Phoenix Corvette Center - Corvette Center Of Phoenix
Phoenix Corvette Center - Corvette Center of Phoenix Failure to honor earnest money deposit

At Phoenix Corvette Center, there are two Daves— one who sells cars, and one who owns the place. Salesman Dave told me that I could put a 30-day deposit down on a car for $250 to hold it. I was buying a car for my sister-in-law, so this was a good option for me to hold the car until she could test drive it.

Owner Dave and his secretary took my deposit check (ALWAYS use check or charge for this sort of thing, pref. Charge!). On the receipt, I failed to note that there was no time frame (i.E., 30 days) mentioned. It simply said 'Deposit for Honda Civic" with a stock #.

Ten days after I put the deposit down, they were calling me back to hound me about when I was going to buy the car. I told them, "Well, I have 30 days to decide" (my sister-in-law wasn't quite sure about the car). Owner Dave's response: "Where does it say '30 days' on the receipt?" I realized he was going to be difficult with this.

Finally, at about the 12-day mark, Owner Dave left a nasty voice mail saying that I needed to come buy the car or they would put it back on the market. Right after receiving the voice mail, I placed a stop payment on the check, which had not yet been deposited, thank God.

When Owner Dave found out the check had been stopped, he left another nastygram for me saying that I needed to show that I was a real man and come down there and pay the $250 or they would take me to court, sue me for attorney's fees, flog me with a wet noodle, etc.

Legally, I don't know where this would have gone; the 30-day thing was verbal, and indeed a verbal contract, but would have been difficult for me to prove. I have since wondered that since the deposit receipt had _no_ time frame on it at all, that it was indefinite, and that I could have held the car indefinitely.

An attorney friend said that no person in his right mind would sue over $250, and he was right. I never heard from Dave again. He was all bluster in this case, though he has been involved in litigation in Maricopa County several times, sometimes as plaintiff, sometimes as defendant (par for the course for just about any business owner, and especially an auto dealer).

Either way, I came away with two lessons: 1) Never, ever deal with Phoenix Corvette Center, and 2) Always get everything explicitly in writing, including terms, conditions, time frames, etc.

Company: Phoenix Corvette Center - Corvette Center Of Phoenix
Country: USA
State: Arizona
City: Phoenix
Address: 4651 E University Dr
Phone: 6024373065

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