Buying used car help

The_blur

Hi all,

My mother buying a used car from a used car dealer and they are requesting payment via bank transfer.

She's a little concerned about it as never really does this and mostly uses credit or debit card with her payments.

Just for clarity, is there anything to even be concerned about by using bank transfer?

I'm in the mind of it's quite safe as she'll pay money and walk away with the car and given its from a dealer they aren't likely to up shop and run ect.

Regards 

AdrianC

Bank transfer is every bit as safe as card payment - think of the millions of pounds that gets transferred between companies every day...

The one caveat is that if she paid by credit card, then she'd get the addition of s172 protection against the financier in the event of problems. But the dealer do not have to be able to accept card payments at all.

Ectophile

The only real "risk" with a bank transfer is that it's not reversible.  There is no chargeback scheme or Section 75.  So if there turns out to be something wrong with the car, you're left taking it through the courts to get your money back.

japitts

Would you be able to put a deposit on credit card (thus giving you all the S75 protection), but the balance via bank transfer?

That's what we've always done with used car purchases.

macman

As above, put a minimum amount on a CC and the balance by BT.
Or ask them to accept a debit card payment on arrival for collection (normally it will clear through in an hour or so by Faster Payments), assuming that the amount is within their card limit.