Dealer took a *personal* check...

[mrsilv04]

As some of you will know, this week, I added a 2007 Chrysler Town and Country to the fleet.

I drove to a dealership that was 120 miles from home to look at this van. I spotted it the day that it was listed on AutoTrader, and realized that it was *really* close to what I was wanting, and was priced at what I felt was below the market. Made a phone call to the dealer, verified it, and went and looked at it the next day.

I negotiated a very good deal on it, but then I had to tell the salesman that "I don't have any money with me" (meaning that I didn't have a certified check on me).

He looked a me a little funny, and said "Don't you have a personal check on you? I said "Yeah", not knowing where he was going. He continued "We'll take a personal check. We want to send you home with that van... today".

And they meant it. They let me drive it home, 20 minutes later.

It didn't matter that I was 120 miles from home, the dealer (a Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram franchise) took a personal check for it.

I was quite surprised.

Has anyone else experienced this, from a dealer far from home, which you hadn't had any previous dealings with?

 

[JHZR2]

Repo folks are pretty good these days.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Most any dealer will take a personal check. For large dollar amounts, they're nearly risk free because of the huge penalties one would face if they simply didn't honor it.

A lot of stores won't take checks, because the $30 bounced check isn't worth the hassle of collecting it-- and $30 is a petty amount that doesn't carry jail time or other serious consequences for someone passing around bad checks.

Earlier this year, I wrote a dealer a post dated check for my car which they held until I got my tax return. They're happy to take any form of money-- check, cash, money order, you name it.

 

[mechanicx]

I think Dealers use to like to take a personal check even if it was a smaller deposit because it sort of served as an agreement to buy the vehicle.

 

[rationull]

We bought my wife's Mazda at a dealership 100 miles away after negotiating via phone and email. They took a personal check, and even held it for a few days while the funds finished transferring from savings (it was kind of a short notice deal so we didn't have the money moved until a day or so later).

 

[4x4chevydude]

Car Max took 5k down for my car in personal check...they called the bank and verified funds but they let me drive it home after that

 

[onion]

One time I delivered a farm implement when I worked for a Deere dealership- and my boss told me to take the guy's personal check for $11,000 (this was for a no-till drill as I recall). I expressed some doubt about this and asked why didn't we just put it on his account (he had one)- so my boss explained the reasoning behind this:

If they put the $11,000 on the guy's account and he doesn't pay, then it's up to THEM (the dealership) to collect. But if he bounces an $11,000 check, then they can get the county DA to collect FOR them.

Seemed reasonable to me.

 

[oldmaninsc]

When we bought the wife's Camry we bought it from a Toyota dealership in the next city over (about 15 miles away) and I wrote a personal check for it, just over 20,000. I was surprised also that they took the check and sent us home in the car, but I found out later they had run a credit check on us. It was late in the evening so I doubt they could have called the bank to verify funds.

 

[expat]

Strange, just today I was telling somebody that credit/debit card machines in the U.S. don't use the chips implanted in cards. They said "Well down there they still write cheques"
I guess it's true.
Personally I have not owned a cheque book for 7 or 8 years.

 

[PandaBear]

All of my vehicle purchases are with personal checks (whole amount, not financed), and they were always accepted.

Seriously, it is safer than financing and the fee is lower (or none) than the alternative (credit card, financing that didn't get paid, bad trade in, etc).

 

[eljefino]

The dealer mails the title paperwork into the state. Surely they have time to wait for the check to clear.

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc
but I found out later they had run a credit check on us. It was late in the evening so I doubt they could have called the bank to verify funds.

I believe they can run a check 24/7.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

I've written personal checks for the full amount of every vehicle I've purchased since the 1970's, and I have yet to have a dealer have the slightest qualm over taking it. Some are dealers with which I've never before done business.

I'm not sure why this should be a surprise or novelty.

 

[Slick17601]

Originally Posted By: Al
Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc
but I found out later they had run a credit check on us. It was late in the evening so I doubt they could have called the bank to verify funds.

I believe they can run a check 24/7.


Only on a "bad" check database. No way did they verify funds. They are banking on the fact that bouncing a check is a criminal offense.

 

[jim302]

Dealers (or anyone else for that matter) can also use databases like ChexSystems to see if there are any bounced checks tied to an account that have been reported. It is not a guarantee that these databases will catch everything, but many retailers to report to these agencies.

Some also do a credit check for accepting a personal check, which I feel is reasonable. If one has bad credit, they aren't likely to have the money to pay cash for a car (except for occasional exceptions such as identity theft victims). They should be upfront about the credit check however.

Also, as said before, it also helps that the dealer has the law on their side if someone tries to write a bad check.

 

[Cutehumor]

wow, everyone here must be rich to pay for cash for a new vehicle. sure, I'll plunk down 30 grand. I'll have money for food to eat later.

 

[opus1]

When I've bought a car for cash, it's always been with a personal check, never a problem. One dealer held on to the paperwork I'd need to get the title and plates until the check cleared, but that was it.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
wow, everyone here must be rich to pay for cash for a new vehicle. sure, I'll plunk down 30 grand. I'll have money for food to eat later.

Wish I could as well.....though I like a large down payment on the car....

 

[bdcardinal]

Yup money is money. I see cars get purchased with a swipe of an AMEX Centurian card, paid in cash, business checks you name it. We have a fair amount of middle eastern royalty coming in to buy Raptors and GT500s for their kids that live here. They always come in with some security dude with a briefcase full of cash handcuffed to him. A friend that works at the BMW dealer across the street had a prince come in with a stack inter-bank US$1000 bills to buy a car.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
wow, everyone here must be rich to pay for cash for a new vehicle. sure, I'll plunk down 30 grand. I'll have money for food to eat later.

Wish I could as well.....though I like a large down payment on the car....


Many people save for years to buy a new vehicle for the family and keep it operational for more than 10 years.

It's a similar expense to how people finance a new car every 5 years and trade in.