How does the process go when using own financing at the dealer?

[jtvang125]

I'm familiar with the process through a private party but how does it go when buying at a dealer? Does the dealer just contact your loan agent, get approval for the amount and the bank wires the dealer the money? And for the down payment, do they need a cashier's check or can I just use my debit card?

 

[unokitty]

If I remember correctly, my Credit Union just put the money into my account. And then I wrote the dealer a personal check. Though, the Credit Union may have given me a check to give to the dealer...

Probably best to just ask your bank, or Credit Union, what their standard method is...

Best of luck,
Uno

 

[leper84]

The bank should give you an printout with instructions for the dealer. Once you're ready to pull the trigger you hand them that sheet and they know where to go from there.

I've seen credit cards used for deposits and maybe down payments, I'd say just call up and see what they say.

Using your own financing is awesome. Easiest way I've found is do my homework, figure in what the most I'd pay, add in taxes and estimated fees and get a feel for the out the door price I'd be financing. That way when you negotiate they can't pull any 4 square bullshit to distract you. They can move trade, purchase price and fees around all they want as long as your total cost is exactly what you want to pay.

 

[CrimsonWolf]

BofA gave me a letter stating my pre-approval amount and a phone number for the dealer to call to set up the loan. The dealer accepted a personal check for the down payment and they got the rest directly from BofA when they called them. YMMV, but it was pretty easy.

 

[TheAdvocate]

a lot of times if you bring a letter the dealer will suddenly magically match the offer with their own bank (since they get a cut).

I hate dealer finance guys. Everyone worries about getting ripped off on the price, but you're much more likely to get raped by the finance guy and all the gamesmanship. Best thing you can do is bring in your own financing, stick to it, and say NO emphatically to everything else they offer you including warranties, no matter what their sales pitch is. Walk out if necessary. Never let them see that you are tired/beaten.

 

[zerocool84]

I got a letter from my credit union to give to the dealer. Also I used my credit card to pay the down payment.

 

[waggy]

a lot of times if you bring a letter the dealer will suddenly magically match the offer with their own bank (since they get a cut).

I hate dealer finance guys. Everyone worries about getting ripped off on the price, but you're much more likely to get raped by the finance guy and all the gamesmanship. Best thing you can do is bring in your own financing, stick to it, and say NO emphatically to everything else they offer you including warranties, no matter what their sales pitch is. Walk out if necessary. Never let them see that you are tired/beaten.

/this

 

[NutBucket]

For us we applied for dealer financing as a contingency to drive the car home. Came back with a check from CU for the balance a few days later.

For our last purchase the dealer matched the best rate I could find with no hassle.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Raduque]

My parents walked into a stealership with a "blank" check for up to $20,000 from a credit union. They were willing to pay the sticker price of $16,200 on the car my mother picked. The stealership still played their stupid "lets run the numbers, see if we can get you financed" games.

They were in the van, pulling out of the lot when the salesman came running up and said his manager "approved" using the check.

 

[Doppel]

You can use credit card for a deposit but typically not more than a few grand.

 

[NutBucket]

$5k every time for me! Cash Rewards FTW!

 

[boomhower]

Do not let them play the we have to run your credit crap. They will, and then proceed to run it through 10 different loan companies loading you credit report with a ton of inquiries you didn't want.

 

[Ferzerp]

You can use credit card for a deposit but typically not more than a few grand.

As long as it's under your limit, or less than is in the account, you can use credit or debit just fine. You just have to make sure to call up the company first because most have per day limits (in case of theft, etc) that you have to get temporarily waved.

I know my debit only lets you spend $3k a day out of my checking account, but any time I've needed to spend more, I just let it get declined, call up the bank and say "Hey, lift my daily limit by $X,XXX dollars today" and they will and the next day it goes back to $3k. Once I tried that, and it still got declined. I had forgotten that I had bought KFC, so I needed to tell them to raise it to $X,XXX+price of KFC meal. Oops.

 

[NutBucket]

Do not let them play the we have to run your credit crap. They will, and then proceed to run it through 10 different loan companies loading you credit report with a ton of inquiries you didn't want.

Uh, they run it once through Equifax or whatever to get your score and get financing based on that score. I have never seen it run multiple times unless I did it (ie, got financing from my CU and the dealer ran my credit too). Not sure what dealers do in your neck of the woods but I've bought 4 cars in the last 7 years and have never had a problem.

Besides, I thought that multiple inquiries in a short time span were "scored" as a single pull since its clear you were shopping for a loan? I do recall seeing that from more than one source.

 

[roguerower]

When I bought my motorcycle, I walked in with a check for the balance after my down payment. Slicker than snot.

 

[Pantoot]

As long as it's under your limit, or less than is in the account, you can use credit or debit just fine. You just have to make sure to call up the company first because most have per day limits (in case of theft, etc) that you have to get temporarily waved.

I know my debit only lets you spend $3k a day out of my checking account, but any time I've needed to spend more, I just let it get declined, call up the bank and say "Hey, lift my daily limit by $X,XXX dollars today" and they will and the next day it goes back to $3k. Once I tried that, and it still got declined. I had forgotten that I had bought KFC, so I needed to tell them to raise it to $X,XXX+price of KFC meal. Oops.

The most I have ever gotten a dealer to take on a card was $5k, the rest had to be personal check (they didn't want a cashiers check.) It isn't about the card limits, it is about the transaction fees.
And they run your credit even when you pay cash. Thanks Patriot Act.

 

[exar333]

I never minded them running my credit, even if I already had financing setup. In one situation, they got me a better rate at the same credit union I brought to purchase on my own. Why not get a better rate? It's not hard to 'no thanks' if their deal is not as good as yours, or if you prefer your own financing for some reason.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

When I bought my truck, I talked to my CU and got approved through them with a 3.5 rate.
Got a letter saying how much I was approved for and a phone number on it to give the dealership. I went to the dealership to play their game (waste their time) to hammer down the price, then when they got the price down to where I wanted it it, I told them I didn't need their financing and whipped out my CU form. Now that I had them with a written down price, they were kinda stuck since nothing in their "sign this saying you'll buy if the price is right" form said anything about using their finance. Felt nice getting to screw a dealer for a change.

 

[vi edit]

Most of the dealers around here are highly integrated with the major local credit union. I call the CU and get pre-approved for a certain amount. Go to dealer, negotiate price, when it comes to finance part just tell them "Already preapproved with CU" and then they handle the rest. No muss...no fuss.

 

[Imported]

Last time I bought from a dealer I just financed it through the dealer.. then paid it off a few days later. It seemed like I was getting a better deal on the out the door price by financing with them.

 

[Doppel]

As long as it's under your limit, or less than is in the account, you can use credit or debit just fine. You just have to make sure to call up the company first because most have per day limits (in case of theft, etc) that you have to get temporarily waved.

I know my debit only lets you spend $3k a day out of my checking account, but any time I've needed to spend more, I just let it get declined, call up the bank and say "Hey, lift my daily limit by $X,XXX dollars today" and they will and the next day it goes back to $3k. Once I tried that, and it still got declined. I had forgotten that I had bought KFC, so I needed to tell them to raise it to $X,XXX+price of KFC meal. Oops.

This isn't true; the limit of $3k or $5k or whatever is not because a credit limit is hit but because the car dealership takes a percentage hit on each dollar fed through the card and they want to minimize this.

Negotiate down a price on a car. Then tell them it's going on a credit card. Then watch them say sorry no it's not.

 

[Doppel]

LOL, speaking of car financing I thought penfed was low at 1.99 they've had for months. I just checked. It's now .49 48 months and .99 for 60. I've never in my life seen a rate this low on a vehicle unless it was brand-financing at 0% (and they are covering bases by keeping price higher).

 

[Ferzerp]

This isn't true; the limit of $3k or $5k or whatever is not because a credit limit is hit but because the car dealership takes a percentage hit on each dollar fed through the card and they want to minimize this.

Negotiate down a price on a car. Then tell them it's going on a credit card. Then watch them say sorry no it's not.

I've put an obscene amount on a card at one time before, so...

I'd rather not say how much it was, but it was well over 5k.

No issues that day other than the call to the bank.

 

[kalrith]

The only time I did this I went through Capital One. They sent me a blank check that I could write for up to $12,000. I filled it out and signed it at the dealership after settling on a price.

 

[exar333]

I've put an obscene amount on a card at one time before, so...

I'd rather not say how much it was, but it was well over 5k.

No issues that day other than the call to the bank.

Did you spend it at a dealership though? This a business where they are only making a couple % on each car sale. CC charges would likely be more than their profits. They would probably sell it to you via CC, but for a higher amount likely.

If your buying a 5-7k used car, they probably wouldn't mind as much. 10-15k+, they don't want to pay ANY % on the fund transaction.