Credit card for car?

[cantlogin]

Has anyone been able to get an automobile dealer to accept a credit card for the purchase of a car?

 

[Texas Proud]

They will as long as you are willing to pay their fee....

 

[bbbamI]

We asked this question the last time we bought a car. The Honda dealership would allow $5k to be put on our credit card.

 

[OAG]

I did it a long time ago. Put about $25K on the card. No questions and no additional fee. Did not warn them I was going to attempt to do that until just before singing the contract. "Oh, by the way I plan to put the cash portion of this deal on a credit card". But, it was several years ago, and I am sure they have wised up to this by now. Can't hurt to try it but I would wait until the last minute.

 

[Achiever51]

I wanted to use a credit card for my last new car purchase (in 2002), but the purchase contract clearly said only the deposit/down payment of up to $5,000 could be charged...the remainder (if not financed) had to be made by cashier check or personal check that would be verified by the dealership at delivery.

 

[FinanceDude]

Most dealerships have limits. The dealer has to pay VISA or whomever a processing fee and they don't want to eat 3% on a $25,000 sale against the profit........

 

[73ss454]

If you go to a dealer that allow's it then don't buy the car you paid too much.

 

[cantlogin]

If you go to a dealer that allow's it then don't buy the car you paid too much.

That's what my thinking is too.

 

[saluki9]

Push them on it! Most dealers will tell you that there is a limit to the amount charged. This goes against the agreements of ALL the major card organizations.

Be prepared to walk out, but they will take it.

 

[FinanceDude]

Push them on it! Most dealers will tell you that there is a limit to the amount charged. This goes against the agreements of ALL the major card organizations.

Be prepared to walk out, but they will take it.

I doubt it. The private business has the right to set limits on how much they will allow to be charged. It has withstood many legal inquiries over the years.......

I worked in dealerships for years, and we never went over $5000...........

 

[73ss454]

We would only take 2K but if the deal had tons of profit we would go higher.

Every dollar the dealer looses to the credit card company lowers the profit to the deal on the car your buying. Wouldn't it make sense that if the dealer took the credit card you'd be paying too much for the car

Saluki9, doesn't this seem correct to you. Why would a dealer take the credit card to lose money?

 

[FinanceDude]

We would only take 2K but if the deal had tons of profit we would go higher.

Every dollar the dealer looses to the credit card company lowers the profit to the deal on the car your buying. Wouldn't it make sense that if the dealer took the credit card you'd be paying too much for the car

Saluki9, doesn't this seem correct to you. Why would a dealer take the credit card to lose money?

They wouldn't...as you and I know. However, I had a high roller once who had a Platinum American Express card back when no one had them. He just HAD TO HAVE the used Callaway Vette we had on the showroom floor. He traded in a BMW.

I think the amount difference was $26,000. I put it on the Amex card because we had a $4000 front and a 100,000 mile warranty he ASKED for............so we ate the $700 for the $5500 profit..........

 

[saluki9]

Saluki9, doesn't this seem correct to you. Why would a dealer take the credit card to lose money?

Because the franchise agreements with Visa and Mastercard do not allow you to set a maximum purchase amount. The dealers tell you that there is a max purchase amount and like most things 99% of people take their word.

The dealership can lose their rights to take the cards if they are caught.

according to both MasterCard spokesman Tristan Jordan and Visa spokeswoman Dori Busell, car dealers are not allowed to set maximum purchase amounts under their merchant agreement with the bank that handles their credit transactions

...For now, though, you are entitled to charge the whole car, up to your credit limit, according to Visa and MasterCard.

Chicago Sun Times - August 7th, 2007



BTW: at work we have had many clients charge Mercedes, BMWs and one client that built a $2.0M house and charged the whole thing on a Mastercard.

 

[FinanceDude]

Because the franchise agreements with Visa and Mastercard do not allow you to set a maximum purchase amount. The dealers tell you that there is a max purchase amount and like most things 99% of people take their word.

The dealership can lose their rights to take the cards if they are caught.


Chicago Sun Times - August 7th, 2007



BTW: at work we have had many clients charge Mercedes, BMWs and one client that built a $2.0M house and charged the whole thing on a Mastercard.

Like most things, it's an agreement that VISA or Mastercard aren't going to enforce that, since dealerships are GREAT clients for them.......

On Mercedes and BMW's. there's always enough markup to absorb the extra cost..........try getting your local Chevy dealer to do that on an Aveo.........

One of my client is working at a Lexus dealership. The LS series have $9,000 markups, and they sell all of them with at least a $4-$5000 markup..........

Your client that built the $2,000,000 house? The builder probably thought the $50,000 or so fee he had to pay Mastercard was ok, since he had about $800,000 markup in the house or so...........

 

[Sandy]

For contractors and such, they have said they would only take the card - if I paid the 3% fee.

 

[73ss454]

FD, as we both know if the profits there we do what we have to do.

Saluki9, are you under the impression that the dealer cares if they lose the wright to take someones credit card? Also do you think the dealer is willing to lose money so someone can use a credit card? You gotta be kidding. Most folks have many different credit cards so if one of the cards wants to pull the privilage of the dealer using that one so be it.

I've had people come in and want to put the car on the card so they can go on vacation with the points. These are people that wanted to pay cash and would pay the card off next month.

I'll leave it at this, if the dealer is going to lose money there not taking the card. (period) If your walking out the door just keep walking.
That's why they make doors.

 

[saluki9]

FD, as we both know if the profits there we do what we have to do.

Saluki9, are you under the impression that the dealer cares if they lose the wright to take someones credit card? Also do you think the dealer is willing to lose money so someone can use a credit card? You gotta be kidding. Most folks have many different credit cards so if one of the cards wants to pull the privilage of the dealer using that one so be it.

I've had people come in and want to put the car on the card so they can go on vacation with the points. These are people that wanted to pay cash and would pay the card off next month.

I'll leave it at this, if the dealer is going to lose money there not taking the card. (period) If your walking out the door just keep walking.
That's why they make doors.

You're telling me that an auto dealer wouldn't care if they were no longer allowed to take VISA? Are you kidding?


They will do it if you push, trust me, I've done it. I charged $10K which was my limit at the time on my AA Mastercard to buy over half of my girlfriends car. I paid $200 over invoice so they must have had one hell of a holdback on those Civics. It almost came to punches, but they took the card. I didn't take the crap about only allowing $2500 on the card.


BTW: This is from the VISA merchant agreement

[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica] VISA U.S.A. INCORPORATED

A. As per page ten (10) of the "Rules for Visa Merchants: Card Acceptance and Chargeback Management Guidelines," the following Visa Rules are imposed on merchant conduct:

Dollar Minimums and Maximums - Always honor valid Visa cards, in your acceptance category, regardless of the dollar amount of the purchase. Imposing minimum or maximum purchase amounts is a violation.

No Surcharging - Always treat Visa transactions like any other transaction; that is, you may not impose any surcharges on a Visa transaction. You may, however, offer a discount for cash transactions, provided that the offer is clearly disclosed to customers and the cash price is presented as a discount from the standard price charged for all other forms of payment.

[Note: As per the disclaimer appearing on page four (4) of the "Rules for Visa Merchants:"

This guide contains information based on the current Visa U.S.A. Inc. Operating Regulations. If there are any technical differences between the Visa U.S.A. Inc. Operating Regulations will prevail in every instance. Your merchant agreement and the Visa U.S.A. Inc. Operating Regulations take precedence over this guide or any updates to its information.][/FONT]

 

[73ss454]

That's correct, visa can say what they want but wouldn't do a thing.

As far as your girlfriends car, well then there was some profit somewhere. It's not a non profit orig. They had to have some type of bonus money on the civic that month or some other type of profit. Last time I looked dealerships don't have a steeple and a cross in front.

 

[saluki9]

Last time I looked dealerships don't have a steeple and a cross in front.

Isn't that the truth!

 

[73ss454]

Yes it is, I wanted to retire just like everyone else here. (heh)

 

[ExtinctBird]

I bought a new JetSki this summer over the phone with a CC. I didn't like the price that the local dealer on the lake was offering, so I looked up nearby dealers and called one. They quoted me a price about $1K less than the local dealer, they took my CC without question, and then they delivered the JetSki to me that afternoon.

 

[thefed]

i went r+r with a guy over $2k on a cc and 800 cash. They wouldnt budge, i walked out...they stopped me and literally dragged me back in. They asked if I would pay half of the fee. I said no, and walked again because a lady they sent into the room to 'break me down; really pissed me off with her snide remarks. It was a beater work van, so I didnt need/want it too bad.... they called me the enxt day, took the cc, and delivered the vehicle to my place of business. gotta love that

 

[FinanceDude]

You're telling me that an auto dealer wouldn't care if they were no longer allowed to take VISA? Are you kidding?

The dealer would care, but VISA is NOT going to do anything about it other than look the other way.......

A metro dealer is going to spend $100,000 or more a MONTH in VISA charges, which makes a LOT of money for the VISA folks on those clearing charges. They're NOT going to do anything to upset that applecart.

They will do it if you push, trust me, I've done it. I charged $10K which was my limit at the time on my AA Mastercard to buy over half of my girlfriends car. I paid $200 over invoice so they must have had one hell of a holdback on those Civics. It almost came to punches, but they took the card. I didn't take the crap about only allowing $2500 on the card.

Well, you pushed the issue. Maybe the sales manager did it to make you go away, I've done that before.....

 

[saluki9]

Well, you pushed the issue. Maybe the sales manager did it to make you go away, I've done that before.....

Yup, I'm always the squeaky wheel!

They gave me their BS at first, but I presented them with the facts and refused to buy the car unless they relented. It's amazing what they can work out when they have to

 

[Eyerishgold]

I all depends on the dealership, some will and won't. I imagine it all depends on how comfortable they are giving a chunk of the sale, up to 1 or 2%, to MasterCard or Visa. That's probably why they limit the amount you can charge on a credit card. Giving 2% of 5k, which is only $100 isn't terrible, but 2% of 30k is $600. That can eat into a dealership's profit pretty quicky.