Dealer wants non refundable deposit on a factory order. Is this standard practice?

Why would anyone donate a thousand dollars to a stealership?

 

$1,000 deposit: Normal, it shows them you're serious

Non-refundable: Get out. They'll have you by the balls and give a crap "deal". You'll be pressured to sign, because if you don't, you're out a grand.

 

I always though refundable deposits missed the point. That said, I've never met a dealer I would trust with a grand I won't get back.

 

FTW, on both counts..

 

Always refundable in my experience. Tacomas sell so easily, I’d be hesitant with any dealer that wanted/needed to lock you in with a non-refundable deposit.

 

Mine didn’t. Said if I didn’t want it when it came he could sell it.

 

Personally, I prefer to put down a deposit as helps to insure the dealer IS going to get you a vehicle and not just jerk you around.
Not like you are giving the dealer anything additional, you are just paying whatever the amount is on the vehicle in advance.
So if you are seriously planning buying the vehicle a deposit shouldn't be a problem.

 

The individual dealers can do as they please - but you do not have to play their game.

I placed an order with a dealer and we talked about a deposit, but they were not too interested in receiving it... (the wait was expected to be 2 months...) I offered several times and they told me it was not necessary. - They knew I was in a hurry to get a vehicle...
When I found 'a bird in hand' I put down a deposit - but it was refundable. They had a long list of other buyers in case I did not buy the Tacoma...

I would push to make it refundable - just in case... Putting $1k down should confirm your interest. They can sell it right away anyway...

 

IF you pay the "non-refundable" deposit and later change your mind and they won't give you your $ back, just agree to buy it as soon as you can. Then let it sit on the lot forever while they wait for you. If they sell it, you SHOULD get your money back. Right?

 

No, my dealer asked for a $500 deposit to get me a $38,000 truck, built to my exact specifications. The understanding was that it would be refundable if for some reason the deal fell through.

Further, the dealer never cashed the check. The check was there when we went to settle accounts once the truck arrived.

You need to find a more accommodating dealer.

 

Yes I did the same

 

I put a $500 deposit on a Cav blue SR5. Waited 8 weeks and then bought a MGM TRDOR. They just applied the deposit to my purchase.

 

Ha ha. They wanted a deposit on my truck. I told them get the truck and I will be in to pick it up in less than an hour. That was good enough. Though I can see some dealers wanted a deposit but only if some extras or upgrades added.
Anyway back in 97 I purchased a green Nissan 4x4 some extras and left a $3500.00 deposit. The dealership told me to come back tomorrow and it would be all set and ready to go. I return the next day and they tell me they sold the truck and all they have left is a red one fully loaded. On top of that my payment would be the same but just one more year. Luckily my ex an attorney was with me and I ended up paying the original price agreed upon and I had them add alloy wheels and a brushguard. Yes, it was red but so was my MR2. I actually got a great deal and the truck got me through a couple of ski seasons at Killington.

 

$500 down, handed me my check back when I arrived to pick up my truck.
You put nothing down they don't work as hard for your business.

 

That’s kind of the way it happened for me. The dealer intercepted an allocation that was already the correct drive train, put in a color change, factory tonneau and a few other options I wanted and said that if I wanted it marked “sold” they would need a $1,000.00 deposit which I readily paid. I know it was refundable because when I started getting impatient in what was a 13 week wait, my salesman asked if I wanted my money back! That wasn’t happening ...

 

Some states laws make non-refundable deposits illegal.

Otherwise deposits are very common and nothing to worry about. But make sure you have documentation about the deposit, yadda yadda yadda for obvious reasons.

 

Yeah they’ll likely ask how the deposit should be handled, returned to you or rolled into the deal. Mine was rolled into the deal. I think it was refundable, it was a dealer transfer so


OP what was your config? Is it a dessert pants off road short bed that they could sell without breathing or are you doing something kind of out there (like a manual anything) that doesn’t sell that easily. Might be the configuration is (from a purely sales/numbers standpoint for the dealer) completely bonkers and if you don’t end up taking delivery they’ll never be able to sell it.

 

I put a $500 deposit on a silver SR5 they were going to try to get from another dealer for me. That fell through and they couldn't get it. I could have got my money back but, they kept it and kept looking for a truck for me and applied it to the truck I did buy.

 

Why give the dealer a zero interest loan? I thought Tacomas were so hot and easy to sell that if you backed out there would be people in line waiting to buy ;-)

 

Tell him to suck it and you will order it online.

Dealers like to use a bunch of low life sales tactics.