Car loan application as a retiree

[jazz4cash]

Lady vehicle I bought in Maryland the desler fid stipulate a bank check (which cost me $25) but I am guessing I could’ve gotten them to take a personal check or maybe gone a few blocks away to have my personal check certified (is that what it’s called?). I had already beat them up on price so it seemed better to go along with their payment request. I took their financing with 25% down.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I think I know my game plan.

As for the dealer accepting checks, I also have done it via personal check many times in various places around the country. I now live in Pennsylvania. I had no problem writing a check for a $15,000 when I financed at a Pittsburgh area Ford dealer. A few years later, it was a Ram dealer that I tried to write a $10,000 check for the down payment. They are the ones that surprised me when they said they needed to call my bank and have me speak with someone to get them to verify the check would clear. We did it on a speaker phone so the dealer could hear the validation. So perhaps it's just some dealers that do this. I will call them before I drive down there to clarify what type of check I need to bring.

 

[LateToFIRE]

^^^
I'm still completely floored dealers will take personal checks for tens of thousands of dollars and let you drive away with the vehicle. Maybe I just never pushed the question, as certified bank check has always been requested. My credit score is not quite 800 probably because I'm a signatory on quite a truckload of mortgage debt (backed up by 2x-3x property value I might add) and also never carry a balance on CC's or any other kind of installment debt (which oddly counts against me).

 

[street]

I'm with you on hating to buy vehicles. I absolutely dislike it. Lol

But I'm in the same boat thatt you are in but 3 months out for mine to be at the dealership.

I would put as much on CC and write the check for the rest. I also would sell your trade in outfit myself. See what they will give you for it and you mostly likely will get 3 to 7K more if you sell it yourself.

I have not traded anything in but have sold all my vehicles myself and have saved thousands of dollars. The last one I pocketed 6K over from what they wanted to give as a trade and that was a consistent number with a half dozen dealers. I could have saved more on that one but it was a friend I sold that one too, so took a little less.

 

[427Vette]

The surprise goes both ways. I've done that for decades, in New York, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, and Ohio. No dealer has ever blinked an eye at my personal check for tens of thousands. Maybe I just have an honest face?

This is my experience as well. I’ve never even brought it up until I was about to write the check. I’ve never experienced any kind of resistance at all. Just go in and make the deal. After you agree on a price reach in your pocket grab your checkbook and start writing out the check. The last vehicle we bought from a dealer over an hour away. I never went to the dealer or met with a salesman. Everything was done over the phone and e-mail. They dropped off the new truck, picked up the trade-in and left the invoice on the bench in my shop. My wife sent them a check.

It’s no wonder so many people hate buying new vehicles if they have to put up with the nonsense being discussed in this thread. However I am not one to dicker and keep waking away in order to save every single penny I can. I wonder if the dealer perceives that a buyer who does this maybe can’t really afford the transaction so they tighten up the leash a bit? To me the stress isn’t worth it.

 

[aaronc879]

When I bought my last car in 2022 I was planning to pay cash but they insisted on having me get a quote on a loan. They had me fill out a form with my income on it. I put down $17,000. The sales guy said "don't put that as you income". So I changed the 1 to a 4 and he gave it to the finance guy. 5 minutes later I had a quote for a loan. No income verification. You can put down any amount. I decided to go to the bank a couple blocks away and get a cashiers check for the full amount anyway. No income verification but I did need a cashiers check. I'm sure that varies from place to place.

 

[rk911]

I’m doing a bit of a Blow-That Dough in a couple weeks by buying my first “luxury car”. After rolling in my trade in, taxes, fees, etc. I’m expecting about a $40k amount due.

I can easily pull this money out of savings to buy the car. Not a problem. But I’m guessing the dealer will want a cashier check and I won’t know the exact amount until I go in and negotiate the deal. I live 2 hours from the dealer, so I can’t just go down the street to get a check....

I think the OP may be in for a surprise. We just bought a new Wrangler (more $ than what the OP is expecting) and the dealer took our personal check. Suggest the OP ask the dealer if they will take a personal check and go from there.

 

[REWahoo]

I've written a personal check for the full amount of the last two cars purchased. Neither dealer had any issues with it or requested any type of verification.

 

[AudiDudi]

What's wrong with cash? I would warn the bank ahead of time that you need ~$40k in cash though.

 

[REWahoo]

What's wrong with cash? I would warn the bank ahead of time that you need ~$40k in cash though.

I think dealerships would be far less comfortable with cash than with a personal check. I know I'd be very concerned about lugging around that kind of cash on my way to the dealership from the bank.

 

[rk911]

And if someone has a fico over 800, a credit card that takes $5k without blinking, the odds they are going to stiff you on a check seem stupid low. I'm sure most dealers can quickly ACH it, or verify funds.

I can only relate our experiences. We don't buy cars very often...likely averages out to 10+ years. Prior to last June the last time we bought a new car was in 2003...20-years ago!

In '03 we were prepared to pay cash but got lured into a $0 down, 0% 3-yr "loan". Total purchase price / 36 = monthly payment. In '95 and again in '90 we wrote personal checks for the full amount.

We did the same this time around. We were going to pay full amount and asked what form of payment they would like. The sales guy didn't bat an eyelash when he said a personal check was fine. This was a dealer swap purchase, so we gave him a $500 'deposit' on our CC. Between placing the order, getting the car from the remote dealer, dealer prep and installing some dealer options I had a medical emergency that delayed delivery. When I was released from the hospital, I notified the salesman that we were ready to proceed. Incredibly, he assured us that we would not need to make the 45-minute trek to the dealership...he would deliver the car to us and sign all the papers here. And that's exactly what he did.

Our Wrangler came with a hard top. We wanted a soft top but had to buy it as an option. I was in no physical shape to deal with removing the hard top and installing the soft top, so our salesman told us not to worry. When the soft top came in, he and another employee from the shop would drive to our home, remove the hard top, take our Jeep back to the shop, install the soft top and return the Jeep to us in a day or two at no charge! They had it back the same day! Who does that!?

The story is a bit bittersweet for me. All of the above occurred in June 2023. As a result of my previous hospitalization (and three more subsequent ER visits, additional surgery and two-weeks recovering in the hospital) I wasn't able to drive our new Wrangler until late August! But I'm making up for lost time.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

OP here. I contacted the dealer to ask their policy. If the amount is over $30,000, they require a cashier check. Below that, a personal check is fine. This is in the Pittsburgh area. I don't have any existing relationship with them, so I think this is fair.

 

[freedomatlast]

OP here. I contacted the dealer to ask their policy. If the amount is over $30,000, they require a cashier check. Below that, a personal check is fine. This is in the Pittsburgh area. I don't have any existing relationship with them, so I think this is fair.

Must be dealer specific. I bought a car last April from a suburban Philadelphia area dealer and they took a personal check for over $50,000, with no questions.

They have all your information and have people that can track you down fairly quickly if they need to.

 

[Jerry1]

I'm guessing that if they know your credit score is above 800 (assuming it is), they'd take a personal check. I'd take my checkbook, especially if it will save you a trip.

 

[razztazz]

I've bought cars in several States going back to 1980. (age 22) They don't exactly like it and they make me wait on, what I can only assume is a credit check and maybe a criminal background check, but I have always driven away with the car. And they were all outright purchases., not "down-money."

But in recent years I can see where some of those States might have developed new M.O.'s for various reasons

 

[38Chevy454]

Just bring a cashiers check for the anticipated amount, less around $5K. Then write a personal check for the balance. If the deal doesn't work out, you can take check back to your bank and put the money back in. Or you might get a better deal with financing due to kickbacks, so keep that in mind.

 

[OldShooter]

I’d see if they would take a personal check.

This. Two or three times I've bought a car from a dealer there was no issue with them taking a personal check. This added one piece of paper to the closing package, a thicket of fine print that in the end I think I agreed that Vito could come over and kneecap me if the check bounced. In my limited experiences, the F&I guys treated this as a routine event.

 

[Koolau]

Since you'll have a large down payment and your trade-in AND as pointed out, the car is your collateral, should be no problem with the car loan. Of course, you can call and ask them up front since YMMV.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

Just bring a cashiers check for the anticipated amount, less around $5K. Then write a personal check for the balance. If the deal doesn't work out, you can take check back to your bank and put the money back in. Or you might get a better deal with financing due to kickbacks, so keep that in mind.

This is my plan. That way I'm fine either way I decide to go.

 

[AreWeThereYet0]

In Maryland they take personal checks at our local Toyota dealerships.

 

[AudiDudi]

I think dealerships would be far less comfortable with cash than with a personal check. I know I'd be very concerned about lugging around that kind of cash on my way to the dealership from the bank.

I am not concerned about the dealership being "comfortable" and carrying cash has never bothered me.

 

[Koolau]

I am not concerned about the dealership being "comfortable" and carrying cash has never bothered me.

That kind of cash will get you on a "list" as gummint does not like cash since they can't trace its origin or ultimate resting place. IIRC it's called the "know your customer" law.

 

[AudiDudi]

That kind of cash will get you on a "list" as gummint does not like cash since they can't trace its origin or ultimate resting place. IIRC it's called the "know your customer" law.

KYC has been around for 20 yrs or so - no big deal with using cash. Where you get into trouble is with "structuring" as in doing a couple transactions the add up to over $10k to avoid the KYC. No harm in doing transactions over $10k.

 

[Koolau]

KYC has been around for 20 yrs or so - no big deal with using cash. Where you get into trouble is with "structuring" as in doing a couple transactions the add up to over $10k to avoid the KYC. No harm in doing transactions over $10k.

It's true there is "no problem" with over $10K BUT you will be KYC reported for it. That report, in and of itself may not get you "looked at" but it could - especially if there were some other excuse. Now, "carrying" that much cash (or even less) is (has been, at least) enough to confiscate it and force you to "prove" that you got it legally and plan to use it legally. The burden is on you, not the confiscating authority. And, you don't get it back in a timely fashion once it's confiscated. Maybe this is all rare, but it has happened.

I'm only suggesting that large purchases are "safer" in many ways with checks/CCs, etc. rather than with cash. Each to his/her own and YMMV and all that good stuff. If lots of cash is fun, by all means, it's your money.


Returning you now...

 

[jazz4cash]

KYC is a different more comprehensive requirement than IRS form 8300 cash transaction report.