Hi,
I need some legal advice. I saw a Ford Focus which was a category D write off. In my opinion, it looked of good quality, low mileage and at a good cost (8000 miles, 1 owner and I year old). The dealer said that he had 5 people interested in it and not wanting to lose it I paid a initial £300 deposit.
However, speaking to my insurance, and due to the fact it will also be used as a family car, I wanted peace of mind and know the car was road worthy so I purchased a comprehensive vehicle inspection with the RAC before I paid the remaining balance. The website for the car even said they 'welcomed any inspection'.
When I told the dealer I wanted to do this but the inspection could only happen later in the week he said that our agreement for the £300 deposit was that I paid for and collected the car the next day and that he couldn't wait that long due to him having other people ready to buy the car and said in a roundabout way that he wouldn't return my deposit even though the piece of paper I signed about the deposit had nothing on it which said I had a limited time to pay for it.
My question are:
can he legally keep my deposit? Surely its the dealer who is breaking the contract as I still have every intention to buy the car albeit slightly later than he wanted?
If I buy the car now and the report then finds something significantly structurally wrong how easy would it be for me to then return the used car to the dealer and ask for my money back?
Thank you in advance for your help!
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