Can anyone help my with writing a contract?

Question

So I'm going to test drive a car tomorrow and the seller already has the car payed off so it's his. He's asking $17,000 for it. Thing is that people already want to buy it. I want o seal the deal by gigving him a $1,000 check that's refundable. I want the contract to say somehting like "Check refundable if car is not purchased" or something like that. I'm getting a loan to get the car but I just want to make sure the car doesn't get sold. Thank you for your time.

Answer 1

Uh, it's one thing if you are the only one looking at it, but it's not very fair to expect him to hold off all the other prospective buyers while you try to get a loan. To avoid this from happening again, go to your bank or credit union and get pre-approved for the highest amount you can where you can still afford the payment. You can then shop for any car up to that amount. Showing up to a sellers door with a pre-approval letter is almost like walking up with CASH. You could probably get a little better deal too. Good luck.

Answer 2

So, you want him to hold the car for you until you make up your mind whether you're going to buy it or not?

What about the other people who come by and say, "Here's the money. I'll take it."?

In other words, why would he hold it for you, knowing that you can decide to not take it, can take your deposit back, and can make him lose out on other people who want it?

I doubt he'd sign a contract written that says you can hand him a check but he can't do anything with it until you make up your mind. You might want to pass on this car and wait until you find one you want to buy.