If the business has incurred no costs reselling the vehicle, can I get my deposit back?

The general rule is that deposits are not refundable unless the terms differ, this does not prevent the business from using an element of common sense. For example, if no additional costs are incurred due to you withdrawing from the purchase, or where the expense associated with this withdrawal is less than the deposited funds, this can be taken into account when deciding as to whether to award a proportion or the full deposit amount back to you.

In the event that you are unable to have your entire deposit refunded, it is important that the business is able to demonstrate that you were made aware of this condition when buying the car.

This is reinforced by clause 4.5 of The Motor Ombudsman’s Motor Industry Code of Practice for Vehicle Sales, which is approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), and states: “Where a deposit is required, the terms and conditions of the deposit will be made available to you [the customer]”. In an earlier clause (4.3), the Code equally refers to the fact that any contractual terms must be made clear to consumers during the vehicle purchase process.