West Coast VS East Coast??

So I have had this happen quite a bit of late..and again today...so I want some feedback please..?

 

Customer calls with intrest in a car for sale...GREAT

 

Customer wants a PPI..EVEN BETTER..I welcome and recomend PPI on ALL cars

 

Customer understands PPI is approx $400-$600 cost at their exspense..great

 

PPI done by source OTHER then us..GREAT independent set of eyes

 

BUT, ALMOST every East Coast Buyer REFUSES to place a Deposit down based on a succcessful PPI, Deposit 100% refundable...West Coast buyers...never been an issue..

 

I dont know about the East Coast Dealers, but us West Coast Dealers WILL NOT allow a car to go off the lot for a PPI with out a deposit..the deposit is for insurance reasons, pretty simple

 

Today I got told by an "East Coast" Buyer..."well that is a red flag, blocking me..." thinks something wrong if I dont allow a PPI FIRST, then take the deposit if all is good...

 

 

I require a DEPOSIT and a agreed to price, then have at it all day long for PPI, inspections, test drive..what ever you want..but I just dont send cars off to a PPI at another source prior to having these things in place...and I know no other West Coast Dealer that does not require this as well....

 

So whats the deal..??

 

You hippies on the left coast can throw your money around all willy-nilly, but us street savvy guys here in the East know better.

I would imagine that the dealer goes with the car to the PPI place where both people meet so no deposit. If you were sending the car off somewhere not close and not accompanying the car, then I could understand the deposit. I guess it would also depend on what % deposit we are talking about. From a well known dealer I dont' know if I'd call it a red flag though.

You hippies on the left coast can throw your money around all willy-nilly, but us street savvy guys here in the East know better.

 

 

LOL. That is great Mike!!

^

I would imagine that the dealer goes with the car to the PPI place where both people meet so no deposit. If you were sending the car off somewhere not close and not accompanying the car, then I could understand the deposit. I guess it would also depend on what % deposit we are talking about. From a well known dealer I dont' know if I'd call it a red flag though.

 

 

Understood...so I feel in a few blanks here..

 

Customer picks their choice/location for PPI...I always want them to get a seperate independent set of eyes.."like having the wolf in the chicken house" always better a non profiting set of eyes look at it..so of course the car goes off...most, as in this case, about 35 miles away..it leaves on a flat bed..they pay for that..they pay for the inspection....I dont go there, what can I do but stand around..LOL buyer most all the time, such as in this case s 2000 miles plus away..so he dont come there as well..they get PPI done and get report..then car, if all is good, STAYS at PPI location till paid for and picked up from there...that way no issue that something did or did not happen after PPI and returned to my store..if they dont like after PPI or dont buy, then it comes back to the store on flat bed, which they pay for return trip as well.

 

Deposit is $5000.00, which IMO is nothing on a 100K plus car...if your a serious buyer..

 

On another board a person answerd, which I think is the same

 

When you buy a house, you look at it, pictures, desription etc etc if your buying from out of state..then if you like it, you negotiate the deal, place a deposit and put contigent on a "Inspection report" that the buyer pays for, if all good you close the deal, if not good you get your deposit/ernest money back...so whats so different with that then a car..?

 

 

Doesn't make sense. I encounter this similar situation with work as well. If people are serious about the car and know they can get the deposit back I don't see the problem. What is the deposit out of curiosity, if you don't mind me asking? Percentage of agreed upon sale price?

Roy, why would someone shell out 5-600 dollars for PPI if they weren't truly interested in buying the car?

I think its a smart way to stop people from dicking you around. I don't see the harm. If you really like the car, and it works out, it doesn't even matter.

 

Hippies... +1

I think the way you are doing it Roy is correct (especially after breaking it down in greater detail). If I was serious about the car I would want to know that my offer would be accepted before getting the PPI so I do not waste my time or money for the PPI. Deposit no worry. I would do the same thing with my own car for sale (both parties commit to a set price pending the PPI inspection goes well otherwise no way an independent dealer touches my car...especially an exotic that is not familiar with the car.

Roy, why would someone shell out 5-600 dollars for PPI if they weren't truly interested in buying the car?

 

 

No tire kicker is going to shell out money out of their pocket for PPI only to back out later for shits and giggles and if the deposit is 100% refundable then why even bother with collecting it?

Deposit 100% refundable..

 

This.

 

That dude was not a real buyer, just a tire kicker wasting your time. If a deposit is 100% refundable, you have agreed to a price and the only contingency is the PPI, what's the problem then?

Doesn't make sense. I encounter this similar situation with work as well. If people are serious about the car and know they can get the deposit back I don't see the problem. What is the deposit out of curiosity, if you don't mind me asking? Percentage of agreed upon sale price?

 

 

Pretty standard with me $5K deposit..

I personally like to buy cars sight unseen with no PPI... makes it more exciting. You never know what you will get..

 

No tire kicker is going to shell out money out of their pocket for PPI only to back out later for shits and giggles and if the deposit is 100% refundable then why even bother with collecting it?

 

 

I hear what you are saying...but few things to consider, at least for me the seller,.,

 

1) In my state..with out a deposit, there is no contract and the car is still for sale..but if someone just does the PPI..I can AND have lost a possible other buyer when I tell the person...PPI is in progress "your second in line"...

 

2) BUT, the main thing for me..is to do with my Dealer Lot Insurance..which I pay dearly for each year..if a car is on my property..it is covered 100% no matter what..BUT I still have a 10K deductiable..AND they only pay WHAT I paid for it, not what it is worth or what it could be sold for..BUT if I have a deposit on an agreed sale price..and the car leaves my property...gets totaled or what ever..then I am covered 100% of the "contracted-agreed" price..NO DEDUCTIABLE..

 

So it makes no sense to let a car go, risk a loss when I have insurnace to cover my risk by just having a deposit/contract in place...

 

I try to do wahtever I can to make a possible buyer feel good and research the car all they want..but I just dont understand if your buying a 100K plus car, what a 5K good faith FULLY refundable deposit is out of the norm..??

 

Just trying to see if there is a need to change my operating methods..try to think of something else maybe that is acceptiable to all..nothing wrong with trying to think of new ways to make all feel good about a purchase and a sale of a car.

I personally like to buy cars sight unseen with no PPI... makes it more exciting. You never know what you will get..

 

 

LOL... then you need to go to the next Barrett-Jackson Auction..you get 32 seconds to decide...and you take EVERYTHING the seller tells youas the gospel truth...NOW there is a gamble...

Not you personally but I would bet many people buying across the country have been burned by so called refundable deposits when a disagreement comes up on what may or may not be an issue on a ppi. If it's the buyer paying for all the transportation and ppi and the deposit is fully refundable than you aren't really losing anything. The last thing someone wants to do it to try to get a deposit back from a dealer across the country.

Not you personally but I would bet many people buying across the country have been burned by so called refundable deposits when a disagreement comes up on what may or may not be an issue on a ppi. If it's the buyer paying for all the transportation and ppi and the deposit is fully refundable than you aren't really losing anything. The last thing someone wants to do it to try to get a deposit back from a dealer across the country.

 

 

Excellent point...and I can tell you..I TELL everyone tp pay with a Credit Card...WHY..not for me..but any other location ALL you do is challange the charge with your CC company..GUARANTEED you will be refunded...no questions asked..ESPICALLY with AMEX..they give the customer money back hands down...no questions asked..and if the "Vendor" dont like it..they take away you ability to accpet their card..

2) BUT, the main thing for me..is to do with my Dealer Lot Insurance..which I pay dearly for each year..if a car is on my property..it is covered 100% no matter what..BUT I still have a 10K deductiable..AND they only pay WHAT I paid for it, not what it is worth or what it could be sold for..BUT if I have a deposit on an agreed sale price..and the car leaves my property...gets totaled or what ever..then I am covered 100% of the "contracted-agreed" price..NO DEDUCTIABLE..

 

So if something does happen to the car when it's out for PPI the customer loses the deposit? I'm guessing no, it's still refunded, you just don't have to pay deductible to your insurance company? If that's the case then maybe just a signed purchase agreement pending PPI exchanged will do the trick without having to transfer money back and forth... Unless a $5K deposit is an insurance requirement, not just a number you came up with.

Pretty standard with me $5K deposit..

That seems pretty reasonable. I'd see if you can't put down 5k 100% refundable on a 100k plus car your probably not serious about purchasing it.

So if something does happen to the car when it's out for PPI the customer loses the deposit? I'm guessing no, it's still refunded, you just don't have to pay deductible to your insurance company? If that's the case then maybe just a signed purchase agreement pending PPI exchanged will do the trick without having to transfer money back and forth... Unless a $5K deposit is an insurance requirement, not just a number you came up with.

 

 

Correct...if there is a loss..I am made 100% whole and of course the customrs deposit is refunded....the $5k is my figure, not required by the Insurance company...but a agreement in writing is...prior to it leaving the property

Sounds pretty reasonable once you mentioned all the details.

Excellent point...and I can tell you..I TELL everyone tp pay with a Credit Card...WHY..not for me..but any other location ALL you do is challange the charge with your CC company..GUARANTEED you will be refunded...no questions asked..ESPICALLY with AMEX..they give the customer money back hands down...no questions asked..and if the "Vendor" dont like it..they take away you ability to accpet their card..

That's why i told Amex to go stuff it and won't accept it anymore. No objectivity. They could care less about a merchants position even if cardholder is abusing privledge.