Any advantage to buying used car on credit card?

boots_babe

Hi,

I've been trying to search for info on this, but without much luck. We've agreed a deal on buying a used car from a main dealer. We will be going to collect and pay in full tomorrow.

Credit card charge is 3% but we have 1% cashback on our credit card, so 2% charge overall. Question is, is there any advantage to paying on credit card? I usually purchase everything on credit card, not only to get the cashback but also the added credit card protection. But I wondered whether it is any different with buying a car?

It's just, if there is no advantage protection-wise to paying on my credit card, I would rather pay on my debit card, as the money is sat in my account waiting to be used. However if it is worthwhile, I'm happy paying the 2% charge, but wasn't sure if there was any point.

Any ideas?

Inactive

I cannot think of any benefit that will outweigh the 2% saving.

boots_babe

So there is no added protection like there is with normal credit card purchases over £100 ? That would potentially be my only motivation for using my credit card, but I wasn't sure if it was the same for a car purchase

I'll_Be_Frank

Hi Boots_babe,

You have the same protection as you would always have under
Section 75 Consumer Credit Act if you paid using your credit card
and your purchase was over £100 but under £30,000.

The following is an quick summary taken from the Citizens Advice Bureau:

Special rules if you paid by credit
If you used your credit card or the seller arranged the finance for you to pay for
the car, and it cost more than £100 and less than £30 000, the credit company
may be equally liable for any breach of contract. This means that if the car is
faulty, you may be able to claim a refund or the cost of repairs from the finance
company, the dealer, or both jointly. The rules regarding hire purchase and
conditional sale are different to other agreements in that it is the finance company
that is solely responsible.

You can d/l the guide from here:
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/c_secondhand_cars.pdf

HTH.

Frank.

boots_babe

Thank you for that info, it sounds as though it may be worth paying the 2% card fee in order to get the extra assistance from the card company if we uncover any unreasonable problems with the car then.

I'll_Be_Frank

You're welcome, Boots_babe.

Good luck with your new car.

Frank.

vaio

But in any event you get the same protection is you pay any part of the cost with a CC so pay £200 on the credit card and the rest on your debit card.

Put a cheque in the post with my half of the 2% saving

vikingaero

If the 2% adds up to £2-£400 then it might be worth just buying an extended warranty from places like Warranty Direct.

vaio

vikingaero wrote: »

If the 2% adds up to £2-£400 then it might be worth just buying an extended warranty from places like Warranty Direct.

I had the same thought but if the 2% = £300 then the car is costing £15k and probably would come with a decent warranty already.

Obviously the figures are worse once I’ve had my half of the savings

boots_babe

Just about to set off to go and get the new car and thought I'd check back on here - glad I did actually. I didn't know that paying in part (over £100) still gave exactly the same protection. We've already paid £150 deposit on the credit card, so in light of that, we are ok to just pay the rest today on the debit card.

We're doing a part-ex so only need £5500 on the card, but that amounts to £110 which I was only wanting to pay if it was worthwhile. Looks like I don't need to though

Thanks so much for the help from everyone.

daveonline

Paying the deposit by credit card was a wise move, as others have mentioned you will still have the protection even though the car costs more. Hope it goes well.