Buying a car by credit card

Cridds

Hi all!

I am in need of a bit of advice.

I am planning on getting a new car around June/July and will need to borrow around £5-£7k.

Instead of obtaining finance for this I am thinking of getting a couple of credit cards with "0% on purchases" deals. At the end of the alloted amount of time, I shall shift the outstanding balances onto new card(s) with 0% balance transfers and continue to make payments.

My questions are:

Are there any cards that do NOT charge a fee for balance transfers?

Will I be able to swap between 0% interest cards until I clear the balance (will be approximately 3 years)?

If anybody can give me some advice or to suggest a better method of paying little/no interest then I would be most grateful!

[Deleted User]

All cards charge fees for BTs at promotional rate I am almost certain. Fee free offers disappered a while back. Most don't charge if it's non-promotional but that's not what you're looking for.

Can you get a BT ride for 3 years? Maybe. Maybe not. Can you afford 24.9% (for example) for a couple of years if not? If you can't, maybe look at a loan. Or a rate for life card.

redpete

Cridds wrote: »

Are there any cards that do NOT charge a fee for balance transfers?

No, or rather none that I have seen mentioned and if there was the stoozers would be on it like a swarm of bees.

Will I be able to swap between 0% interest cards until I clear the balance (will be approximately 3 years)?

IF you are accepted for another 0% BT CC after the first ones run out then "Yes" but there is the risk that circumstance might change (e.g. credit becomes even more tightly controlled, or your income drops) and you could be stuck with a high % CC debt and not able to get another 0% card or a cheap loan.

Cridds

Ok, thank you for your comments. Could you possibly suggest a card that would have a suitable limit but charge the smallest amount in interest?

I'm basically looking to get the cheapest deal rather than go through a finance company (which I did for my last card) and pay through the roof!

[Deleted User]

Hard to answer without knowing your history - eg any late payments, defaults, history of cards and loan etc. You want to make sure you apply for something within your reach. I believe MBNA have a rate for life at 6.9% which may suit you. Or you could try for one of the many 0% BT cards (if you have another card to put if on in the first place) that you could transfer to. 0% purchase periods tend to be a lot shorter.

But - £5-7k credit limits can be hard to come by these days.

Also bear in mind that you'll probably be charged 2-3% for using a card at a dealers, plus the 3% BT fee. Have you tried asking your bank for a loan? It may be the better option, and you'd avoid the two fees (and subsequent BT fees over the next 3 years).

Tixy

Over 3years you would likely be looking at switching 2-3 times, which would be 2-3 balance transfer fees - it might well mean that this works out as costing almost a much as a loan on a decent APR.

A lot of lenders seem to be starting new cardholders with low limits these days - often no more than £2k or so (though it would depend on your income etc)

Considering the extra risk with 0% cards and the chance you might not be able to keep getting subsequent cards, or considering the risk that BT fees could increase personally I'd recommend you looked for a personal loan with a low APR.

If you earn a decent salary, have a good credit rating and don't owe much in debts currently you should be able to get a £6k loan at around 8% apr, over 3years thats say £750 in interest.

Also bear in mind that if you are planning to buy you car as a purchase on a credit card (or 2 cards) some dealers charge quite a high fee for paying by credit card.