I recently put my car up for sale [1]. We have had a lot of interest, but no offers yet.
A Bite on the Car
This week we had a young man come to look at the car. He wants to buy the car, but he won’t be able to get the money for a couple weeks. It’s actually not as strange as it sounds. He’s an exchange student at the University and he needs to get the money from his parents back home.
Waiting to Sell
Since we are refinancing [2] and turning over our credit cards [3] it’s not actually that bad if we wait another month or two before we buy a new car [4]; it actually works out a little better.
Down Payment to Hold the Car
We requested 2.5% of the price for a down payment. If he doesn’t purchase the car in a month, he will forfeit the down payment. We plan to stop advertising the car, but we will still drive the car.
Similar to Buying a House
We set up the transaction of selling the car similar to that of selling a house; buyers often give a down payment in the form of earnest money, which is forfeited if the closing doesn’t take place.
Action Plan
We’re going to start looking for a replacement car… now that we have an almost deal. We’ll probably hold of on purchasing though, until the deal goes through for sure.
What do you think of the strategy? Would you take a down payment to hold a car?
Related Articles by Others:
- Why Are People STILL Buying Trucks and SUVs? [5] at All Financial Matters
- The Cost of Road Rage and Aggressive Driving [6] at Moolanomy
- Hyundai’s “Dollars and Sense†Ads: My Take [7] at The Simple Dollar
- Why I Still Have No Money [8] at Consumerism Commentary