Originally Posted by
POD
Not a legal experience but a considered opinion after many vehicle sales and purchases over the years; there is absolutely no point in a deposit unless it is non-refundable. In fact, the first LR I bought many years ago, the seller had taken a deposit from another bloke a few hours earlier, that buyer had wanted to go and get a mate to have a look at the car before he committed to buy. The seller sold me the car, the other buyer came back while I was still there and was irate when the seller handed him back his deposit. I felt the seller had done the wrong thing- not in selling me the car, but in taking a deposit when there was no commitment from either party. Just stupid.
If I give a deposit, I am saying "i have decoded to buy this car. We have agreed to the sale. You can't sell it to someone else, and I can't back out of the purchase without losing my deposit'.
I put a deposit down on an Alfa GTV when I was 21 years old, then could not get insurance on it at any price so could not proceed with the purchase. The seller refused to refund the deposit, said it would not even compensate him for his time spent getting a RWC. I wore it. I had made a commitment and then backed out for my own reasons.
Upshot is, do your homework, inspections, investigations etc BEFORE committing to buy i.e. giving a deposit.