edman688

Hi guys. I just called Lexus of Seattle and they told me that if I order a base IS350 with the only option being 18's, there will be a $1000 deposit.

However, they also told me that it may not be fully refundable if I don't end up purchasing the car because they don't receive IS350s without at least the Premium Package.

Is this information from them correct? Or are they not telling me the truth? I remember seeing a post on this forum from another CL user saying that it's the law for the deposit to be fully refunded. If this is true, is there any proof of this somewhere?

shaolin

iTrader: (2)

they should refund full money back to you.

my friends and i have put down deposit for cars but end up didn't buy them and got our money back.

Lexus dealer here that i know of doesn't even take deposit so...

i don't know about seattle but you just have to be a **** to them.... don't get bs out!!

good luck

upbull340

I'm going to order my car next week. $1,000 down. First they said it was not refundable. Then they said it was. I told them I want to write on the order form that the deposit is 100% refundable for any reason or no reason at all. We will both sign. They said OK.

shaolin

iTrader: (2)

yup. that's how business should be.

kensteele

Use your credit card for the deposit. Then it will be refundable.

TimboIS

It's correct if they say it's correct and you agree to their terms. If you don't like their terms, then go somewhere else. Period.

That will help.

AsianGirl007

iTrader: (1)

Edman688,

I used to work at dealerships and in California deposits are fully refundable, although I would only leave one on a card, not cash. It's possible they told you it wasn't refundable due to the fact that car might be hard to sell as it appears most people are interested in fully loaded IS's.

Anyone here familiar with laws in Washington?

Tony1

A deposit is only refundable if the dealer agrees to those terms, otherwise
they dont have to give you back a penny of it,,(even if you use a credit card).
You all are missing the point of leaving a deposit, you leave a deposit
so that the dealer reserves that car for you, and turns away other potential
customers.. Now if you back out of it at the last second through no fault of
the dealer, what does he do? He could of lost 2-3 other potential buyers, yes,
that is the whole point of a deposit, its pretty much a "promise to purchase agreement"..
Most dealers nowadays will refund deposits because they dont want you
bad mouthing their dealership , its considered "bad buisness"..

OUMalibu

The deal I have with Thousand Oaks Lexus (I ordered an IS350 a couple of months ago) is that they will only charge my credit card when the car arrives and I want to hold it.

Even then, if I change my mind it's fully refundable.

And yes, I got all that in writing.

AsianGirl007

iTrader: (1)

That's not entirely accurate. Over here there's no such thing as a "non-refundable" deposit, it's a contradiction of terms. For new hot models dealers will have no problem selling the car to the next guy, unless of course it's a car without popular options.

SilverBolt

Use a credit card. Worst case scenario you can contest the charge on your card.

TimboIS

How can you contest a legitimate charge?!? You can only in the case of fraud, etc.

Tony1

Well, you certainly have more a chance to get your desposit back if you
use a credit card, because you can try and dispute the charge with your
cc company, which is better than having to take them to court...But i don't see
how a deposit would automaticly be refundable, unless you had it in writing,,
Then what would be the point of even leaving a deposit? Also, why would they usually
insist on a no less than $500 deposit?

JSK97VMI

I was told here that it was a state law that the deposit had to be refunded if the car wasn't bought. I put $500 down on two 350's at different dealerships (different regions) and took the first one that came in. The other dealership gave me the $$ back with no problems. They actually wanted to take a look at my car since they hadn't seen a sports package w/ NV yet...

Badman Forever

just tell the dealership you heard of everyone else only required to put down a $500 deposit for an is350, that's all i had to put down even before it came out.