new car sales

[disbelief2021]

hi I went to a large car dealer yesterday looking to buy a new car - spent some time with salesperson and I said I would think about it and let them know today - before I went I paid £100 refundable deposit...this morning I went to a rival dealer and got a better deal - so I emailed the original one and politely thanked them for their time yesterday but I had got a deal else where and could they please refund my deposit (the deposit at the moment is the least of my concerns) I rang the salesperson too but she was with another customer so I left a message to say I had rang....later on I checked my emails and found one from the salesperson at the first place - it goes "..I need you to speak to me......not sure why you had to visit another dealership......' I had signed and agreed nothing with them -just said I would think on it and give decision today - and I simply told them today I am going with another deal - the thing that gets me the most is the telling off for shopping around at other dealers, why wouldn't or shouldn't I do that when I am buying a new car? I have emailed the head office and forwarded the email but I would like to know if anyone has had similar experiences (rightly or wrongly I have something telling me that people think that its something to do with me being a woman on my own). I would love to hear of any positive experiences from women going in to car dealerships on their own? I must say the salesperson is a woman not a man

I went on my own. I knew exactly what I wanted and what colour etc. Easiest sale he'd ever had and he was really nice.

Bit confused though - why would you expect your deposit back?

I am confused about the deposit too, you were going to think about it so why did you pay it?

What paperwork did they give you when you handed over £100? Do you have something explicitly in writing saying that the £100 is refundable not just to be credited against your eventual purchase?

You do know that "second hand car dealer" is widely understood culturally as being synonymous with someone who is untrustworthy, slimy and likely to be looking for opportunities to exploit the gullible? I can believe that there are some people working in the trade who break that pattern but your email to head office certainly won't result in any kind of reprimand for not being nicer to you. They want to make a sale, by any means necessary, including making you feel obliged to go ahead even if you aren't quite sure.

Correction as I referred to "second hand" dealers above and you are specifically talking about new cars but I don't think there's a massive difference - if anything I would expect higher pressure and more shadiness in a dealership of new cars as the stakes are higher for them. When people work on commission their priority is their own end-of-month bonus, not the needs of the customer.

@KihoBebiluPute

What paperwork did they give you when you handed over £100? Do you have something explicitly in writing saying that the £100 is refundable not just to be credited against your eventual purchase?

You do know that "second hand car dealer" is widely understood culturally as being synonymous with someone who is untrustworthy, slimy and likely to be looking for opportunities to exploit the gullible? I can believe that there are some people working in the trade who break that pattern but your email to head office certainly won't result in any kind of reprimand for not being nicer to you. They want to make a sale, by any means necessary, including making you feel obliged to go ahead even if you aren't quite sure.

I thought OP was buying a newcar at a dealership?

@Sparklingbrook I think your query of 6:27 was cross-posted with my correction of 6:26. I plead guilty to not being careful to check the details before pressing "post".