Eppieguy

The reason it's a refundable deposit is because the Q7 is an easy sell if the buyer changes his mind. Also if I dealer does not refund a deposit it could be very ugly for them when word gets around that they will not refund a deposit and dealers do not need a bad reputation.

farmerjones

Um....a deposits and signed purchase contract is your intent of purchase. If you want to back out of an agreement then you don't deserve your money back. If you want to make arrangements to buy a car without a deposit with your dealer thats cool, but when you sign an order and put money down I don't see why you as a customer would expect your deposit to be returned. That's common sense. I've sold hundreds and hundreds of luxury cars, and I've never once had a customer raise a concern about not refunding a deposit should they cancel the order. If you are that "iffy" about the purchase then don't sing a purchase order and put money down. That's not the dealer being mean, that's just good business practice (and common across the country). I would never expect to get my deposit back on a special order car!!! Why would I deserve that?

Bozman5000

Aren't you the same guy that said squeaks and rattles in a brand new high end luxury vehicle aren't abnormal?

Mental note: Never buy a new car in Iowa lol

BigKutta

I've never had to twist anyone's arm to get a refundable deposit. So why would I offer a non-refundable deposit? Refundable deposits are quite common, at least in my experience. This was the first time I was presented with non-refundable, and mind you other Audi dealers did not want non-refundable either. Its far more common in the industry than you think.

BigKutta

Exactly, they know they'll sell the car

mgm864

I had to place a a deposit to hold the order, it was probably allocated for already and just got reserved for me. At that time I've been asking if the deposit is refundable just in case the deal doesn't push through (unavoidable circumstances). My salesperson told me yes. Of course everything went smoothly. I was only able to get 3% then and found out more is being offered by other dealerships. I didn't bother getting the additional 1 or 2% discount.


Prior to this, I test drove one that was originally ordered but the person didn't proceed with the sale (different dealer) due to some issues. The car was offered to me instead but I told them I'll think about it. After a day it got sold.


On a car like this that's on demand, I'm pretty sure they will have no problem selling it. Might be a different case if it's not on demand.

Shaolo

If you're in Oregon they are required by law to refund your deposit if you choose not to follow through with the purchase.

farmerjones

Your argument doesn't hold true that "they will just sell the car"....that might be easier to do on a very popular model like the current Q7, but it certainly affects inventory volumes and availably of ordering other cars (some of which may be custom orders for sold cars but unable to be obtained because of limited quantities and leading to a missed sale).

You can poke fun all you want, but I worked in this industry for many years and was in charge of helping to manage/control orders and inventories. I can assure you that just because you think it's common practice doesn't make it so... I also can understand that your location is different than in Iowa, where there are only 3 Audi dealers in the entire state (meaning inventory level and availability must be closely managed).

I guess you can poke fun and ridicule me if you want, but it doesn't seem like an overly-friendly way to have a conversation on a forum. And since you don't have first-hand experience in running a car dealership (as opposed to my background) I'm gonna say we have different views for different reasons. It's a little bit of a different understanding when you are in charge of managing, selling and servicing thousands of cars and not just a single-Audi owner. We certainly can have different opinions for different reasons, but I'd expect you to be respectful. I could try and explain why you don't seem to understand the entire process clearly, but I'm not going to waste my time if you aren't going to respectfully listen. My current Audi dealership has a row of unsold Q7's, and yet they say they are missing out on sales due to not enough inventory. Care to explain how that works? The answer is in direct opposition to many of the comments made here.

farmerjones

I find this quite a mean-spirited comment, and why you have made it I have no clue. Clearly you are not understanding what point I am trying to make. If you want to try and disagree with someone that has worked in this industry for years, I'm not exactly what special insight you have that I do not that makes you an expert. Logic suggest it would be the exact opposite.....

farmerjones

State law may very, but there is a difference between making a despot and signing a purchase contract at the time of the deposit. Exactly what is the point of a deposit if you can just take it back? How does a consumer not have to follow through with a signed purchase agreement? Clearly the west coast has some VERY different rules (and don't make an once of sense to me). If you want to buy a car, make a commitment and honor it.

I have 1 of 16 cars in my color combination in the USA. Cleary it's not something most dealers are going to stock. Would I really expect to cancel my order and get my money back and stick the dealer with an "odd-ball" car and think that would be fair? This is why there are deposits, signed purchase agreements and a clear understandings of how things work. Popular model or not, I don't see how a consumer finds it fair to tell someone they are purchasing something, and then just back out and feel there should be no penalty for not honoring your commitment. I mean, you don't buy a house or make other purchases in this manner.... Clearly there are very different expectations in different market areas.