$2500 order deposit now fully refundable?

[David3]

In the order agreement updated 3/18/2019 it says:
Order Process; Changes. After you submit your completed order and the options you selected become available in production, we will begin the process of matching your order to a vehicle and coordinating your Vehicle delivery. Your Order Payment covers the cost of these activities and other processing costs and is not a deposit for the Vehicle. Until your Vehicle is delivered to you, you may cancel your order at any time, in which case you will receive a full refund of your Order Payment. Until your order is matched to a vehicle, you may make changes to your Vehicle Configuration.

https://www.tesla.com/assets/pdf/model3_order_agreement_en_US.pdf

I believe it used to say something like this?
"Your Order Payment is fully refundable only until your order is matched to a Vehicle, at which point it becomes nonrefundable"

 

[OCR1]

I was expecting them to make that change so I'm glad to see they did. It made no sense that you could take delivery of the car, drive it for seven days, and then get a full refund including the $2,500 credit card payment. But if you just cancelled the order before picking up the car they keep your $2,500. It's good to see they finally cleaned that up.

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

You may be confused by the Model Y, where the order deposit is refundable. That's because you are ordering something that doesn't go into production for 18+ months.

Model 3 orders usually generate a quick delivery window of a few weeks (or less).

 

[OCR1]

You may be confused by the Model Y, where the order deposit is refundable. That's because you are ordering something that doesn't go into production for 18+ months.

Model 3 orders usually generate a quick delivery window of a few weeks (or less).

You are correct. I just read my purchase agreement dated yesterday and it has the same non-refundable deposit language. However, the entire amount is still fully refundable if you return the car, so I think you can easily get them to waive the language if you threaten to take delivery of the car and return it to get your money back.

 

[phlevcar]

I have threatened to return the car, to which they responded: "Yes, we do have that full refund policy. However, that’s only if you have not test driven the car and you wish to return within 7 days of delivery or 1,000 miles whichever is first. Also, this is only for the price of the car and again you would not be receiving the $2,500.00 back. "

The whole purchase process with Tesla turned me off so much from the brand...they really need to get their s*t together.

 

[OCR1]

Wait a minute. The price of the car has nothing to do with the $2,500 deposit. That is part of the price. They are not entitled to keep the deposit if you return the vehicle. You do need to return it within 24 hours if you test drove the vehicle. Here is the policy off their web site:

Return Policy

 

[Argoniii]

Yes a full refund of the price of the car would include the deposit.

 

[jjrandorin]

Its not considered a deposit from what I remember. This is the text from my MVPA (motor vehicle purchase agreement) as it relates to the 2500.
===================================

Cancellation; Default. We incur significant costs in managing your order, and locating and coordinating delivery logistics for your Vehicle. We may also incur significant costs for remarketing and reselling the Vehicle, including additional coordination, logistics and transport costs. If you cancel or default in this Agreement after your order is matched to a Vehicle, you will not be refunded your Order Payment as it has already been earned by us in taking and processing your order and preparing your Vehicle for delivery. You acknowledge that the Order Payment amount is a fair and reasonable estimate of the actual damages that we have incurred or may incur as a result of your breach of this Agreement, damages that are otherwise impracticable or extremely difficult to determine. When you take delivery of the vehicle we will provide a credit to the final purchase price of your Vehicle equivalent to the amount of the Order Payment you paid. This Order Payment and this Agreement are not made or entered into in anticipation of or pending any conditional sale contract.

================================

Doesnt mean they wont give it back, but means they dont have to. You might want to look at your MVPA when you get it to see if that language is still there. It may not be but was definitely in force in december of last year when I took delivery.

EDIT.. saw from OP that the language has changed. OP the above is the language copy / pasted from my MVPA for comparison with the language in yours.

 

[David3]

You are correct. I just read my purchase agreement dated yesterday and it has the same non-refundable deposit language. However, the entire amount is still fully refundable if you return the car, so I think you can easily get them to waive the language if you threaten to take delivery of the car and return it to get your money back.

I think because you ordered before 3/18 it shows the older version of the Model 3 order agreement for your order. If you order anytime after 3/18 you will see the updated one linked here: https://www.tesla.com/assets/pdf/model3_order_agreement_en_US.pdf