Trike Deposit

Dec 8, 2022
3
3
Berlin, MD
I am a new member of Trike Talk and recently gave an Alabama Roadsmith trike dealer a $500 deposit on a 2018 GW trike. I found out that financing something other than a factory-built Harley trike is hard to do. I could not get financing and now the dealer will not return my deposit. Does anyone have any ideas? much thanks.
 
I am a new member of Trike Talk and recently gave an Alabama Roadsmith trike dealer a $500 deposit on a 2018 GW trike. I found out that financing something other than a factory-built Harley trike is hard to do. I could not get financing and now the dealer will not return my deposit. Does anyone have any ideas? much thanks.

Mike..Welcome to Trike Talk….����.. I wish I could help you deposit problem but that’s a tough one.. Whenever I had to leave a deposit. I will leave them only $100 and if the deal goes south I can afford to lose that.
 
You give him cash, check or charge ? If charge, call the card company, tell them, should be no problem getting a refund, check maybe you can cancel the check, but I'm sure its been cashed ? What a Dirt bag Dealer! Go take it for another test ride leave in a home depot parking lot call him tell him it wont start throw the keys away, That $500 worth of fun :D
 
Mike,

Welcome. Sorry for your dealer problem. In order to give good advice we need to know more about the contract (purchase agreement) you signed with the dealer. Most contracts contain provisions regarding performance and timing spelled out. In my opinion, good reputable dealers are not in business to retain unearned customer deposits. They are in business to sell their products. Financing trike conversions is not an unusual transaction. I suspect there are other factors involved here that are causing your problem. Any additional information you can provide will help to get you better answers..... Jim
 
Mike, welcome to Trike Talk! Sorry to hear of your difficulty. I would think a legit dealer would help get you set up with financing by steering you in the right direction so he could sell his product to you.
 
Mike- welcome. Let's start with this.

It is not difficult to get a trike financed. Plenty of folks do this. Lenders use the rule of CCC - Character-Capacity and Colleterial. If you have at least two of these, you will get financed.

I am confident that your dealership has a number of lending sources that can help/

Next, what about the bank you do business with - most relationship banks will assist. Just remember, you need that CCC. For the colleterial, the bank will want to determine the value of the unit. Let's say a 2018 Wing is worth $15,000. If the selling price is say, $20K, then you should be prepared to put down $15K.

For the first C - Character, this is your credit. The lower your score, the more difficult it might be to get the loan - and usually the higher interest rate.

Third, for capacity - your income as well as your other obligations.

OK, $500 down - did you sign anything? If did, take a look at what you signed. Anything about the deposit there. I say this because "most" dealers will refund the deposit if you can't get financed.

Last - if this s new bike dealership or just a side store. What do they have that you want for $500? If all fails, see if they will let you use those funds to buy something. This dealership has potentially lost any of your business. Hopefully, they will recognize this.
 
Publicity

I would let the dealer know that you are a member of a very large internet trike forum with many thousands of members. Let him know that the story of a dealer withholding a deposit could be detrimental to the dealer's future sales. Bad publicity in the trike community is terrible for business.

Kurt
 
I think this is normal business for some dealers and I'm not saying it is right, but I have a similar story. When I was looking at a new bike so I could get independent suspension I visited a dealer and they informed me that they had a list of people wanting a Goldwing trike 2018 and above and if I wanted on that list I had to put down a 500 dollar deposit and they would call me when one was available.

With my check book in hand I asked what if I don't like the bike for some reason you know color, ride or what ever? They informed me the deposit was non refundable. I said well I have never rode a Goldwing before and I don't know if I will like it, or do you have one I can test drive and the answer was no 2018 or above to test drive and no refund of deposit so I put my check book back in my pocket and thanked them for the tour of their shop. Found me an individual with one for sale test drove it and bought it same day.
 
Welcome from Indiana!!! :Coffee:

Hopefully this works out for you.

I never leave a deposit until I fully understand all the details. Due diligence on the front end always pays off.

Bob
 
Issue solved

Thank you for all of your responses. I am sorry I have not been on this site for a while. The Alabama dealer finally returned the $500 deposit but not until I had contacted the State attorney general and threatened the dealer with a lot of bad reviews in a lot of online sources. Your comments and suggestions are very MUCH appreciated.

Now then, I am still in the market for a GW trike, 2018 or newer (I've heard the NAV systems are much better in the newer models). A Texas Honda dealer wants to charge almost $2000 for prep and freight on a unit that I suspect they got from another dealer close by. Only one mile on the odometer (a 2018!!??) and it is being sold as "new." I smell a rat.

Can someone tell me who is the main sponsor of this forum, Trike Talk? I thought it was the Texas dealer but I'm not sure. I was originally in contact with this sponsor, but I am not sure it is the Texas dealer I am now dealing with. I do believe this sponsor is the owner of a Texas GW trike dealer and I want to recontact him.

I am still working on financing, and I appreciate all your comments relating to this subject.
 
thank you for all of your responses. I am sorry I have not been on this site for a while. The Alabama dealer finally returned the $500 deposit but not until I had contacted the State attorney general and threatened the dealer with a lot of bad reviews in a lot of online sources. Your comments and suggestions are very MUCH appreciated.

Now then, I am still in the market for a GW trike, 2018 or newer (I've heard the NAV systems are much better in the newer models). A Texas Honda dealer wants to charge almost $2000 for prep and freight on a unit that I suspect they got from another dealer close by. Only one mile on the odometer (a 2018!!??) and it is being sold as "new." I smell a rat.

Can someone tell me who is the main sponsor of this forum, Trike Talk? I thought it was the Texas dealer but I'm not sure. I was originally in contact with this sponsor, but I am not sure it is the Texas dealer I am now dealing with. I do believe this sponsor is the owner of a Texas GW trike dealer and I want to recontact him.

I am still working on financing, and I appreciate all your comments relating to this subject.

Papa Zook is owner of this forum & a trike dealer, converter installer. Not a HD dealer. Also you might get more responses ,posting in proper forum, Not "NEW MEMBER" forum. That said you might want to contact Zook at the "CUT N SHOOT CUSTOMS' store . He is sponsor here & his info is on the sidebar somewhere. His shop is in Conroe,Tx He does have some Trikes ready to go if not sold them all
 
Can someone tell me who is the main sponsor of this forum, Trike Talk? I thought it was the Texas dealer but I'm not sure. I was originally in contact with this sponsor, but I am not sure it is the Texas dealer I am now dealing with. I do believe this sponsor is the owner of a Texas GW trike dealer and I want to recontact him.

.

Papa Zook...AKA Randy.....He is the owner and founder of Trike-Talk....

His contact #...Is Cut N Shoot Custom's Conroe Texas...Ph # 346-800-7946..
 
thank you for all of your responses. I am sorry I have not been on this site for a while. The Alabama dealer finally returned the $500 deposit but not until I had contacted the State attorney general and threatened the dealer with a lot of bad reviews in a lot of online sources. Your comments and suggestions are very MUCH appreciated.

Now then, I am still in the market for a GW trike, 2018 or newer (I've heard the NAV systems are much better in the newer models). A Texas Honda dealer wants to charge almost $2000 for prep and freight on a unit that I suspect they got from another dealer close by. Only one mile on the odometer (a 2018!!??) and it is being sold as "new." I smell a rat.

Can someone tell me who is the main sponsor of this forum, Trike Talk? I thought it was the Texas dealer but I'm not sure. I was originally in contact with this sponsor, but I am not sure it is the Texas dealer I am now dealing with. I do believe this sponsor is the owner of a Texas GW trike dealer and I want to recontact him.

I am still working on financing, and I appreciate all your comments relating to this subject.

A unit with 1 mile on it - that has never been registered is normally considered new. This is a great place to come and ask questions and do a little research.

Lots of great folks here ad can provide a bit of assistance
 

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