First off, you folks have a great forum. It's clearly best in class, much like the car.

I've been a fan of "the Honda" for a while, and finally mustered enough cash to get one. I looked around CT, NY, and PA and finally got a dealer to give me a reasonable price. The deal is, he will order the car and expects to get it between 8 to 10 weeks.

I have a concern however: he wanted a very low deposit, $100. I objected and asked why he wanted only a $100, when most dealers were asking for $1000. His response was that the silver with black was very easy to get rid of, so he wouldn't have a problem selling it and hence didn't need a large deposit. I then said that if I choose to do business I would feel more comfortable depositing 1000. He didn't object. I then asked if I made a deposit and someone else offered more money for the car, what is his incentive not to sell to that person. He said that he would be under contract with me and could not sell the car to someone else.

Is this true? This is the first time I am buying a car that is not a regular production model and my first time ordering a car. I need your advice here. What guarantee do I have if ordering a car from any dealer that the dealer will be able to get the car, and if so will deliver it to me instead of to the highest bidder.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Tom

 

I have no idea what the answer to your question is - although there has been speculation that the highest price has won...

all I wanted to say was... nice first post! You sound like the kind of person that will do just fine here!Welcome!

 

My local dealer also only wants $100. That is the one bright spot for me. I may be forced to try and time the selling of my car, to when the S2000 arrives. See my thread about what they want to give me for trade in. If I can't get my car sold before the s2000 gets in, there is no way I can afford it.

Ryan

 

What happen if you back off from the order?
Will you just lose the deposit?

 

Very simple answer, if he provided you with a VIN number then he is locked into selling you that particular car. If no VIN was provided he only needs to provide you with any silver/black that he receives or is able to obtain from another dealership provided you are willing to wait. But since no VIN has been provided he can easily sell to another person who offered higher since you have no real stake in that vehicle and he can say that he/she or another salesman promised it first.

Deposits in NY are 100% refundable, if they refuse to give them back take it up with the BBB. By the way that is why he doesn't care if it's $100 or $1000.

 

Did you sign anything, something possibly called a "Buyer's Order"?

If so, then the dealer has commited themselves to selling you that specifc car that you ordered. You might not have the VIN yet but expect to get that soon also.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mav
[B]Did you sign anything, something possibly called a "Buyer's Order"?

If so, then the dealer has commited themselves to selling you that specifc car that you ordered.

 

Honeslty, I wouldn't have put a dime down... He wants to sell the car, you want to buy it. He has a buyer--you. So, the car is spoken for. Selling it 'out from under you' is bad business. If he does this, you don't want to deal with that dealer anyway.
Besides, an unethical dealer might try to jack you on the price later, knowing he has $1000 of your money in his hand still.

$.02,
Aaron

 

As far as I know, all ordered S2000's require a deposit from the dealership. I left $500 down for mine.

Just make sure it saids refundable in the fine print, in the case anything should go wrong.

 

T, from what I've seen the dealers don't really "order" the car. They are allocated cars. It appears that they "request" certian colors and Honda tries to allocate the requested color to the dealership. All the dealership knows is that they have so many cars that they will be getting. When the car is built the dealer recieves the VIN and then he knows that the car is about 4 to 5 weeks away from arrival.

I don't work for a dealer and I may be wrong here but this is the way it seems to come across.