Is a used-car deposit refundable in Northern Ireland?

It depends on the agreement, how the sale was made and why it is being cancelled. Get the deposit terms in writing because there is no single rule making every deposit refundable.

In relation to “Is a used-car deposit refundable in Northern Ireland?”, used-car problems are usually cheaper to walk away from than to unravel after ownership has changed, so pause when one part of the story does not fit.

For “Is a used-car deposit refundable in Northern Ireland?”, write down the amount, what it reserves, the agreed price, any conditions and whether it is refundable. Screenshots of an advert are not a substitute for clear deposit terms.

For “Is a used-car deposit refundable in Northern Ireland?”, this answer is written for a Northern Ireland user, but some vehicle-registration, consumer-credit and insurance functions operate on a UK-wide basis. The attached sources — GOV.UK - Buy a vehicle: step by step, GOV.UK - Vehicle registration: new and used vehicles, and nidirect - Contact Consumerline — are therefore deliberately mixed where the responsible authority is UK-wide. That is more accurate than forcing every point into an NI-only source.

Practical next step for “Is a used-car deposit refundable in Northern Ireland?”: do not pay until this point has been independently checked. Save the advert, seller messages and any official or commercial check so you can show exactly what information you relied on.