How long to hold car after deposit?
 

I sold my 67 camaro, or should I say received a deposit for the car, the first week of May. The car has still not been picked up as of today nor have I received any more money. We had a verbal agreement that I would keep it garaged until it was picked up. I figured it would be about 4 weeks. It has now been almost two months and have been told for the last 3 weeks that more money would be or has been wired and nothing shows up. At what point does a buyer forefit the deposit? I had 3 buyers and sold to the first to give me a commitment and I received the deposit promptly but not much follow up since then. The deposit was 2500. What are my options now? Thanks.

I would give the guy a call and set a "NEW" firm date on when the monies and pickup will be completed. I would also let him know that you have passed on other buyers because the commitment to him with the current deposit and original date (3-4weeks past). Let him know that he has not kept to his end of the original verbal agreement and it is creating a problem.

If you agree on the new date set I would then draw a line in the sand regarding the new date and payment. If final payment Pickup is not done in that window I would let him know that some fee's will be needed and a portion of his deposit will be kept and the remainder returned. This would then allow to put the car back on the market. (I would keep a small portion of the deposit but not all of it) Just my thoughts.. Roger

Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking along the same lines of setting a 14 day firm deadline to either receive payment in full or keep the entire deposit after that point. Is that unfair/illegal?

Is any portion of your contract in writing, or was the entire deal done verbally?

Not sure if it is illegal or not, I was just thinking ( if it was me ) would I feel like 2500 dollars worth of inconvenience , cost was experienced. I am not sure what you have invested in waiting / expense on this guy, so I could not say if that is unfair. At the end of the day it would be what you think is right / fair for you.. Roger..

I don't have a formal contract as everything was done over the phone and email. If there was some financial hardship preventing completion I would not keep the complete deposit. Im just getting frustrated with being told that additional funds were sent, etc and they are not. I have the space and it was not a sale for financial reasons on my part, but I also don't want to wait 6 months either.

Hi PSV....Eric here.
I would set another final date, and include that if the buyer does not hold his end up that $xxxx of the deposit will be kept. And the car re listed for sale at that time. The amount is up to you. Just be sure to put the "new" agreement in writing via email. Ask the buyer for a reply or make sure you get a "read" confirmation on the one you send.
Then everything is in writing. And, you have given the buyer options to work with. Also covered yourself too.
Good luck!
:cheers:

I agree with tooblue & 70RS. Set a new firm date, after which if you have not received full payment the sale is cancelled. As far as the deposit, I think that becomes more sticky (from a legal standpoint). Probably worth a quick call to a local lawyer.

Thanks guys for the good advice. I think I'll give him another call and send an email asking him to send me an email with a firm date by which the car will be paid for and picked up that way he is able set a date he can commit to. Thanks! Paul

Just FYI, in the state of California e-mails count as a contract for the purposes of car sales. Good luck with the rest of the sale!