Is it possible to get a car deposit back you pay over the phone w/ a credit card if they try to tack on fees?

Question

My husband found a hard to find new car at an out of state dealership and haggled them down to a good price before giving them his credit card number for a deposit to hold the car. I am willing to pay the agreed upon price but I have heard of salespeople trying to tack on undisclosed dealership fees later on. No contracts were signed, it was strictly an over the phone conversation. If they try to tack on fees, what rights do I have as far as getting the deposit back? If I threaten to call the credit card company to dispute the charge or the BBB will they budge? I want to go in prepared when the car comes in and ready to fight any fees he didn't mention over the phone.

Answer 1

have him fax you a purchase agreement, if it's not what you agreed on then he should refund your money.  If he doesn't, then just cancel the charges.

Answer 2

I can guarantee you that there will be fees. There always are. Rarely will a salesman quote you a "out the door" price because he usually doesn't have all the fee costs in front of him. The Finance Manager does all that.

The fees could include a "doc" fee, a state tag fee, a state registration fee, other official fees, and sales tax.

You can always get your credit card charges reversed -- before you sign any other papers -- if the dealer won't refund the charges himself.