I don't understand who these people are that can put down a deposit for a car that's like 2 years down the line, if you're lucky, without any guarantees it'll be any good.
That being said, if you're buying an 80k vehicle 2-3k isn't a lot. If you want a new desirable model it's the only way to get it on launch or year 1. Deposits are usually refundable.
Better hope it never needs parts, they've never recovered from covid backlogs in my experience. I'm no longer surprised when the rover parts guys tell me something is on "intergalactic backorder"