[lwlee]

Agreed to take a instock silver/latte 2005 AWD SL Touring for 31500 from Nemet Nissan. Carsdirect has it for 31802. I wanted to see if I could I get the lowest possible price by paying outright for a car in stock that was fairly close to my ideal. In this case, silver/latte instead of platinum/latte. Plus I get to drive it home today.

Everything seem like a go until I got to the dealership and then they tell me that they won't take a personal check. This was never bought up during the phone conversation.

They tried to get me to put a credit card deposit but they also tried to change the terms of the deal. I had to do it through financing rather than an outright buy. Given their poor track record, eg BBB complaints and also doing a google search for "nemet nissan complaints", I wasn't going to commit money that I thought might be held hostage. Plus I didn't like their general attitude. I had low expectation of Nissan dealers going in and while it wasn't an absolutely horrid experience, I definitely wasn't going to let it get to that stage.

So my question, anyone else use personal check without a problem? It was a Saturday. Would have been difficult to get a cashier check or bank check.

 

[Zooropa]

I wrote a personal check for the total cost of a loaded 2004 SL AWD last year and went home with the car that day. But if I recall correctly they still ran a credit check on me and listed financing terms through the dealer just in case the check wasn't good.

 

[jballchat]

In May I wrote a personal check for half and financed the rest through my credit union. Of course they still ran a credit check but I'm sure every dealer has their own policy on such a thing.

 

[jnova]

Wow, that's weird. I bought a 2004 SE 3 weeks ago and we tried to put it on our AMEX card to get miles, but they said we could only put up to $2500 on a credit card and we had to give them a personal check for the rest. They even agreed to hold the check for a week while we got the money transfered from savings.

 

[lwlee]

So 3 different people have put at least half the money up by check. My credit check is pristine. I carry absolutely no debt. If they weren't going to trust me with my check, I wasn't going to trust them with a deposit.

Being that this is NYC, if someone did commit check fraud, what is the dealer's recourse? As a dealer, it's reasonable to want more reassurances.

Are EFT using bank routing/check numbers able to transfer 30k? Or is there a daily limit like the ATM? That would be another alternative.

 

[CopperKat]

I also paid in full with a personal check, and it was on a Sunday. They did run a credit check first, but I was able to drive home with the vehicle the same day.

 

[graydonl]

I also paid in full with a personal check, and it was on a Sunday. They did run a credit check first, but I was able to drive home with the vehicle the same day.

I left my Maxima trade-in and went home with the new MO to get my checkbook!! Then later that afternoon went back with the check for the full price of the MO.

 

[hfelknor]

"I carry absolutely no debt."

If he had no credit history, the Dealer wouldn't take the Pope's check on a saturday.

What day do more scam artists hit dealers?
Saturday.
This is the day people try to blow smoke by trading in cars that they stole (I'l bring the title around monday), duplicate keys and revisit the lot when it is closed , etc., Float checks, use stolen credit cards, etc.

Also some people are ridiculous.
They think just because they actually have the money, that everybody is supposed to bow down and treat them like big people even tho they are 22 years old, look 17 and have an attitude. I would never take a check from a dude with pierced everythings on a saturday.

Now I am not saying that any of these things are viable here. Please don't take it that way.

What I am saying is that we do not know both sides.

I paid for my car with a check.
But, it was a weekday and there was no problem calling the bank, I have a long and good credit hostory with a FICO of 800+, and I would imagine I look successful as I have a hefty portfolio and bank account.

Homer

 

[lwlee]

Again like I said, my credit check is pristine. Long credit history where I've maintained large balances and dutifully paid them off.

"I carry absolutely no debt."

If he had no credit history, the Dealer wouldn't take the Pope's check on a saturday.

If anything it's the dealer who are vultures, I think most typical car buyers just want a decent deal on a car. You sound like a dealer who wants to work only with graybeard fat cats. Plenty of scammers there as well. Also most dealers probably dont want to work with baby faced buyers just because they're taught to treat certain buyers with disdain. Women, minorities included.

I'm in my early 30s and definitely not baby faced. Went into the dealership with shorts and shirt. Very respectful and very wary.

Also some people are ridiculous.
They think just because they actually have the money, that everybody is supposed to bow down and treat them like big people even tho they are 22 years old, look 17 and have an attitude. I would never take a check from a dude with pierced everythings on a saturday.

 

[hfelknor]

You have a reading comprehension problem.

"Now I am not saying that any of these things are viable here. Please don't take it that way"

I even said "Please" but that didn't satisfy you.


I will ignore the "dealer" comment and suggest you read some of my 1600 posts before you show your ignorance any further.

Homer

 

[lwlee]

No problem reading at all. I didn't take offense to anything you said. You shouldn't have either. I was making a statement in general. The dealer comment applies to anyone who makes the statements you made.

Not sure why it matters that you posted 1600 times. Should I bow down to you?

You have a reading comprehension problem.

"Now I am not saying that any of these things are viable here. Please don't take it that way"

I even said "Please" but that didn't satisfy you.

I will ignore the "dealer" comment and suggest you read some of my 1600 posts before you show your ignorance any further.
Homer

 

[GMTURBO43]

I would say the reason the dealer wanted you to finance is because that's where they make their money.

 

[lawbroker]

I would think that all you have to do is tell them if they won't take your personal check then you won't buy the car from them. Period.

If they don't accept it then, maybe that is their policy for whatever reason and they are sticking to it.

I suspect they'll take your check.

 

[Jim C]

Bottom line is that its up to the dealers individually to decide whether to accept certain forms of payment or not. Some dealers are better than others in the trust of customers department. A lot of that depends on their past experience. If you had accepted checks in the past and gotten burned, I'm betting you'd be a lot less willing to accept them in future transcations. I bought my Murano with a deposit from a credit card to start the factory order. Paid off the balance with a check from a personal account when the vehicle arrived. Dealer never batted an eyelash.

 

[Eric L.]

Actually I asked if I could pay for the car with a credit card (to get the 1% cash back =) but they said no, so I paid with a personal check. No problems at all.

Would your dealer have accepted a bank cashier's check?

 

[lwlee]

Certified funds like that, they would have taken in a heartbeat. The thing is I didn't like their attitude. I won't go into details but suffice to say, enough was done to put me off.

I was also hoping to build an ongoing relationship with the dealership. Cars need maintainence and it would have been good to go back to the source.

There are about 6-7 local dealers who I am sure would match carsdirect's price. This dealer was (so they say) willing to give a $300 discount to carsdirect price. I'm willing to forgo $300 to get my first choice color but more importantly to build an ongoing relationship with the dealer.

Actually I asked if I could pay for the car with a credit card (to get the 1% cash back =) but they said no, so I paid with a personal check. No problems at all.

Would your dealer have accepted a bank cashier's check?