Taking a deposit on a vehicle

The question that causes the argument

If the buyer changes their mind, does the deposit come back?

That is it. That is nearly every deposit dispute there is.

Both answers are normal. Refundable and non-refundable deposits are both ordinary things.

Write the answer down before the money moves. Afterwards, each of you remembers it the way that suits you.

Three outcomes worth agreeing

Two of these are conventional. The third is the one to settle:

• You change your mind, or sell it to somebody else — the deposit goes back.
• The sale falls through and nobody is at fault — the lien takes longer, the finance does not come through — it goes back.
• The buyer simply walks away — this one varies. Agree it out loud, then write it down.

Put a date on it

A deposit with no end date is money in limbo.

Write down a date, a time, and how the rest gets paid. Now it is a holding arrangement instead of a feeling. The offer and deposit sheetwe have this one has the boxes for it.

Skip it and you are holding a deposit and an unsold vehicle, wondering whether you are free to sell it to the next caller.

Keep it small

A deposit marks a commitment. It is not a payment.

Large sums held informally between strangers tend to create the argument they were meant to prevent.

Some states have consumer rules about deposits. Worth knowing before you take a big one.

An offer and deposit sheet

Ours isolates the one negotiable term as two tickboxes and prints the rest as stated outcomes, with a held-until date and time. Free, no account.