Okay, I had to post here - 1st, it is definitely going to depend upon the Dealership- as well as the state that you are buying in as to what they accept as payment forms-
I work for a Dealership
& I happen to be a Finance Manager.
Paying cash or financing at a reputable Dealership is not going to make a difference in your price, discount, rebate , or otherwise- Actually a customer paying cash is a higher risk than those financing- Especially today since 9-11
However it is done quite often in our area and we accept anything as a form of payment- A cashiers check still has a risk as does a personal check- sometimes w/ a personal check they may want to let you take the vehicle on a dealer tag until funds are actually received- some Dealerships are set up for EFT and some are not- If the Dealership is privately owned or Corporate will make a huge difference as to what their policies are. Our Dealership is Corporate and accepting credit cards is for the convenience of our customers- Some may be declined the first time swiped for $30K but we let the customer know, we are not alarmed and they shouldn't be either- Let's call the bank and let them know you are making the purchase- if the credit card company or bank (debit card) is not used to these transactions they may not accept it through unless you confirm that you are indeed making the large purchase. Much better to use a form of payment that you can also track in your own records even though we have had customers who like the idea of saying they have paid "cash" for a new vehicle once in their lives and that is what they do- A very lengthy process to verify funds are legitimate and not being laundered, etc-
best advice- go to the Dealership, make your decision on vehicle and get the numbers up front- if they ask for credit let them know you will be taking care of your own purchase- (they may still ask for your SSN for identity purposes and for title work to be done) if they are legitimate they will not run your credit unless you take off with the vehicle and don't come back w/ the check, cash, however you pay for it. We don't! Our town is mainly military and many soldiers coming back from Iraq/Iran/Afghanistan, etc get huge bonuses and pay cash- A suggestion... Your money works best for you in the bank, money market, CD etc than to pay it all on a depreciating asset- You can do a huge downpayment- deposit the rest in an interest bearing account, make your payments from that account only- after one year, go ahead and pay it off if you really want to - It has now helped your credit as well as helped you to save a bit of money- There are many incentive rates out there right now- some are even available to all credit types- check the manufacturers websites for any offers out there right now and if you may qualify- A lot of times this takes no credit check at all- just you being aware of what rating you have and asking the Financial Manager if they feel you would qualify based on ... - If they want to run credit before giving a basic answer then forget it- We have all been doing this for a long time and if not - extensive training and classes are involved for reputable dealerships- Plus most of us have degrees before reaching the position and the extra training is for basic dealership policies and procedures- I hoep I haven't turned this into a rant but we get a bad name and have loads of great info to give- not all of us are snakes- So mrsklamc... Holding out on how you intend to pay for your purchase is not going to win you any competitions or best price ever , etc- & Pastors Wife- If the Dealership has their customers in mind a 3.5% fee is not going to keep them from doing business- You will always find better deals from Corporate owned dealerships because they can afford to go deeper into profit to sell one vehicle due to receiving that back and more based on volume for the month, quarter, etc- Also, the Corporate owned Dealerships are not concerned w/ minimal fees in order to serve a customer. Research the type of vehicle you want, then research the dealerships... I suggest contacting the internet depts of the dealerships- If they know you are willing to drive an hour for the better deal and they know you are also talking to 3 other dealerships over the same car - you will win without having to "tell" anything- Also, as a hint to this tip- You want to see the vehicle and drive it- that's fine- after a few e-mails suggest this to the internet mgr- their response will let you knwo should you actually go see this vehicle or stay clear as high pressure is evident through conversation- Don't walk away from a great deal though! Be aware many have lost great deals thinking they are holding out for better and get worse- Your decision should also be based on the relationship the internet sales has built with you and how much were they willing to go above and beyond to accommodate you. Surveys after the purchase also mean a great deal to dealerships so if your service was great- Give all rave reviews- It is a reflection on your sales person even though it asks about all aspects of the dealership- Okay enough from me- I hope this will help you & no hard feelings to the couple of posters I pointed out- all dealerships are different and a feew bad apples give our whole field a bad name- Learn the tactics and strategies- You will know Good Luck & Congrats for reaching the goal of being able to buy w/o financing- Not many can and still maintain a comfortable lifestyle afterwards- So- Kudos to you!
