April 30, 2007

Hello Tony

First of all, thank you for your website and the great information and service you provide.

I recently put down a down payment for a lease and signed something that I believe is called a "purchase order" and not the actual lease agreement. From what I was told, this purchase order guarantees the terms of a lease that was agreed upon by verbal agreement and locked in the lease rates until I was approved for financing.

However between the time I signed the purchase order and the time I was approved for financing, I happened to stumble across another deal offered for the same car by another dealership, which is better than my original deal; and now I am wondering how binding is my deposit and signed purchase order?

Could I go to the original dealership and tell them I don't want the deal anymore and get my deposit back (The purchase order doesn't state if the deposit is refundable or not), or am I legally bound to lease the car from them even though I haven't signed the actual lease agreement yet?

Thank you,

I.S.

Answer:

Hi I.S.,

Thank you for your kind words regarding my website.

I am not a lawyer and I cannot give you legal advice. I'm not sure what you signed, but it sounds like a Buyer's Order. These documents usually contain an extensive amount of fine print on the back of the document. So first I would suggest you read the fine print if any in case it addresses the deposit.

Secondly, as long as you haven't signed the leasing agreement there is no lease, but again...they might give you a hard time about you deposit. It depends on whether the dealer is honest or not.

You could also go to them and tell them about the better deal you encountered and ask them to match it. Tell them you will cancel the deal with them if they don't agree to match the other deal. If they won't go along and you have to follow up on your bluff you may be right back where you started.

One last thing, most dealers will eventually refund a deposit on a canceled deal. Some take longer than others, and some won't return it without kicking and screaming. Hopefully the dealer you are dealing with is a good one to deal with.

All my very best...

Tony Iorio