one you ordered. Kinda bs. I wouldn't order a car that didn't have a refundable deposit. Especially in 2021 where most any car can sell If it's on a lot. Seems shady to me. Sorry that you haven't figured it out.

What's the point of a "deposit" or "earnest money" - it keeps tire kickers and game players at bay for the most part. Anyone can walk in and say I want to order a car and take a lot of time, place the order and never be seen or heard from again. What if everyone did that?
It started out in the beginning that NO deposits were ever refundable. That was the whole point.
Look at it from a business owner perspective - when we had people call us or come in and say "I want xxxxx" and we'd say "we can get that" - we insisted on a deposit (unless we knew the person and they were a regular)
We did get burned a couple of times because we had an employee who just loved people and knew all people were honest and no one would ever ask us to order something and then not show up.
You may hate business owners, may especially hate dealerships, but not all are crap, some are privately owned or family owned and rely on people being serious. A small dealership getting screwed by people ordering things and then changing their mind and walking away - that would hurt.
On the other hand, in most large purchases, you do have 72 hours to "change your mind" anyway...... so it's not like customers have no protection.

 

[flsupraguy]

What's the point of a "deposit" or "earnest money" - it keeps tire kickers and game players at bay for the most part. Anyone can walk in and say I want to order a car and take a lot of time, place the order and never be seen or heard from again. What if everyone did that?
It started out in the beginning that NO deposits were ever refundable. That was the whole point.
Look at it from a business owner perspective - when we had people call us or come in and say "I want xxxxx" and we'd say "we can get that" - we insisted on a deposit (unless we knew the person and they were a regular)
We did get burned a couple of times because we had an employee who just loved people and knew all people were honest and no one would ever ask us to order something and then not show up.
You may hate business owners, may especially hate dealerships, but not all are crap, some are privately owned or family owned and rely on people being serious. A small dealership getting screwed by people ordering things and then changing their mind and walking away - that would hurt.
On the other hand, in most large purchases, you do have 72 hours to "change your mind" anyway...... so it's not like customers have no protection.

I agree. The general public has no clue how business works. People always cry about being treated a certain way but consumers are just as bad. If you aren't loyal to a business why should they be loyal to you? It all goes both ways. This may not be popular but in my opinion if you waste a dealers time (and allocation) with an order and wake up one day "i now got a better deal somewhere else" you don't deserve your money back....... You should of done proper research beforehand before wasting someone's time. I'm not at all saying this happened in this situation and every situation has different variables....

 

[redrider]

Last month I purchased a Zippo butane insert. It arrived several days earlier than forcast. It worked flawlessly for3-4 days and then became finicky to ignite and unable to fill. I called CS and was told it would be 2-3 weeks before my return shipping package would be processed and sent. I told the nice lady on the phone that I thought the response time was a bit excessive and she said "we are only in the office once or twice a week." (Pennsylvania-say no more) I agreed to the process and thanked her for the help. The next morning, my inbox had a message from Zippo CS needing more info and I replied. Less than an hour later, another mssg from them read "we are including a replacement insert" along with the RMA package. I replied with heartfelt thanks and praise for the company and it's employees. Some one went beyond what I consider adequate and I wanted to give praise where due. Their response was kind and thankful. I went in resolved to be calm, not ugly and this is how things worked out. It helps to deal with a stellar company that could have been like so many others these days that have the "You bought it, you own it, tough shit" mentality. Play nice. You can attract more flies with sugar than vinegar.(one of Dad's -isms)

 

[TwelveGaugeSage]

I agree. The general public has no clue how business works. People always cry about being treated a certain way but consumers are just as bad. If you aren't loyal to a business why should they be loyal to you? It all goes both ways. This may not be popular but in my opinion if you waste a dealers time (and allocation) with an order and wake up one day "i now got a better deal somewhere else" you don't deserve your money back....... You should of done proper research beforehand before wasting someone's time. I'm not at all saying this happened in this situation and every situation has different variables....

I agree, deposits SHOULD be non-refundable. I was fully prepared to buy the truck or eat the $500. Then I got the window sticker and saw that what I ordered was wrong. I checked the build sheet, it matched the window sticker. Then I asked for money back or reduced price.

 

[sharpsicle]

I sat at the dealership and clicked through every option I wanted. I got a printout of the build. I still have the printout.

I agree, deposits SHOULD be non-refundable. I was fully prepared to buy the truck or eat the $500. Then I got the window sticker and saw that what I ordered was wrong. I checked the build sheet, it matched the window sticker. Then I asked for money back or reduced price.

I thought the sheets didn't match the window sticker. Did they actually match?

Your opening post has me siding with you. This recent post, though, has me siding with the dealership. I don't want this to get lost in translation here.

 

[WickedWillys]

Bertera has that reputation in CT at the Subaru store too. I would've recommended Gengras in East Hartford about 25 min farther down 91. I bought both my JTW and my wife's JLUS there.

 

[stampedingTurtles]

CDJR dealers in WI I spoke to seemed to be familiar with them (and this salesguy didn't even bother trying to give me a number on a factory order, conversation was over as soon as I brought up OTD price from Gupton). I know they've been very popular for years with the JK/JL crowd.

I thought the sheets didn't match the window sticker. Did they actually match?

Your opening post has me siding with you. This recent post, though, has me siding with the dealership. I don't want this to get lost in translation here.

I think what they are saying is that they have paperwork from the initial meeting with the dealer, where they agreed on what to order.
Then after the order was placed, they got a VIN, and then got a build sheet from Jeep, which did not match what they had told the dealer to order. At that time, they thought (were told by someone??) that the build sheet wasn't accurate to what would actually be built, so they waited until the window sticker was available. And with the window sticker matching the build sheet (not the order request), they now have sufficient confirmation that what the dealer actually ordered, and what will be delivered by Jeep, is not what the customer requested, which is why they want their deposit back.

 

[sharpsicle]

I think what they are saying is that they have paperwork from the initial meeting with the dealer, where they agreed on what to order.
Then after the order was placed, they got a VIN, and then got a build sheet from Jeep, which did not match what they had told the dealer to order. At that time, they thought (were told by someone??) that the build sheet wasn't accurate to what would actually be built, so they waited until the window sticker was available. And with the window sticker matching the build sheet (not the order request), they now have sufficient confirmation that what the dealer actually ordered, and what will be delivered by Jeep, is not what the customer requested, which is why they want their deposit back.

Sounds to me like a printout of the build was given at the time he ordered it. That right there is what should have been expected. If that printout that was given when sitting at the dealership selecting the options matched the window sticker, then it was ordered correctly.

If that sheet was knowingly wrong, but no action was ever taken to fix it, that's sadly on the consumer. It's a strange expectation that what your sheet says might not be what's delivered...

I'm still holding out that the OP has something to the contrary.

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