Stupid car buying question

[ecotourist]

First of all insist on getting an out the door price. "You can write it up however you want but I'll only talk about the final price." You don't want to find out about document fees, "extra profit charges", undercoating, fabric protector, special waxes, window etching, etc when you pay the bill.

Say this is a no-trade deal. That way they don't have to puff up the price to be able to give you a really good price (ie too much) for your trade in.

Don't say anything about paying in cash. It may work against you. It seems they make money off the finance charges. By cash you mean paying by cheque anyway - no-one should be carrying a wad of cash.

Finally if you're buying a new car insist that the bill of sale say there has been "no body damage on this vehicle". I was once sold a new car which had a repainted panel - it was a very good job that I didn't know about for years but just the same that's not what you expect in a "new" car.

 

[NJ_Car_Owner]

I've never attempted to pay cash - depending on your FICO score, credit availability and the cost of the car it may be beneficial to get a low interest loan. We did look once at cars around the $6000 range and we would have paid cash for it at that low a level.

With the above being said I just gave a dealer an $8,000 personal check and financed the rest of my wife's new to us car and they let us drive away late on a Saturday night so no ability for them to cash it. I don't think you need a certified check, your written check along with either the cancelled check or the bank image is your receipt enough that you paid for the car. For the dealer I would think if you "bought " the car with insufficient funds they would be coming after you ... I'm not 100% sure on this but new car dealers have taken personal checks from me every time I've bought a car and we usually give them a fairly large check. I think it's against the law for dealers to charge a card for a car, I once joking said I'd do it and the salesperson said they can't do it.

 

[Rock_Hudstone]

Originally Posted By: chiefsfan1
Since we have been looking at cars, how do we make a offer when paying cash?
Do I actually have the money in my pocket, then let them make me a offer?
Then I counter low and say here's the cash?

Depends on the situation and the price of the car.

Private seller- all cash deal is a major plus. However, I wouldn't flash any bills around or carry large sums unless ready to close the deal that day. On the other hand, the more expensive the car the more unwieldy paying all cash can become.

With dealers, new or used paying cash may not offer much negotiation leverage, unless its a low price used car dealer looking to unload something quick. In any case, paying cash frees you to focus on the car and the out the door price.

Don't be distracted by taxes and fees, etc, how they work that out is their problem.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: NormanBuntz
Originally Posted By: chiefsfan1
Thanks. We are buying used.
One could always take a loan then pay it off on the first payment.


Wrong. Many finance companies will not accept a payoff or refinance deal during the first six months. Reading the tiny print is a must.


Depends on the type of finance company. A lot of the buy here pay here type places might have tough financing terms because their market is to fleece the consumer, at larger dealerships that don't rely on that model, they have no prepayment penalties, but they usually don't get their bonus for signing you up until you've made a few payments so that's why some slip in there no prepayment for 3-6 months.

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: JMJNet
Any car dealers should accept personal check.


My last three or four cars I have put $5000 to $8000 down via a personal check and financed the rest at low interest rate from my credit union.

The finance guy at the last dealership (Sunday at 6PM, banks closed) went on on and on about how he hates accepting a personal check, and that if I wrote a bad check, I would go to jail. That he would call the sheriff himself and go repo the car from my driveway himself if the check came back. This conversation occurred after I already told the guy that I was a police officer. He kept stammering on and on and on about how I would be a felon if I wrote a bad check, and was I absolutely sure that I wanted to write that check???

I finally told the guy to knock it off or I was going to nuke the deal. I'm wearing slacks, dress shoes, and a nice shirt. I'm properly showered and groomed. I showed you my badge/ID to prove that I was gainfully employed as a police officer. I have a perfect credit score over 825. I'm not some dirty junkie looking to scam a dealership out of a car. I'm not going to throw away my career, a $60K a year job and a pension over a bad check. His condescending attitude almost killed the deal, and in hind sight, I should have walked right then and there and then told the dealership owner later in a phone call why he lost a sale.

 

[Mr Nice]

This idiot wanted you to finance the entire loan through their bank and not accept your check.
It does help to go at the end of the month at 6 PM to buy a vehicle.

 

[Rock_Hudstone]

Originally Posted By: NJ_Car_Owner
. I think it's against the law for dealers to charge a card for a car, I once joking said I'd do it and the salesperson said they can't do it.


Right, i believe there is a limit to how much can be put on a credit card, around $2000 or so.

 

[Vuflanovsky]

I think most dealerships in this area at least use an e-check processor with your physical check. The money is already encumbered and on its way out of your checking account by the time they hand you the keys whether it's 1PM or 9PM.

 

[Donald]

Watch out for the documentation fee. It can be hundreds. Negotiate an out the door price excluding only sales tax and DMV fees. No dealership fees. No fees to do the DMV forms, just actual DMV fees.

 

[twouvakind]

Local stealerships sometimes reach out to each other in the sales/trade world and share info on a potential buyer/trader "shopping" another dealer. They kinda know you are coming and are prepared to give you the same or a similar deal. It happened to me when I went to trade my '99 GTI 2.slow some years ago...the dealer was like...I ain't giving you any more than so and so dealer offered you earlier today! [censored] man! Next time I will shop around the country via the internet. Shipping services get pretty competitive these days.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: Rock_Hudstone
Originally Posted By: NJ_Car_Owner
. I think it's against the law for dealers to charge a card for a car, I once joking said I'd do it and the salesperson said they can't do it.


Right, i believe there is a limit to how much can be put on a credit card, around $2000 or so.


They just don't want to take the hit on the credit card charges. My dentist told me that he once put 25k down on his Mercedes with his American Express. They called him to make sure he was going to pay it off next month and they let the charge go through.

I did pay with a personal check once, it a small time independent dealer who bought the car I wanted at an auction. I was all prepared to show him the balance on an ATM receipt, but he never asked. We used the same accountant though so maybe that's why he didn't care. The other times I've just used a bank check. I negotiated the price and then came back later in the day with the bank check. Still useful knowing the teller, they always waive the bank check fee for me.

 

[Mr Nice]

Can you buy a car with a credit card if the car is $20K and the CC limit is $30K ?

 

[NJ_Car_Owner]

I thought no but apparently some car dealers do.

 

[Doc8404]

Reminds me of the time I was selling my Altima.
I think I was asking 18.5k. They asked if I would take 17k

I said no. They drove two hours to test drive anyway.
Daddy's girl was in love with it and wanted it.
Dad turned to me, I was in the backseat, and laid 17.5 on the arm rest and asked if we were good.
Yep. I reminded him I needed to clear the title and he said "take the money. We will pick up the car next weekend."

And they did. I arrived at home with the cash and the car and my wife was shocked. As was I
I wired the money to my credit union and they expedited the lien release.

 

[Doc8404]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Can you buy a car with a credit card if the car is $20K and the CC limit is $30K ?


That's how my sister bought her mustang.
Lower APR than a loan and then she transfers to another card if they have a deal.
Even with the fees it works out better.

 

[wtd]

On my last new car purchase(14 Mustang) I financed through Ford Credit to get the $2,000 rebate and then before I had even made the first payment, refinanced through my credit union at a lower interest rate. I don't recall if there was any small print against doing that but I never heard anything from Ford Credit so it must have been okay.

Wayne

 

[Jetronic]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
I paid cash (cashier's check) for one of my vehicles, and the dealer knew that was how it was going to work. The salesman told me that it didn't matter as the negotiation for the sale price was separate from the payment method. They said that they offered financing if I wished, or I could go through my own bank or I could pay by cashier's check. It didn't matter.

Another thing they explained was that there isn't really a "trade in", you negotiate the purchase price for a new vehicle and then the dealer may make you an offer to buy your old vehicle. But they made it clear their offer would be a wholesale amount and I could probably do better in a private sale.


That's how it should be....

 

[spk2000]

A lot depends on where you are buying the car. Small private lot or private owner sale and cash is often king. Large dealerships don't care as much. Best deals are found at car auctions but there are often problems with these cars that someone else did not want to mess with.

 

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted By: rsylvstr
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Can you buy a car with a credit card if the car is $20K and the CC limit is $30K ?


That's how my sister bought her mustang.
Lower APR than a loan and then she transfers to another card if they have a deal.
Even with the fees it works out better.


I meant for the CC reward cash back points.

 

[apwillard1986]

It is best to get the total and go grab a cashier's check.

Policies vary by dealer. If you do not agree with the policy then respectfully decline the deal, explain why, and try to remain open minded and consider the dealer's position as well. It can be important to remember that as honest as you know you are we have learned to assume nothing.

I am the Inventory Manager at a large family-owned dealer and our owners are very careful. We do not allow credit card purchases of vehicles because people like to cancel the charges after the fact. We do allow debit card transactions. We reserve personal check transactions for repeat customers or persons with exceptional credit.

I would reserve telling them how you are paying until after you reach an equitable deal. We inform our customers of their options but remind them that how they pay has no bearing on the negotiated price.