Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

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piton
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Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by piton »

I saw another post like this, but it was pretty old, so I'm posting something similar to see if anything has changed.

Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

I bought a used car from a large dealership and paid by check. They said that the only way to avoid a hard-pull on my credit was to not take the car until the check cleared. Unfortunately, it was a relatively hard used car to find option-wise and it was 2.5 hours from home! (I bought a car at Toyota in 2015 and paid by check and there was never a word about credit checks.) Anyway, dealing with dealerships is stressful enough and I wanted the whole thing to be over, so I thawed my credit for 24hrs and they did the pull. I saw the alert come through.

If I was local, I probably would have waited for the check to clear, but it wasn't worth a 5hr r/t drive!

Just curious what thoughts are about this!

thx
Tamales
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by Tamales »

This article isn't exactly the scenario you've asked about but is similar:
https://www.ncconsumer.org/news-article ... -scam.html
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8foot7
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by 8foot7 »

Wire the money. No pull, no wait, $30 or whatever (or free if you have money at Fidelity or many brokerages).

Or, and this is probably what I would do, call their bluff and walk. "I'm not thawing my credit, I don't remember my PINs and I drove 2.5 hours to get here. If I leave I'm not coming back."
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Cyclesafe
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by Cyclesafe »

My dealer demanded to do a credit check on me before he would accept a deposit on a specially ordered vehicle. I told him "no" and he said OK. He did insist, and I concurred as it was reasonable, that I give him a cashiers check for the balance before I got the keys.

IMHO, your Toyota deal was unusual.
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Watty
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by Watty »

Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?
Yes if it is a personal check. In all the paperwork you sign there is likely something that allows them to set up a car loan for you if your check bounces.

Part of the credit check is also go through some identity verification questions to help prevent identity theft. These can be really obscure questions and I actually failed that once when I was buying a car with a personal check. I realised later on that one of the questions was about the street address of an apartment I had lived in for six months over 20 years ago that I had completely forgotten about. The other questions were also very obscure. I needed to bring in additional ID to prove my identity when I picked up the car so I also brought in my passport.

You could likely have arranged to not have the credit check if you had wired them the money or paid with a cashiers check that they could verify during normal bank business hours before they let you drive off with the car.

During a move I have also run into difficulty with getting a car dealer to take an out of state check just because of their procedures.

There are lots of valid things you can complain about with car dealers but in all fairness they also have to deal with a lot of dubious buyers so I can understand that they will have their own procedures.
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gwe67
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by gwe67 »

They can deliver the car to you when the check clears. I had a dealer deliver a new car to me 2.5 hours away in a different state.

(Assuming you have a way to get home).
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runner3081
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by runner3081 »

The last car we bought was about $7k. We put it in a credit card and they would allow that with a hard pull.

Was WELL worth the temp credit hit for the cash back :)

Also, we don't really use credit for anything so the small impact wouldn't impact anything.
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midareff
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by midareff »

In 2018 I special ordered a vehicle from an out of town dealer and provided an order deposit of $5K by 2% cash back Visa. The car arrived 3.5 months later and I pulled a cashiers check payable to me to sign off at the dealer if all was OK. They said they couldn't accept it as it was a third party check but if I had a credit card that would handle the remaining amount they would take that..... LOL, broke my heart to put near $40K on a 2% cash back card instead of a taking the check.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by phxjcc »

2013 in California:
I was told by the GM at the dealer that "it was illegal to do a hard pull if the customer was paying cash".
He'd been in the business forever.

I was paying via cashiers check.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by mervinj7 »

piton wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 12:29 pm I saw another post like this, but it was pretty old, so I'm posting something similar to see if anything has changed.

Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

I bought a used car from a large dealership and paid by check. They said that the only way to avoid a hard-pull on my credit was to not take the car until the check cleared.
phxjcc wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 1:15 pm 2013 in California:
I was told by the GM at the dealer that "it was illegal to do a hard pull if the customer was paying cash".
He'd been in the business forever.

I was paying via cashiers check.
I recently bought a EV and paid in full with "cash". If you pay using a personal check, like I did, a credit pull is still required by the dealer. You can think of it as a credit risk management from their perspective. Until that check clears, you are effectively buying the car on credit (i.e. 3-4 days). In the interest of time, I unfroze one credit agency for 24 hours.

However, the dealer said if I would pay with a cashier's check or a wire transfer, then no credit pull is required by the the dealer since that's a true "cash" transaction.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by Cyclesafe »

midareff wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 1:03 pm In 2018 I special ordered a vehicle from an out of town dealer and provided an order deposit of $5K by 2% cash back Visa. The car arrived 3.5 months later and I pulled a cashiers check payable to me to sign off at the dealer if all was OK. They said they couldn't accept it as it was a third party check but if I had a credit card that would handle the remaining amount they would take that..... LOL, broke my heart to put near $40K on a 2% cash back card instead of a taking the check.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by nolesrule »

The last 2 cars we purchased were not financed.

Bought a 7 year old used car in 2013 from a large dealership about 90 minutes away with a deposit paid by credit card and a promise to mail them a check for the balance.

Bought a new car in 2015 and they let me drive the new car to my house (10 minutes away) on my own to get my checkbook and write a check.

Neither time was a hard pull done on our credit.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by summit »

When I bought a car in 2018 with my credit card, the dealer insisted that they were required to do a hard pull due to some homeland security/Patriot Act type law. I don’t know if this is actually true.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by adamthesmythe »

I recently bought with a cashier's check and they started to collect the sorts of information needed for a loan when I arrived. Then partway through they realized there was no point to doing this.

I think it was just disorganization, which was confirmed later when they took a couple hours to finally complete the purchase.

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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by Carefreeap »

Both times I wrote checks for new cars; 2005 and 2020 I was notified there would be hard pulls on my credit. They may have advised me that bring a cashier's check would have avoided. Since my credit score is around 815 and I'm not otherwise applying for credit I didn't see it as a big deal. Getting a cashier's check during Covid would have been a real pain. My local BofA branch is closed and our other banking is through USAA. I have no idea where there's a local branch in the Bay Area.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by Doctor Rhythm »

Similar situation - new car purchase in 2019 via personal check required a hard pull. A cashiers check would have avoided this, but there were reasons on our side to complete the transaction that weekend. We also had no other need for credit, and the negotiated price was several hundred dollars lower than what the other half-dozen dealerships in our region wanted, so there was no downside to allowing the pull.

For these situations, I try not to think in terms of “rights” or “justified actions”. The relationship is entirely transactional, so if the total money/effort/inconvenience is worth what I’m getting, then I’ll do it.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by Californiastate »

Pay it with a cashier's check to eliminate the full credit check. We bought 2 in '19. The first dealer wanted a full credit check for a personal check. The second we just went with the cashier's check and eliminated the headache. The bank was a mile away with zero wait. I really don't blame them. The next time we'll do the cashier's check again.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by UpperNwGuy »

Why are you folk so reluctant to let the dealer do a hard pull?
SavinMaven
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by SavinMaven »

I bought a car last month with a cashier's check. No hard pull. If I hadn't gone to the bank but used a personal check, I would have had a hard credit pull if I drove off in the car before the personal check cleared.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by SavinMaven »

UpperNwGuy wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 4:43 pm Why are you folk so reluctant to let the dealer do a hard pull?
I wanted to avoid it because it impacts your credit score.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by MedSaver »

We bought a car at CarMax using a personal check. They just made us show the checking account balance on the schwab app.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by H-Town »

SavinMaven wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 4:46 pm
UpperNwGuy wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 4:43 pm Why are you folk so reluctant to let the dealer do a hard pull?
I wanted to avoid it because it impacts your credit score.
A couple of credit pulls wouldn't impact your score, unless you're chasing after bank and credit card bonuses.
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tananaev
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by tananaev »

We used a cashiers check recently to purchase a car. Had to explicitly tell dealership to not run a credit check because they were about to do it. We didn't want an unnecessary credit pull because we were also in the process of getting a mortgage. Any credit pull might potentially cause issues with it.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by OnTrack2020 »

We bought a car around two weeks with a personal check from dealer about 1-1/2 hours away. They didn't ask for any credit check. Drove home with car that day. We are waiting for title to come in mail.
Normchad
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by Normchad »

I had the same issue. The dealer explained it, they want to be sure your check is good. A credit pull doesn’t do that per se, but it can be an indicator that you’re a deadbeat or not.

I have no problem with them doing it. But my credit is locked/frozen, and I didn’t know the password to open it up. This was on a weekend. The dealer put me on the phone with the credit bureau, and there was no way to unlock it on the weekend without the password. I was very happy to see how hard it is.....

Anyway, the dealer agreed to let me go with the car once I showed him my bank account balance on my phone.

I understand their side of it. They don’t want somebody taking away a new car and getting stuck with a bad check. From other posters, it sounds like a wire transfer or cashiers check would work too.

I’m one of those people that just does not care one bit about my credit score. It’s a great score. But I wouldn’t let fear of it dropping stop me from doing anything.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by Woodshark »

I bought an almost new van last year from CarMax. (Only had 9K miles on.) I paid with a personal check with no credit pull. What I did do was call my local bank. Explained that I was in the sales office and needed them to verify funds for the salesman. After that I handed him the phone. They said the check was good and that's all it took.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by student »

I bought a car about two years ago with a personal check. No credit pull.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by DIFAR31 »

Carefreeap wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 2:41 pm Both times I wrote checks for new cars; 2005 and 2020 I was notified there would be hard pulls on my credit. They may have advised me that bring a cashier's check would have avoided. Since my credit score is around 815 and I'm not otherwise applying for credit I didn't see it as a big deal. Getting a cashier's check during Covid would have been a real pain. My local BofA branch is closed and our other banking is through USAA. I have no idea where there's a local branch in the Bay Area.
Your (most) local USAA bank branch is in Colorado Springs.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by Lexx »

Some dealers also want to do a credit check so they can hard sell you on using their in-house financing so they can rake in the fees and points.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by Trader Joe »

piton wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 12:29 pm I saw another post like this, but it was pretty old, so I'm posting something similar to see if anything has changed.

Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

I bought a used car from a large dealership and paid by check. They said that the only way to avoid a hard-pull on my credit was to not take the car until the check cleared. Unfortunately, it was a relatively hard used car to find option-wise and it was 2.5 hours from home! (I bought a car at Toyota in 2015 and paid by check and there was never a word about credit checks.) Anyway, dealing with dealerships is stressful enough and I wanted the whole thing to be over, so I thawed my credit for 24hrs and they did the pull. I saw the alert come through.

If I was local, I probably would have waited for the check to clear, but it wasn't worth a 5hr r/t drive!

Just curious what thoughts are about this!

thx
No, it makes zero sense.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by David Jay »

UpperNwGuy wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 4:43 pm Why are you folk so reluctant to let the dealer do a hard pull?
I got hit by the EquiFAX data breach. Locked all 3 major credit bureaus + Chex Systems. For me it is easier to get a Cashier's Check than unlock my credit. Often they can't even tell you which credit reporting service they use, they want me to unlock all 3.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by Sage16 »

Two years ago we bought a new Lexus for my wife. I wouldn't let them run a credit check since we intended to pay cash. Once we knew the full amount due, and gave them the maximum down payment that they would agree to on a credit card to score some miles, we told them we would run down the street to the bank and get a cashiers check for the balance. He said it was their policy that he had to go with us to the bank to insure the cashiers check was real unless I let them run a credit check on us. I was a bit offended by this but agreed to let him come to get the purchase done. Our sales guy sat down in the bank lobby and watched us go up to the teller. When the teller presented us with the check, she told us the bottom section was for our records and the top part (the check) was for the gentleman sitting over there in the lobby. So it must have been a normal drill at that bank. I still wasn't happy about it but my wife loves her car and so it was all just part of the journey to get it.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by Monster99 »

David Jay wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 5:55 pm
UpperNwGuy wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 4:43 pm Why are you folk so reluctant to let the dealer do a hard pull?
I got hit by the EquiFAX data breach. Locked all 3 major credit bureaus + Chex Systems. For me it is easier to get a Cashier's Check than unlock my credit. Often they can't even tell you which credit reporting service they use, they want me to unlock all 3.
Same here, but with the Anthem breach the year before after which I froze all my info. 6 years later, and I still haven't been able to unfreeze my Equifax credit info... :annoyed
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by student »

Sage16 wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 6:11 pm Two years ago we bought a new Lexus for my wife. I wouldn't let them run a credit check since we intended to pay cash. Once we knew the full amount due, and gave them the maximum down payment that they would agree to on a credit card to score some miles, we told them we would run down the street to the bank and get a cashiers check for the balance. He said it was their policy that he had to go with us to the bank to insure the cashiers check was real unless I let them run a credit check on us. I was a bit offended by this but agreed to let him come to get the purchase done. Our sales guy sat down in the bank lobby and watched us go up to the teller. When the teller presented us with the check, she told us the bottom section was for our records and the top part (the check) was for the gentleman sitting over there in the lobby. So it must have been a normal drill at that bank. I still wasn't happy about it but my wife loves her car and so it was all just part of the journey to get it.
Did they at least chauffeur you to the bank in a Lexus?
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by TropikThunder »

You all should be lucky they took a personal check at all for an easily-disposed of asset like a car. What other method would be recommended to make sure you're not a thief?
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by eye.surgeon »

Just an observation, if you're paying for a car with cash, the minor/temporary effect of a hard pull on your credit report is fairly meaningless as you obviously don't need much credit, not sure I'd choose that hill to die on.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by watchnerd »

Last time we bought a car with cash we just went to the bank and got a cashier's check.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by watchnerd »

Sage16 wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 6:11 pm Two years ago we bought a new Lexus for my wife. I wouldn't let them run a credit check since we intended to pay cash. Once we knew the full amount due, and gave them the maximum down payment that they would agree to on a credit card to score some miles, we told them we would run down the street to the bank and get a cashiers check for the balance. He said it was their policy that he had to go with us to the bank to insure the cashiers check was real unless I let them run a credit check on us. I was a bit offended by this but agreed to let him come to get the purchase done. Our sales guy sat down in the bank lobby and watched us go up to the teller. When the teller presented us with the check, she told us the bottom section was for our records and the top part (the check) was for the gentleman sitting over there in the lobby. So it must have been a normal drill at that bank. I still wasn't happy about it but my wife loves her car and so it was all just part of the journey to get it.
That's weird.

I've paid with cashier check before and never got asked to have the dealer come with us to the bank.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by StevieG72 »

Bought last two vehicles with a cashiers check, no need to run credit. I have not had a checkbook in many years.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by watchnerd »

StevieG72 wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:28 pm Bought last two vehicles with a cashiers check, no need to run credit. I have not had a checkbook in many years.
Oh, yeah, that, too.

I have no idea where my checkbook is.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by 8foot7 »

UpperNwGuy wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 4:43 pm Why are you folk so reluctant to let the dealer do a hard pull?
Because if I am not borrowing money from the dealer or its affiliates, then the private information in my credit file is none of their business?
Because it's none of my creditors' business (who monitor and review your report for new inquiries) if I am purchasing a car if I am paying their obligations as agreed?
Because the more places you give a bunch of your personal info, the more likely it is your information will be leaked?
Because my drivers license and, if necessary, a phone call to my banker ought to be enough verification of my identity to buy a car, and perhaps my credit file may be full of incorrect information due to bad reporting and would confuse the issue?
Because maybe it's a stupid system that we depend on these huckster jokers of companies to maintain the most sensitive of our personal information with integrity and they do such a lousy job of it that any opportunity to NOT interface with that system is important to one to take?
Choose any or all.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by UpperNwGuy »

8foot7 wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:54 pm
UpperNwGuy wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 4:43 pm Why are you folk so reluctant to let the dealer do a hard pull?
Because if I am not borrowing money from the dealer or its affiliates, then the private information in my credit file is none of their business?
Because it's none of my creditors' business (who monitor and review your report for new inquiries) if I am purchasing a car if I am paying their obligations as agreed?
Because the more places you give a bunch of your personal info, the more likely it is your information will be leaked?
Because my drivers license and, if necessary, a phone call to my banker ought to be enough verification of my identity to buy a car, and perhaps my credit file may be full of incorrect information due to bad reporting and would confuse the issue?
Because maybe it's a stupid system that we depend on these huckster jokers of companies to maintain the most sensitive of our personal information with integrity and they do such a lousy job of it that any opportunity to NOT interface with that system is important to one to take?
Choose any or all.
You sure do worry about a lot of things.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by Sage16 »

student wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 6:44 pm
Sage16 wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 6:11 pm Two years ago we bought a new Lexus for my wife. I wouldn't let them run a credit check since we intended to pay cash. Once we knew the full amount due, and gave them the maximum down payment that they would agree to on a credit card to score some miles, we told them we would run down the street to the bank and get a cashiers check for the balance. He said it was their policy that he had to go with us to the bank to insure the cashiers check was real unless I let them run a credit check on us. I was a bit offended by this but agreed to let him come to get the purchase done. Our sales guy sat down in the bank lobby and watched us go up to the teller. When the teller presented us with the check, she told us the bottom section was for our records and the top part (the check) was for the gentleman sitting over there in the lobby. So it must have been a normal drill at that bank. I still wasn't happy about it but my wife loves her car and so it was all just part of the journey to get it.
Did they at least chauffeur you to the bank in a Lexus?
Yes they did.
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Sage16
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by Sage16 »

watchnerd wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:26 pm
Sage16 wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 6:11 pm Two years ago we bought a new Lexus for my wife. I wouldn't let them run a credit check since we intended to pay cash. Once we knew the full amount due, and gave them the maximum down payment that they would agree to on a credit card to score some miles, we told them we would run down the street to the bank and get a cashiers check for the balance. He said it was their policy that he had to go with us to the bank to insure the cashiers check was real unless I let them run a credit check on us. I was a bit offended by this but agreed to let him come to get the purchase done. Our sales guy sat down in the bank lobby and watched us go up to the teller. When the teller presented us with the check, she told us the bottom section was for our records and the top part (the check) was for the gentleman sitting over there in the lobby. So it must have been a normal drill at that bank. I still wasn't happy about it but my wife loves her car and so it was all just part of the journey to get it.
That's weird.

I've paid with cashier check before and never got asked to have the dealer come with us to the bank.
We must not have trusting faces or not look like we belonged there.
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watchnerd
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by watchnerd »

Sage16 wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 8:26 pm
watchnerd wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:26 pm
Sage16 wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 6:11 pm Two years ago we bought a new Lexus for my wife. I wouldn't let them run a credit check since we intended to pay cash. Once we knew the full amount due, and gave them the maximum down payment that they would agree to on a credit card to score some miles, we told them we would run down the street to the bank and get a cashiers check for the balance. He said it was their policy that he had to go with us to the bank to insure the cashiers check was real unless I let them run a credit check on us. I was a bit offended by this but agreed to let him come to get the purchase done. Our sales guy sat down in the bank lobby and watched us go up to the teller. When the teller presented us with the check, she told us the bottom section was for our records and the top part (the check) was for the gentleman sitting over there in the lobby. So it must have been a normal drill at that bank. I still wasn't happy about it but my wife loves her car and so it was all just part of the journey to get it.
That's weird.

I've paid with cashier check before and never got asked to have the dealer come with us to the bank.
We must not have trusting faces or not look like we belonged there.
Or we were buying a Subaru and nobody steals those to be their baller car. ;)
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tigermilk
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by tigermilk »

Next car you buy should also be from the same dealer.

Pay in nickels :wink:
inbox788
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by inbox788 »

piton wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 12:29 pmThey said that the only way to avoid a hard-pull on my credit was to not take the car until the check cleared.
To prevent fraudulent check, identity theft or if the check bounced, at least they know you have good credit. They need to protect themselves as much as you do. Many years ago, I waited for the check to cash. Now if you brought a suitcase full of cash, I wouldn't expect to wait or need a credit check. https://www.aml-nacs.com/industries/aut ... alerships/
nolesrule wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 1:38 pmBought a 7 year old used car in 2013 from a large dealership about 90 minutes away with a deposit paid by credit card and a promise to mail them a check for the balance.

Bought a new car in 2015 and they let me drive the new car to my house (10 minutes away) on my own to get my checkbook and write a check.
My first thought was the dealer was trusting or you looked very trustworthy? But the 7 year old car was probably 10k liability, so limited and not too different than other larger credit card transactions. And the new car probably had LoJack, so they weren't afraid of losing it.
adamthesmythe wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 1:57 pmNever attribute to deviousness what can be explained by incompetence.
LOL! (looked it up. Hanlon's razor)
MedSaver wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 4:58 pm We bought a car at CarMax using a personal check. They just made us show the checking account balance on the schwab app.
Do you mind sharing amount they chanced? Average car at CarMax is probably about 2/3 price of a typical new car ( https://www.iseecars.com/articles/carmax-vs-carvana ). It's a little invasive, but given that you just wrote a big check against the account, not an unreasonable request and pragmatic alternative to a credit check.
Sage16 wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 6:11 pmHe said it was their policy that he had to go with us to the bank to insure the cashiers check was real...When the teller presented us with the check, she told us the bottom section was for our records and the top part (the check) was for the gentleman sitting over there in the lobby. So it must have been a normal drill at that bank.
I'm sure some dealers have fallen for fake cashiers checks and words gotten around. It's sad that they have to do this kind of due diligence, but the scams these fraudsters are doing are getting more sophisticated. A little extra work once in a while to prevent having to track down a stolen car or lose it is prudent.

Man uses fake cashier’s check to scam another Hendersonville car dealership
Posted: Jul 30, 2019
https://www.wkrn.com/news/man-uses-fake ... ealership/
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by anoop »

I bought 3 cars and a house without a credit pull. The 3 cars were bought with regular checks, the house with a cashiers check.

But with the last car, the local Acura dealer did a bait-and-switch. When I asked 2 different sales people I was dealing with before going in to buy the car, they told me I wouldn't need an SSN/credit pull if paying cash. When I went in, the manager showed up and said they can't do it. So I ended up giving them my SSN and the hard pull is still on my credit report. I don't really care about the hard pull. I care that they have my SSN and now it's one more place hackers can find it.

Because of the bait-and-switch I gave them a 1-star review on Yelp. The sales guy had the audacity to try and gaslight/bully me into removing my review. I didn't fall for it.
Last edited by anoop on Wed Apr 14, 2021 11:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
MedSaver
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by MedSaver »

inbox788 wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 9:20 pm
MedSaver wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 4:58 pm We bought a car at CarMax using a personal check. They just made us show the checking account balance on the schwab app.
Do you mind sharing amount they chanced? Average car at CarMax is probably about 2/3 price of a typical new car ( https://www.iseecars.com/articles/carmax-vs-carvana ). It's a little invasive, but given that you just wrote a big check against the account, not an unreasonable request and pragmatic alternative to a credit check.
Check was for $32k.
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Re: Does it make sense that a car dealer needs to do a hard pull if you pay in full by check (cash)?

Post by Northern Flicker »

8foot7 wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 12:39 pm Wire the money. No pull, no wait, $30 or whatever (or free if you have money at Fidelity or many brokerages).

Or, and this is probably what I would do, call their bluff and walk. "I'm not thawing my credit, I don't remember my PINs and I drove 2.5 hours to get here. If I leave I'm not coming back."
Will the dealer give you their account number to facilitate a push from your account, or will they expect you to give them your account number so that they can pull the funds. If you authorize the ACH by signing paperwork for them and providibg your account info that way, Federal Reserve Reg E (consumer protection for electronic banking and payments) may not apply, so there can be an important difference.
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