What's a reasonable non-refundable deposit?

Throb

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There was talk of a €5,000 deposit before ordering at my dealer, but upon ordering it was never mentioned again, and I've no idea if they'll even ask for one. I ordered about a month ago with production in September.
 

Tesla2Taycan

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For CA residents: In California a dealer cannot ask for more than 2.5% of the purchase price as a deposit, and all deposits are refundable at the request of the buyer, until the vehicle purchase contract is signed (CA Vehicle Code §11736)
I wish I knew this before I put down my deposit. They charged me a 10% non-refundable deposit for my GTS regular white with black leather interior. I added ~40k in options. This was in Feb 2022 when most dealers were asking for 10-20k over MSRP so I was happy to just pay MSRP.
 

Tesla2Taycan

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I would get the wheel and tire insurance; I didn’t but lots of examples on here where it made sense to! Especially if getting the mission e wheels.
I’m getting the mission e. Curious to know what the cost and coverage I should expect.
 

Schn3ll

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Seems aggressive. I paid $3k (refundable) at my dealer and they only recently changed their policy to $3k (was $1k for all Porsche deposits).

I am a good customer with them and have serviced my 911 and my wife's Panamera there, so that may have played a factor.
 


atebit

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I wish I knew this before I put down my deposit. They charged me a 10% non-refundable deposit for my GTS regular white with black leather interior. I added ~40k in options. This was in Feb 2022 when most dealers were asking for 10-20k over MSRP so I was happy to just pay MSRP.
just because they said it’s non-refundable doesn’t make it so. If it’s not legal in CA, it’s not legal in CA, regardless of what you signed*. No doubt they know this; if push came to shove they know they’d have to give it back.

*Not a lawyer, but somewhat confident that’s how it works in These United States.
 

gnop1950

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I put down a $1k refundable deposit on a highly customized, $162k MSRP, Taycan 4S. My first impulse is that no non-refundable deposit is reasonable given they can probably sell any car they get in a few days. As others have said non-refundable deposits are likely not lawful depending on the state. But, it is a seller's market right now so all bets are off when it comes to markups, deposits, etc.
 

iipabrewer

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While the refundable part is true, not sure about the other part, as dealers routinely ask for, and get, much higher deposits than 2.5% here in California. I had to put $10k down to get my GT4 and $15k for the Taycan.
Wow I purchased this morning in CA and put down $5K refundable. This seemed reasonable considering the cost of the car. However I did pay over MSRP.
 


satchurator

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In my case, during 2021 I was able to negotiate conditions on my non-refundable deposit. The SA agreed to refund if the delivery didn’t occur by a certain date. Since your concern is about delays, try negotiating some reasonable date after which you have the option of refund, e.g. currently quoted delivery date for the allocation +1 month.
 

ssim

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My thoughts on deposits for Taycans and other normal Porsches:

Should be $2.5-5k, payable via CC, and refundable up until the allocation locks. If your build is crazy high or low, perhaps $5-10k. After the car locks, I think it should be refundable upon subsequent sale of the vehicle / takeover of the allocation if you back out.

Some SAs, like mine, don't ask for a deposit for an order demand...but they'll ask for a deposit once they have a real slot. This prevents dealers from deposit harvesting, and I wished more of them would adopt this mentality.
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