pay cash or finance and pay in 30 days?

[bbkat]

Looking to buy a used car. I have the cash but wonder if there's any advantage to taking out a loan and repaying it right away. Or even putting it on a credit card and paying it off before interest charges accrue (to earn points). From a credit reporting standpoint, what's the best option?

 

[rayma2]

it would definatly look good on a credit report.. I think.

 

[Mill]

What amount is the car? If we are talking 10-15k here and you can get a 30 day loan you wouldn't really need to improve your credit...

 

[crystal]

Just pay with cash. BTW, don't they charge you for the loans application?

 

[T2T III]

If you have the cash, pay cash. However, I doubt that any dealership would apply the whole purchase price to a credit card (other than the down payment) - because they get stuck with the fee (3% or so.)

 

[RossMAN]

How old are you?
How long have you had credit for (years/months)?
How much is the car?

 

[StageLeft]

I would say that unless there is something you aren't telling us there is no way in hell a car dealer will let you put the price on credit card. Last year I bought a used car for $2300 and my credit card limit was $2500. I had to cash advance the entire amount, eating up the credit card cash amount fees - he wouldn't take credit.

BTW if you're needing to build credit take a loan out for as short as possible and give a nice big downpayment, then finance just a small bit of it...then pay it off early if you dont like the interest - perhaps 6 months or something, as opposed to a month.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
I would say that unless there is something you aren't telling us there is no way in hell a car dealer will let you put the price on credit card. Last year I bought a used car for $2300 and my credit card limit was $2500. I had to cash advance the entire amount, eating up the credit card cash amount fees - he wouldn't take credit.

BTW if you're needing to build credit take a loan out for as short as possible and give a nice big downpayment, then finance just a small bit of it...then pay it off early if you dont like the interest - perhaps 6 months or something, as opposed to a month.

I bought my last car with a credit card, $2,800.

Probably varies a lot by the dealer, but most should be more interested in the sale than denying your use of a credit card (ie you say: I'll buy this right now if you take the card, otherwise I walk out the door.).

Viper GTS

 

[StageLeft]

I bought my last car with a credit card, $2,800.

Well god damn it! I couldn't :|

 

[Deeko]

I bought my old car(you know, the good one, the one that I crashed) on a credit card.

 

[techfuzz]

I put the down payment for my car on my AMEX so I could get the membership rewards points. I ended up paying it off the next month so I ended up getting a couple thousand points and a new car. Plus when I redeem my points, I'll be able to get a couple movies or discount tickets. Work the system any way you can!

techfuzz

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: techfuzz
I put the down payment for my car on my AMEX so I could get the membership rewards points. I ended up paying it off the next month so I ended up getting a couple thousand points and a new car. Plus when I redeem my points, I'll be able to get a couple movies or discount tickets. Work the system any way you can!

techfuzz

I know that nissan was going to take my card as a downpayment. I just assumed that it wouldn't work for points though. Imagine buying a $20k car on a credit card. Oh the points!!

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: techfuzz
I put the down payment for my car on my AMEX so I could get the membership rewards points. I ended up paying it off the next month so I ended up getting a couple thousand points and a new car. Plus when I redeem my points, I'll be able to get a couple movies or discount tickets. Work the system any way you can!

techfuzz

I know that nissan was going to take my card as a downpayment. I just assumed that it wouldn't work for points though. Imagine buying a $20k car on a credit card. Oh the points!!

How many people have sufficient CC limits (and more importantly, AVAILABLE credit) to buy a $20,000 car?

Viper GTS

 

[bbkat]

Clarification: Car will be about $10,000 (Don't worry, not tapping myself out. Plenty of other emergency cash). I have 15+ years of good credit, so I don't NEED to bump it but any little bit always helps - especially with a home purchase planned in next 3 years. Not looking for a "30-day loan", maybe a 60-month and pay it off immediately to get it on my record. Not even sure credit card is a down payment option with the dealer yet, just exploring all possibilities. Like Techfuzz said, "work the system".

Thanks for the replies.

 

[denali]

The dealer I bought my car from wouldn't let me charge more that $2500. If you have the cash I'd say charge it, get the points and then pay off in full. If you time the purchase right, first day of billing cycle, you will have two months before you have to pay it off. Nothing like two months free money.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: bbkat
Clarification: Car will be about $10,000 (Don't worry, not tapping myself out. Plenty of other emergency cash). I have 15+ years of good credit, so I don't NEED to bump it but any little bit always helps - especially with a home purchase planned in next 3 years. Not looking for a "30-day loan", maybe a 60-month and pay it off immediately to get it on my record. Not even sure credit card is a down payment option with the dealer yet, just exploring all possibilities. Like Techfuzz said, "work the system".

Thanks for the replies.

If your local car dealer will accept a credit card, I would charge it only if you have a good cc which has PERKS. Such as CitiBank's 1% rebate, airline miles, Sony points, or any other rewards programs you belong to.

Otherwise just pay cash, you have 15 years of credit history ... doing a 30 to 60 day loan is not a good idea.