New car purchase with credit card(s)

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HappyJack
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New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by HappyJack »

Has anyone purchased a car from the dealership entirely using credit cards? Any other tips you might have are also appreciated. Thanks.
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SmileyFace
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by SmileyFace »

They have a max they allow you to put on a card (my last purchase they allowed up to $4000 on the card if I recall correctly but varies by dealer). They don't want to pay the fees.
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Stinky
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by Stinky »

SmileyFace wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 5:05 am They have a max they allow you to put on a card (my last purchase they allowed up to $4000 on the card if I recall correctly but varies by dealer). They don't want to pay the fees.
That's also been my experience with car dealerships. They don't want want to/can't afford to pay the fees to the credit card companies on the entire purchase price of a car.

In my most recent car purchase, I was able to put $2,000 on my credit card.
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Mr. Rumples
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by Mr. Rumples »

I did it years back. I timed my purchase for a Saturday evening, the last day of the month. We were dickering and not getting the deal I wanted, I literally was opening the door to leave when they met my price. Then I paid by credit card - having upped the limit for this - they were not really pleased, but they knew they could take it or leave it.
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n0v0w3ls
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by n0v0w3ls »

They typically will tell you they have a maximum allowed, however the credit card issuers actually say that merchants are not allowed to do this.

A lot of consumers aren't aware of this not to mention the merchants. Most customers also wouldn't go through the effort to report a merchant for this.

Per Visa:

A merchant required a minimum purchase amount in order for me to use my Visa card. Is this allowed?

In general, a merchant is not permitted to establish a minimum or maximum amount for a Visa transaction. However, exceptions apply in the U.S. and U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. In those locations and only for credit cards, a merchant may require a minimum transaction amount of US $10 and government agencies and education merchants may establish a maximum transaction amount. If a merchant refused to accept your Visa card on the basis that the merchant requires a minimum or maximum amount on a Visa debit card, or the amount on a credit card is greater than U.S. $10, please notify your Visa card issuer.
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SquawkIdent
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by SquawkIdent »

Mr. Rumples wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 5:33 am I did it years back. I timed my purchase for a Saturday evening, the last day of the month. We were dickering and not getting the deal I wanted, I literally was opening the door to leave when they met my price. Then I paid by credit card - having upped the limit for this - they were not really pleased, but they knew they could take it or leave it.
+1...that’s a great story.
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SquawkIdent
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by SquawkIdent »

n0v0w3ls wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 6:46 am They typically will tell you they have a maximum allowed, however the credit card issuers actually say that merchants are not allowed to do this.

A lot of consumers aren't aware of this not to mention the merchants. Most customers also wouldn't go through the effort to report a merchant for this.

Per Visa:

A merchant required a minimum purchase amount in order for me to use my Visa card. Is this allowed?

In general, a merchant is not permitted to establish a minimum or maximum amount for a Visa transaction. However, exceptions apply in the U.S. and U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. In those locations and only for credit cards, a merchant may require a minimum transaction amount of US $10 and government agencies and education merchants may establish a maximum transaction amount. If a merchant refused to accept your Visa card on the basis that the merchant requires a minimum or maximum amount on a Visa debit card, or the amount on a credit card is greater than U.S. $10, please notify your Visa card issuer.
+1

I didn’t know that but I will remember that for next time. Thanks.
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

AMEX has had a promotion for quite a while. You work with their cooperating dealer and pay the entire amount using your AMEX card. I'm sure that the price will be enough to pay the fee, I'm sure and probably a good amount over that.
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260chrisb
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by 260chrisb »

n0v0w3ls wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 6:46 am They typically will tell you they have a maximum allowed, however the credit card issuers actually say that merchants are not allowed to do this.

A lot of consumers aren't aware of this not to mention the merchants. Most customers also wouldn't go through the effort to report a merchant for this.

Per Visa:

A merchant required a minimum purchase amount in order for me to use my Visa card. Is this allowed?

In general, a merchant is not permitted to establish a minimum or maximum amount for a Visa transaction. However, exceptions apply in the U.S. and U.S. territories, such as Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. In those locations and only for credit cards, a merchant may require a minimum transaction amount of US $10 and government agencies and education merchants may establish a maximum transaction amount. If a merchant refused to accept your Visa card on the basis that the merchant requires a minimum or maximum amount on a Visa debit card, or the amount on a credit card is greater than U.S. $10, please notify your Visa card issuer.
Good information and I've always wondered if they actually could set a maximum. They (the dealerships) all say there are limits thus preventing you from buying a vehicle solely with a CC. I tried this about 4 years ago thinking I would simply use my CC for the entire purchase of about 20K, get the points, and transfer the money. Said dealership limited me to 4K.
jebmke
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by jebmke »

We did it back in 2006 when we returned to the US. Most of our "free cash" was in a non-US bank at the time and we needed a car quickly. I put it on my green American Express card.
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MikeG62
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by MikeG62 »

Stinky wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 5:24 am
SmileyFace wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 5:05 am They have a max they allow you to put on a card (my last purchase they allowed up to $4000 on the card if I recall correctly but varies by dealer). They don't want to pay the fees.
That's also been my experience with car dealerships. They don't want want to/can't afford to pay the fees to the credit card companies on the entire purchase price of a car.

In my most recent car purchase, I was able to put $2,000 on my credit card.
Same, except in my most recent transaction I was able to put $5,000 on my CC. It did take some discussion as they tried to hold firm on $2,500.
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bbqguru
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by bbqguru »

We bought our Navigator 2 years ago with a credit card. The dealer charged 2% for doing so, but it was when Alliant CU had their 3% unlimited cash back. The finance people thought I was nuts at first until I laid it all out.

The DMV was an experience, I had three people try and tell me that I shouldn't pay taxes and registration with a credit card since they charged a fee as well. I eventually had to tell them it was my money and not to worry about it.

I don't think Alliant does 3% anymore, but if there was a large enough signup bonus to offset any fees, it could still be worth it. Even with Citi's 2%, if you could find a dealer to charge 2% extra, but the time you're done, you'd be gaining $4 per $10,000.
inverter
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by inverter »

Yes. My parents bought a car without an added fee due to a promotion via AmEx using a card terminal at a dealership. It was wild seeing a $50k purchase go through!
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by Sandtrap »

HappyJack wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 4:36 am Has anyone purchased a car from the dealership entirely using credit cards? Any other tips you might have are also appreciated. Thanks.
Various dealerships have a maximum that they are willing to put on a credit card.

****So. . .. it depends on the dealership.

IE: Several months ago, a Toyota dealer put $3000 on a credit card. Balance was paid in other ways.
Last week, a Honda dealer put $2000 on a credit card. Balance was paid in other ways.
Both did not want any more than that even if on different credit cards.

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tibbitts
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by tibbitts »

It seems to me that the dealership is going to sell the car for a certain price at a minimum. If it makes people feel good to think that they paid less net by using a credit card that's nice but probably not the case. Personally I'd have to combine at least a half dozen of my credit cards to come up with the purchase price of a car so it doesn't really affect me. I haven't bought a car since 2012 and then put $3k on the card and paid the rest by ... check, that was a long time a go. I guess today everybody pays the balance by EFT?

Incidentally I've been unable to reach an agreement on price too but when I leave they just tell me to not let the door hit me on the way out.
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anon_investor
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by anon_investor »

SmileyFace wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 5:05 am They have a max they allow you to put on a card (my last purchase they allowed up to $4000 on the card if I recall correctly but varies by dealer). They don't want to pay the fees.
+1, it was $5k max for us.
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by runner3081 »

Bought a car 1.5 years ago for 7.5K, all on the CC. They did, however, require a hard pull prior to allowing me to do it.

It was well worth the 2% cash back for the pull.
testing321
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by testing321 »

I wanted to write a check from my money market fund a few years back for a new Toyota. The dealer was hesitant to accept it. So I offered to put it one of my credit cards. They talked back and forth among each other for a while and decided they would take the check.
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by TravelGeek »

tibbitts wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 8:20 am It seems to me that the dealership is going to sell the car for a certain price at a minimum. If it makes people feel good to think that they paid less net by using a credit card that's nice but probably not the case.
Right, I would think if they are willing to accept a 2%-ish transaction cost paid to the credit card company, you could probably have negotiated a similar (further) cash discount.
Incidentally I've been unable to reach an agreement on price too but when I leave they just tell me to not let the door hit me on the way out.
That’s been my experience on a reverse transaction (me selling my used car to a dealer). Three out of three asked what I wanted (which was a bit more than KBB, not completely outrageous) and then said they wouldn’t be able to offer me that. Two never reached out again. The third one called me back as I was driving off the lot and said he had talked to the manager again and they would be able to make the deal after all.
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heartwood
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Re: New car purchase with credit card(s)

Post by heartwood »

Jack FFR1846 wrote: Wed May 05, 2021 7:02 am AMEX has had a promotion for quite a while. You work with their cooperating dealer and pay the entire amount using your AMEX card. I'm sure that the price will be enough to pay the fee, I'm sure and probably a good amount over that.
Our experience is that its up to the dealer in the end. We did the AMEX promotion a few years ago on a Lexus. AMEX gave us the dealer as participating. The dealer refused to allow more than $3000 on AMEX despite the promotion in writing and showing the dealer's name. We bought the car at a good price.

We fought it for awhile with AMEX raising it to several levels there. The dealer wouldn't budge. We got no satisfaction from AMEX.
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