How to pay for used car?

oceanscape

I'm looking to buy a used car from a dealer.

Does paying by credit card offer any protection? Is it worth it considering they will probably charge a credit card fee?

What about debit card? Would it get declined for such a big transaction (we're talking about £8k, so not massive but obviously much bigger than a usual spend!)? Or is it best for me to take the cash out to get a better deal?

Thanks for any advice.

LandyAndy

Credit card will cost you the dealers merchant fee. I have a feeling second hand cars may not be covered under the normal cc protection.
Debit Cards are a possibility but you'll need to warn your bank.
Cash won't get you a better deal at that sort of price level.

Ebe_Scrooge

Debit card is best. The dealer will prefer it - firstly, the authorisation takes place there and then, so there's no waiting for cheques to clear, and as soon as he gets the authorisation code he know's the money is in his bank. Secondly, businesses get charged for depositing cash, and get a big charge for credit card transactions. The charge to them for a debit card is much lower than either cash or cc. Thirdly, you don't have to worry about carrying around an envelope full of used notes :-) I've always used debit cards - obviously make sure the funds are in your bank before hand ! When the transaction goes through, your bank will most likely ask the dealer to telephone them, and ask to speak to you to confirm that it's a legit transaction. Takes a couple of minutes then job done.

In terms of negotiating a deal, a debit card is the same as cash, possibly even a little bit better as mentioned above, so if he's willing to do a deal at all then a debit card will give you the best chance ( short of taking out his own finance package ).

Lum

Also if it's a Visa Debit card then Visa will sometimes honour a Section 75-like claim even though they are not obligated to do so.

Not saying it will definitely help in the event of problems, but it might.

I bought one car on a debit card like that. All that happened is the transaction was declined pending authorisation and then the bank phoned me up to confirm.

missile

Most dealers will accept credit card for a deposit, but I don't know any who would accept £8,000.

Last time I did a BACS ransfer for £20,000.

Cash is no incentive to an honest dealer, he gets commision for selling you finance / PCH.

harveybobbles

We'd accept a CC for the balance. But we'd pass on the 2.5% fee to the customer.

Lum

missile wrote: »

Cash is no incentive to an honest dealer, he gets commision for selling you finance / PCH.

It could be argued that most dealers pushing those agreements are not exactly honest. An honest dealer would tell you you could get a much cheaper deal elsewhere.

Yes I know it's OT, but it bears repeating.

vaio

S75 kicks in you pay any of the cost on CC, no lower limit, the only stipulation is the car must cost between £100 & £30k

mark5

I usually pay for cars on my debit card it always go through no problem.