[azrunner]

The Urban Enduro I ordered arrived last week. Unfortunately, for reasons I won't go into I won't be completing the purchase. If anyone in the area is interested there's a new Urban Enduro available at Renaissance Motors (renmoto.com). If you do check it out please let David or Steve know that Mark sent you. I'm hoping they might refund my full deposit.
Thanks,
Mark

 

[DJKham]

Sorry to hear that and hope it's nothing too serious. Hope you make it to "the land of joy" at some point.

 

[ralph]

That's too bad about not getting the bike and losing at least part of your deposit.

I put down a $1000 deposit at a dealership five minutes from my house in California back in October 2014. I was told at the time that the deposit was refundable because they would have no problem selling the bike to someone else if need be. I then had a run-in with the salesman in February 2015 and decided to purchase my bike elsewhere. They gave me a complete and immediate refund. I then found a dealership an hour away that had only one person ahead of me in line for a red icon so I put down a $500 deposit there. That dealer told me that in California deposits had to be refundable by State law. Shortly thereafter a forum member here mentioned that that same dealership (the second one) had a yellow icon purchase fall through and was now available. I immediately went down to the dealership, looked at the yellow icon for about 20 minutes (the first time I ever saw a yellow icon or any icon in the flesh) and then proceeded to purchase and take the bike home that day. The first dealership where I had originally put down the deposit in October had yet to receive any scramblers...ha ha.

Enough of my purchase story. What reason is the dealership giving you that they are withholding a portion of your deposit? Did you sign a purchase agreement with them with an agreed upon price for the UE? I'm not a lawyer but if not, I don't see how a non-refundable deposit can be binding. Imagine putting down a deposit without an agreed upon price and when your bike shows up the dealership says " your bike's here, that will be $15000." You of course say "no way" and the dealer replies" OK, you forfeit your deposit then." That would be a nifty little racket if it were legal I would think.

Anyway, I would do a quick google search of vehicle deposit refund laws in your State. In any event I would think that surely the bike will be sold and you should receive your full deposit. Good luck.

 

[silverluxe]

If money is tight and you paid by credit card, even though you might feel a bit scummy, you can probably contest the charge and get the cash back unless you signed some hefty paperwork. My first deposit was just a simple credit card transaction for 500.00. I ended up buying my bike at a closer dealership when I found out they had no waiting line on anything and bikes were showing up with no people claiming them.

The first place refunded my money but didn't sound happy about it. However, I never even signed anything. They had just swiped my card and run a generic transaction.

They also didn't have any trouble selling the red Icon that Ducati had my name on in the computer system.

 

[DenverDuc]

I'm guessing you're in AZ by your name, so I would check the laws there about deposits. I would be shocked if you can't get your full deposit back, especially if you didn't enter into a full binding sales agreement. When I put my deposit down, they didn't know anything about the bike yet, so I just made a generic deposit which wasn't tied to any particular bike. I did use my Amex however just in case something funny happened, but in the end it was all good so I didn't have to worry about it.

 

[Asiaoildude]

Sorry. I have long stopped putting down deposits on bikes that aren't in the showroom.

 

[pacman]

That's tough azrunner--just hang in there, figure out a way to save a little here and there, and sooner or later you'll be back in the saddle!

 

[azrunner]

I placed a $1,000 deposit on one of the units the dealer had allotted with an agreed otd price of $11,969. Which, I thought was fair. It's not the cost that's keeping me from completing the purchase. I have too many other commitments currently to allow time for riding. My dealer is offering to refund $500 dollars of my deposit under the pretense my purchase commitment prevented him from selling the Urban Enduro to someone else. It will be interesting to see if the bike is still in his showroom when I come by on Friday for him to partially refund my deposit to my credit card.

 

[ralph]

I placed a $1,000 deposit on one of the units the dealer had allotted with an agreed otd price of $11,969. Which, I thought was fair. It's not the cost that's keeping me from completing the purchase. I have too many other commitments currently to allow time for riding. My dealer is offering to refund $500 dollars of my deposit under the pretense my purchase commitment prevented him from selling the Urban Enduro to someone else. It will be interesting to see if the bike is still in his showroom when I come by on Friday for him to partially refund my deposit to my credit card.

Well that there is a whole other ball of wax. You are probably lucky that the dealer is willing to give back $500. Since you made an agreement to purchase the bike , the dealer could actually sue you for the $11.969 if he was so inclined. Try not to piss off the dealer and consider the $500 loss a lesson well learned.

 

[igotone2]

Well that there is a whole other ball of wax. You are probably lucky that the dealer is willing to give back $500. Since you made an agreement to purchase the bike , the dealer could actually sue you for the $11.969 if he was so inclined. Try not to piss off the dealer and consider the $500 loss a lesson well learned.

Nope, that's not how it is today or even in recent past. The consumer is king! If you have not taken delivery of the bike you can get all your money back for sure. They can't make you forfeit any of the deposit if you want to fight it. I was a motorcycle dealer in Ohio in the 70's and 80's and deposits were fully refundable then - at least in Ohio. Ask me how I know - had a guy come in in the spring and put down a deposit on a used street bike and continue to pay on it all spring and summer. Then in the fall he says changed my mind and I want all my money back. I gave him back everything except $300 because I wouldn't be able to sell the bike until the next spring. Customer was pissed and push came to shove - the judge said refund ALL his money!! That was a bitter pill to swallow for me.

 

[ralph]

Nope, that's not how it is today or even in recent past. The consumer is king! If you have not taken delivery of the bike you can get all your money back for sure. They can't make you forfeit any of the deposit if you want to fight it. I was a motorcycle dealer in Ohio in the 70's and 80's and deposits were fully refundable then - at least in Ohio. Ask me how I know - had a guy come in in the spring and put down a deposit on a used street bike and continue to pay on it all spring and summer. Then in the fall he says changed my mind and I want all my money back. I gave him back everything except $300 because I wouldn't be able to sell the bike until the next spring. Customer was pissed and push came to shove - the judge said refund ALL his money!! That was a bitter pill to swallow for me.

No, this is no longer about just a deposit like I made and silverluxe made and DenverDuc made. azrunner had a contract with the dealer to purchase the motorcycle for $11,969 and is liable for that amount whether he took possession or not.

From BBB.org

After you sign a contract, if you don't keep your agreement, the other party to the contract may take action against you. You have the right to cancel if you can prove the contract is illegal or was induced by misrepresentation or fraud.

Generally, if you break your contract without permission, you probably forfeit your right to your deposit.

You can free yourself of obligation neither by notice of cancellation unless it is accepted by the other party, nor by refusal or return of the goods.

 

[igotone2]

We need a lawyer to weigh in!

My advice to azrunner - get your $500 back, wait until the dealer has sold the bike in question and then ask for the rest of your money back. Should the dealer refuse, then sue them in small claims court for the return of the rest of the money. I don't see how the dealer has been harmed by your change of heart after he sells the bike. Until the goods change hands I think you will win no matter what you have signed, promised or said! In a way it's kind of sad that consumers have so much power today but it's a kind of karmic payback to misleading and deceptive sales practices from the not too distant past. I can't imagine a judge or magistrate awarding the dealer your $500. I am not a lawyer - just my $.02

 

[silverluxe]

On the karmic front I feel differently about the two distinct circumstances of

1) you order something through the dealer and then decide not to pay

2) the dealer orders 20 of something and then makes you pay money up front to get in line

 

[igotone2]

On the karmic front I feel differently about the two distinct circumstances of

1) you order something through the dealer and then decide not to pay

2) the dealer orders 20 of something and then makes you pay money up front to get in line

I couldn't agree more! .....
That being said Ducati made dealers say how many Scramblers they wanted well in advance of delivery. They also made dealers collect email addresses of those who placed deposits for verification and marketing. What if the Scrambler had been a seriously flawed product? A lot of things can cause one to change their mind. IMHO there won't be any leftover Scramblers for 2016. I have been in retail all my life - give the guy all his money back and when circumstances change he will visit you again. Keep his deposit and get bad mouthed and maybe have to give it back anyway.

 

[silverluxe]

That's why the dealer I worked with was kind. I'm sure they know it'll be better off for them to sell the bike to someone else AND have given me back the deposit. Keeping the deposits would be a different story if the bikes were not selling well. I get that it's frustrating to a dealership to even deal with the deposits, but wanting to keep the money if the guy came in and told you he can't buy it because he doesn't have the cash seems a bit lowbrow. Obviously he wants the bike, but if he can't swing it, why rub salt into the wounds?

Now if you see him roll by on a BMW R9T the next week, maybe the salt would be in the dealer's wounds

I'm Mr. Responsible though. I was prepared to lose my $500.00 and eat crow when I made the call to the dealer telling them I had found out I could get my bike 30 miles away rather than 200 miles away. Just a punishment of being fickle. A painful one, but I probably wouldn't have complained about it since I did stand there and agree to buy a bike from them back in December of last year.

I can see it from both sides.

 

[DenverDuc]

No, this is no longer about just a deposit like I made and silverluxe made and DenverDuc made. azrunner had a contract with the dealer to purchase the motorcycle for $11,969 and is liable for that amount whether he took possession or not.

From BBB.org

Agreed - this is the part that makes it less favorable for the consumer. If you enter into a contract, that's completely different than simply placing a deposit on a yet to be determined contract. It would also be different if the contract stated he would pay $11,969 and he showed up and the price was $12,500 or the bike was damaged or some other breach of contract occurred, but the breach was on the consumer side this time. All that said, I still think the dealer SHOULD refund the money, but I highly doubt they are legally obligated to do so. The $500 the dealer should give back would be far "cheaper" than the bad publicity keeping it would do.

 

[azrunner]

I went by the dealer and received my partial deposit refund. I realize the dealer had every right to retain part or even all of the deposit. This post is in part a heads up that an Urban Enduro is available in Tucson (If someone is interested they should try negotiating a $500 discount). And in other part closure on my current motorcycle obsessing. The Scrambler still intrigues me. If my circumstances are different next year and I'm back in the market for a Ducati I'll be looking at out of town dealers and maybe even a fly and ride.
Thanks for all the feed back and support. Enjoy the journey.

 

[ralph]

I went by the dealer and received my partial deposit refund. I realize the dealer had every right to retain part or even all of the deposit. This post is in part a heads up that an Urban Enduro is available in Tucson (If someone is interested they should try negotiating a $500 discount). And in other part closure on my current motorcycle obsessing. The Scrambler still intrigues me. If my circumstances are different next year and I'm back in the market for a Ducati I'll be looking at out of town dealers and maybe even a fly and ride.
Thanks for all the feed back and support. Enjoy the journey.

Dang, you come back to your thread with a positive attitude, no ill-will toward your dealer and only mention the $500 he is giving back, not the $500 he is keeping. I understand that the UE is taking up space until he sells it but $500 worth of space? I guess we'll never know.

Good to hear you haven't given up on possibly getting a scrambler in the future. I just got back from a ride today and I am enjoying my icon more now than when I first grabbed its handle bars 900 miles ago. I love that bike.
Cheers and good luck in the future.