Thats exactly what a depost it.
a small amount of cash in good faith that you will buy the car, and if the buyer does pull out, the deposit stays with the seller.

Yup if thats the case and hes not willing to wait the extra day, tough luck.

If your really keen on shifting the car, maybe make an allowance say knock another 200 off or something for him having to wait another day to take delivery.

Otherwise it just sounds like he might be having a change of heart, i cant see how someone who is keen on something, keen enough to leave a deposit anyway, would want it back for the sake of another day.

Hang on, you've delayed the sale date of the car by a day or so due to a '3rd party issue' and the buyer wants out of the deal now (and their deposit returned)?

If so, it sounds like something suspect has happened at the sellers end (I am assuming this is you) and rightly so the buyer no longer wants to be a part of this deal. This 3rd party thing you have mentioned could be minor or could be quite major. If someone is wanting to not wait a day, it sounds pretty major...

In this case return the deposit.

Engine number, VIN and plates are all from different cars?

yeah, could be time to give back the deposit.

from what I can tell from what I have read the third party issue is a seller third party issue and if the buyer wants out I think that he should get the deposit back. I also think that if there is an issue with the car since the deposit has been paid then they should be able to opt out its a bit like buying a house you get a final inspection so that you know that the house/car you are buying hasnt been thrashed, damaged or broken (in the same condition as when the deposit was paid).

if it was a buyer third party issue then it would be his problem and the seller keeps the money.

ok well i may as well explain it so you guys have a better understanding so you can make a better call.

I have no money owing on the car, i bought it off a forum member a year ago, i wont name him atm as he mite not want his name in here, he might say later though and voice what he thinks. RAC made a stuff up! they are the 3rd party, he had a loan on the car through them when i bought it. I made the cheque out to RAC and not to him so the loan could be paid out, but RAC did not clear the query on the car when he paid it off, so upon doing the revs check its still showing money owing on the car when theres is not. (The lady from the finance company for the guy who agreed to buy the ar from me said RAC sometimes do forget to wipe the querys and that its prolly the case).

We have spoken to RAC and they have explained to us what happened, they explained it to me, and all the RAC want to clear it up is for us to send a copy of the rego papers and the transfer papers from when i bought the car to them, i have them at home, and they will take the query off the car and it will be free to sell. This would be cleared up tomorrow. I have explained this to the buyer.

The only reason why they want out is coz of the money owing, but there isnt any owing! just an RAC stuff up which is being resolved! There is nothing worng with the car, he is happy with the vehicle

3rd party issue sounds to me like the car is encumbered?
Is this the case? If so it should have been cleared up before thinking of selling the car. I would be wary also if i was the buyer in this case. Also how much is the deposit?
Might be worth returning it as some people get quite irrate about these things and cause more shit than it is worth.

*Edit* Beat me to it.. ^^

In this case I am not sure.

given the circumstances, i would say return the deposit. although it isnt your fault, the situation must have made the buyer uneasy

[QUOTE=colonel wrx;386899]given the circumstances, i would say return the deposit. although it isnt your fault, the situation must have made the buyer uneasy[/QUOTE]

i can understand why seeing money owing on the car would make em uneasy, but like i sed i explained it to them that theres no money, and that they can do a revs check tomorrow afternoon again, and it will show nothing owing on it. i dont see why they cant wait an extra day til tomorrow afternoon to do another revs check.

ive also lost my deposit now that they are bailing.

i would be keeping the deposit.