Buying car in cash at dealership, how do they take the money?

[hmfair54]

Probably a stupid question but I've never done this before. I'm buying a used car from a dealership and will be paying cash.

How do they take the money? Is it done via bank transfer or taken on a card? Do I need a bankers draft? I honestly have no idea but would like to know if I'll need to sort anything with my bank beforehand

TIA

I paid cash for a car a few years back. I just paid on bank card. It was 2k. Just double check what they prefer. Or walk in with a suitcase full of £1 coins

I use a debit card.

Just use your card to pay for it.

I paid using a debit card. This was about 7 years ago and I just rang the bank beforehand to let them know a large card transaction would be made.

"Paying in cash" doesnt mean actual physical cash when you're talking large purchases. It means you're using cleared funds rather than putting it on credit.

Just use your bank card, unless the dealership specify another method theh prefer.

I used a car for 19k on bank card.

I did question if it would be a problem doing on the day of collection but they said, as a main dealer, such transactions were not unusal nor unexpected and it would be fine.

It was.

Cash is cash - a bundle of grubby notes with an elastic band around them. But I guess you mean you are buying outright, without finance.

If you are paying from a bank account then these days an internet transfer is OK as it's virtually instant, or a debit card, though you may have to wait while your bank contacts you to check that it's really you and you are not being scammed into parting with your money.

Debit cards have fixed charges for the payee which are quite low. But credit cards charge up to 1-2% so they probably won't go for that - better to push for a better deal on the car.

And that's a point to note - a cash purchase is the best deal for the dealership so they should give you the best price. You'll soon find out how low they'll go if you identify yourself as a cash purchaser quite early on, then hesitate a bit, hum and ha a bit, pretend to walk away from the deal to look somewhere else.

I did it by credit card (after arranging it with credit card company). I get cash back on my credit card spending hence wanting to do it this way.

It was a big dealer - they weren't massively happy but accepted it.