am i being unfair?

[SS Shaun]

ok so in case some of you didn't know i was selling my 454 with the 4 speed manual trans to a member on here. (i hope he reads this to chime in as well) We agreed on the asking price and i was including everything! if it was with the motor and trans it went with it. i gave him my number we spoke a few times about it and then we came to a finally agreement. he was going to give me a $500 non-refundable deposit. and i told him many times non refundable. and he agreed. this was in October. He finally sent me a check in the mail on 11/11/11. Harassed me everyday about the check if i got it if i got it. i was away most of that week and didnt get back until that friday 11/11/11. so i sent him a text in december asking for the next payment. he asked me hey its the holidays can you give me a break this month please. I felt bad asking him for the money so i told him sure get the gifts for your kids. sent him a text in january hey are you sending anything this month. he told me yes wait until i get paid next week and i will send it to you. i said ok thanks. last week i sent him a text saying "hey if you sent me the check i didnt get it yet i just wanted to let you know" the he hit me with the story! "Man i have some problems now man my wife is loosing her job and i am going to have to sell the chevelle so i can buy your motor. I understand i had you wait this long and i can understand if you are mad, but i would like $300 back for the downpayment of the motor"

i sat back and my heart broke for the dude but then i was like how am i going to give him back $300 that i dont have for him. he made me promises of money and i went a head and bought some stuff. I needed $900 to pay off my transmission and i promised the guy i would have it paid before the end of Feb. I felt bad for the guys and i told him
"here is what i can do for you. i am going to relist the 454/4speed in a few weeks and when it sells i will give you back your deposit. I have no money left to send you because i have money tied to other things on my LQ9. I owe the trans shop $900 and i was counting on your $500 to pay it off. As soon as i pay off the trans shop i will sit back and calculate some things and get the 454 in running order so it can be easier to sell. I will advertise it in other ways and taking it to shows and events i will advertise it that way. As soon as someone buys it i will give you back your $500"

now my question to you is am i being fair? he sends me a text this morning saying "I been thinking about your text and i feel like your being a little unfair. i was trying to be fair with you and asking for only $300 back. I understand that you were counting on the money to help pay for your new setup but my wife lost her job and its not fair to my family for me to spend3500 on a motor, I didnt know this was going to happen, but like i said i am going to finish putting the car back together and sell it i need money for my family. I'm not buying another setup so i hoped you understand as i think you have a family too and would do the same if you had too but to temm me i have to wait till you finish your setup and then sell this setup is a little unfair. i would try and help you if this happened to you. thats why i only asked for $300 back"
i told him
"no matter" what you are going to have to wait i am not going to save up just to give you money back. so sit back and wait."

that is going to be the last time i text him back. i feel that i am being completely fair and being 100% nice about this. but to pressure me into sending you money back for a non refundable deposit is not fair. once the 454/4 speed is sold then i will send you money back. i am not spending any money on anything until i pay off my trans which i have to do since i already tied up my money for that. i've saved up for months on my own to buy things and was hoping to get the money from the 454 to buy everything i needed for the new setup. the motor is paid for the trans is almost paid for. the machine shop is paid for all out of my pocket. Lesson learned if i ever do something like this again i will get everything in writing and get it notarized. and to all the car guys and gals out there. if you are going to commit to something do it whole hearted and put everything to it and be ready to suffer the consequences when something goes wrong!
sorry but i had to rant and share my story! so chime in, am i being fair to this guy? i am being way to nice i think now that he is trying to put pressure on me about giving him his money back. all I can say is Thank God i didnt let him use paypal something told me not to let him send me a paypal payment now i know why!

[fleming23]

I think being human and having compassion for others makes this situation difficult. If the two of you verbally agreed to a $500 non-refundable deposit then he is out of luck and your willingness to even give him $300 back is above and beyond what you could do. Again, it is the compassionate nature of most people that makes you feel bad and want to help out how you can. If you are in a situation where you don't have the extra money to pay him back right away, then there is nothing you can really do. Maybe send $100 now and the $200 later if possible. Regardless, I personally do not feel you are being unjust if everything was clearly stated from the beginning.

That being said, personally, I would not try to make money off of a bad situation and would try to reimburse the person when you are able because it is the considerate thing to do (whether that is when the motor sells or you have the extra cash). At the end of the day, what is going to help you sleep better at night?

[SS Shaun]

Its true. i am compassionate at heart and i truly feel bad for the situation. But when he is going to have to understand is that i am saving money for my car. i never touch my family's money or my house money i should say. if it came to it that one of use looses our jobs then yes i would do everything i can to make sure my family has a roof over head and food on the table. I have learned over the years of working on cars if you dont have the money to do something or get something save for it. and that is the way i am doing things with my chevelle. I have not used a credit card on my chevelle since i got the car and if i did i paid it off that month. right now i am about $400 short of paying the trans place off. i told my wife about the situation and she is heartless and told me the dude agreed to a non refundable deposit its not your fault he backed out. she told me not to give him a dollar back. and she doesnt know that i am planning on giving him any money back. but whats fair is fair i think. if and when the 454 sells is when he will get his money back. i have no extra money like i said to him and i am not going to save to just pay him back. my extra money goes to my car and my motor. i put money in my savings account for days like what he is going threw. and trust me i feel so bad but what can i do for you if i dont have it! he will get his $300 back but its going to be on my terms not on his terms

[shadowgray396]

Any time you take payments it's a risk. That why when I sell parts pay all in advance or don't buy it. Sounds like you are being more then fair and I commend you for that. Hope this works out for you and the other party. Good luck

Ray

[flash]

It sounds like you are being very fair to me ,good luck .

[Rank]

Shaun no matter how tough it is for you to do stand behind your "non-refundable" agreement and move on. You have no explaining to do to the buyer and, IMO, you are a sucker for doing so .... as harsh as it sounds you two had a deal and it was his choice to not complete the purchase ..... , You are doing the guy a favor buy allowing him out of the purchase agreement.

TO THE BUYER ..... You must think this engine is a good deal otherwise you would not have agreed to buy it .... why dont you find the money somewhere, a relative, friend or something and borrow the money from them under terms you are sure you can meet ... will your friends lend you money? .... afterall the engine is gonna always be worth what you paid for it and you can probably even make a profit by reselling it.


I ask again buyer, will your friends/relatives loan you the money to honor your commitment to Shawn??

[SS Shaun]

LOL good way to put it that i am a sucker! i guess i am just to damn kind hearted. i want my chevelle on the road badly! but i will never commit to something if i knew i didnt have the money for it! or if i can get the money for it. for the first time on this build i am about to put my trans bill on a credit card and pay it off in 2 months it sucks but i have no other choice. because i counted my chickens before they hatched! my own fault! but now i know better and will never do it again!

[fleming23]

Originally Posted by SS Shaun

for the first time on this build i am about to put my trans bill on a credit card and pay it off in 2 months it sucks but i have no other choice. because i counted my chickens before they hatched! my own fault! but now i know better and will never do it again!

My credit card gets some MAJOR use on my car. I have earned a few hundred free dollars just by purchasing all my parts on the card. I also pay it off every month but 1% on all purchases adds up. Not always a bad thing to use one, unless of course you are accumulating interest.

[FlintTony]

I think you are being way too accommodating to the buyer. It is not your problem that he can't follow through on his end. I used to give credit to lots of people when I had my shop open. I've heard all the excuses and reasons in the world. Keep your word. NON-REFUNDABLE means just that. There is always a chance that you could have sold the engine to someone else while this guy was dicking you around. You may have lost a good, cash sale because you were trying to help someone out, that obviously didn't keep their word.

[flash]

I agree with Eric on using the credit card for the points or cash back option as long as you can pay it off quickly.We normally purchase everything we buy with a credir card and pay it off at the end of the month except with our rental renovation we have carried a balance the last several months but that is about to be paid in full again.