When people say they "pay cash" for a car...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Usually certified check from bank.

Why? Why not just cut a regular check? That’s all we’ve had to do to pay for cars that cost between $55k and $75k. Is there something I’m missing?

A personal check could bounce. A certified check carries a guarantee from the bank that the funds are available and set aside to cover this specific transaction.

Yes, but dealerships don't seem to care. In the fine print must be language about penalties for bounced checks and the buyer paying to repossession if necessary.

IME, a regular check is usually sufficient. One exception - DH bought a Porsche from the Tysons dealership and they wanted a certified check.

interestingly, i bought a porsche from another nova dealer and just wrote a personal check. i didn't even drive to the dealership for the test drive, i had a friend give me a ride! it seemed kind of insane to me even then, but that was 20+ years ago.

[Anonymous]

They run a credit check on you, sometimes during a test drive. You show a drivers license so they have the info. That's how they know if they want to take your check.

[Anonymous]

Personal check

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:you write a check

We did this for the first time a couple years ago - I was surprised the dealership let me write a personal check and just drive away. I figured I'd have to wire money or something where they got the money first.

Same, but if I remember correctly they ran a credit check first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hear people say they are paying cash for cars, but it sounds so strange. Does that mean they are walking into the car dealership ship and a box full of money?

No, they are writing a check for the full amount of the car and not taking a loan

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Usually certified check from bank.

Wrote a check for over $90K in the last year for a new car. The dealers can now verify the funds and you just use a regular check. No certified check required

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Usually certified check from bank.

Why? Why not just cut a regular check? That’s all we’ve had to do to pay for cars that cost between $55k and $75k. Is there something I’m missing?

Until about 4-5 years ago, you had to do certified checks. Now dealers have a way to verify the funds so regular checks work. Without verifying, they are not trusting you have $50K+ in funds and giving you the car

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get a loan because it has incentives, and then pay it off in a few months. I bought in the zero interest rate era though.

This, I go in acting clueless about how I’ll pay, so they may lower the out the door purchase price planning to make it up on financing. Then I just pay off the loan with cash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hear people say they are paying cash for cars, but it sounds so strange. Does that mean they are walking into the car dealership ship and a box full of money?

Have you not heard of checks?

My Gen Z young adult has probably never seen a check. It feels very insecure — like your account numbers are all there and washing a check is totally a thing.

[Anonymous]

I know they mean without financing but if it's a used car, the price may be low enough that people do pay in cash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was this question written by a 5 year old?

+1

Seriously.

[Anonymous]

How do you pay for anything in cash? Check, debit card or bills. What a strange question OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Usually certified check from bank.

Why? Why not just cut a regular check? That’s all we’ve had to do to pay for cars that cost between $55k and $75k. Is there something I’m missing?

A personal check could bounce. A certified check carries a guarantee from the bank that the funds are available and set aside to cover this specific transaction.

But they have a lien on the car if the check bounces--they'll just come take it back. It is similar to when you have work done on your home and they send an invoice once the work is complete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you pay for anything in cash? Check, debit card or bills. What a strange question OP.

Op here - I have always used the term cash to mean actual dollar bills. Apparently others use it in different ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Usually certified check from bank.

Why? Why not just cut a regular check? That’s all we’ve had to do to pay for cars that cost between $55k and $75k. Is there something I’m missing?

A personal check could bounce. A certified check carries a guarantee from the bank that the funds are available and set aside to cover this specific transaction.

But they have a lien on the car if the check bounces--they'll just come take it back. It is similar to when you have work done on your home and they send an invoice once the work is complete.

This reminds me of when we bought a car 15 years ago and wanted to pay by personal check and it was after bank hours. They said fine, we could drive away with the car but they would have a lien on it until the check went through. They promptly pulled out a couple sheets of paper that went through all the lien stuff and im a lawyer so i actually read it, and the new paperwork said they had a lien on my car but was completely silent on when the lien would be released. The salesman was insistent it was automatically released and that the forms “were written by lawyers” but I made them hand write a sentence that the lien would be released on check clearing. Car sales are rough….