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Original poster

Garage not accepting credit card

25 replies

caroline161 · 15/07/2020 17:57

Trying to sort myself out a new car. Total cost will be about £10000 , will part exchange my car then pay the rest half cash and put half on my interest free credit card so I can pay off at my leisure over the next few months. However 2 garages who both have in stock a car I like and I could potentially go and buy this friday are saying that they will not allow me to do this. Assume because they want me to take out their finance. But I don't want to do this. I like to know where I am and pay off at my leisure a bit quicker than over several years with no HP. I'm really surprised that both garages just said ok then when I said I wouldn't bother coming to look at cars if they weren't able to offer me that. I just thought they would love to sell a £10000 car on Friday in this current climate they would bite my arm off. Any tips ? Is this normal ?

OP posts:
MsEllany · 15/07/2020 18:06

What does that mean, ‘won’t let you’? Do they only deal with bank notes? Coz I don’t know how they can stop you if they accept cards!

marchez · 15/07/2020 18:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Elouera · 15/07/2020 18:07

Would they accept a cheque?

SkelingtonArgument · 15/07/2020 18:10

They lose too much with the credit card fee on that amount. You can pay by bank transfer/debit card or take the finance package.
Standard practice for garages

Original poster
caroline161 · 15/07/2020 18:12

One garage said "we only let you put £1000 on your credit card " the other one said £500 was the limit! They will accept my debit card but not a credit card. Assume if I used the credit card to pay off the finance there would be charges?

OP posts:
DDiva · 15/07/2020 18:13

I dont understand. When you ask how can I pay do they say you have to have finance ?

It sounds more likely they dont want cash....

Original poster
caroline161 · 15/07/2020 18:13

How much would the credit card fee be ?

OP posts:
learnerpuppyowner · 15/07/2020 18:14

I recently took out a loan for a new car but it didn't land in my bank in time for when I was due to collect the car. I thought it'd be no problem as I could just put it in my credit card and then pay the card with the loan when it went in.

Garage wouldn't accept credit card. Apparently they get charged a % of the transaction total by the bank , so if you pay £10k on your credit card, they then have to pay a massive fee.

I had to wait a few more days for the loan to come through to get my car.

On a tangent... don't get a loan with marks and Spencer... everything is done by post rather than electronically. It takes weeks for you to actually get the money once the loan has been approved Hmm

ClutterbuckFarm · 15/07/2020 18:16

Credit card fees are typically 2-3% of the transaction total

latheritup · 15/07/2020 18:18

Hi, I work in a dealership and it's because of the charges on the balance.

Alarae · 15/07/2020 18:20

It will be because of the transaction fee they will pay on the amount paid via credit card.

OP, apply for a money transfer credit card. Get the money transferred to your bank account and then pay via your debit card. Most money transfers from with an interest free period, for a 3 or 4% transfer fee.

Winter2020 · 15/07/2020 18:21

Can you do a "money transfer" on your credit card (not withdraw cash!). I know Barclaycard and Halifax offer money transfers to your bank. My husband has promotional flyer this month for money transfer with Halifax 0% for 14 months with a 4% fee or 48 months 4.9%p.a.

Check out "money transfer credit card" on Money Saving Expert

yeOldeTrout · 15/07/2020 18:24

no idea, but am intrigued...

Itsallthedramamick · 15/07/2020 18:27

Haven't read the other replies but I am an accountant in a dealership and we limit credit card payments to £2k due to the fees we have to pay. We used to allow customers to pay more if they covered the fees but it is unlawful to pass the fees on to the customer now so we can't even do that

greenestolives · 15/07/2020 18:44

@Itsallthedramamick

Haven't read the other replies but I am an accountant in a dealership and we limit credit card payments to £2k due to the fees we have to pay. We used to allow customers to pay more if they covered the fees but it is unlawful to pass the fees on to the customer now so we can't even do that
This sums it up in a nutshell.
PoliceDoctor · 05/09/2022 07:13

Garages won't accept Credit Card as you have more protection when using a credit card. The Garage would find that they had a Credit Card Company after them if they sold you a "lemon".

Startuplife · 05/09/2022 07:26

This is good to know. I’m looking to buy a new car and one garage actually suggested an interest free credit card to me when I said I didn’t want a finance agreement so I didn’t realise others wouldn’t accept it.
Luckily I’ve applied for one with interest free balance transfers.

MintJulia · 05/09/2022 07:28

Credit cards charge a % of the transaction so it would cost the garage a lot. It's standard for garages not to accept credit cards when buying a car.

I bought a car last year and the norm now seems to be by chip and pin. You make sure the funds are in your bank account that morning, let the bank know you will be making a large transaction to a particular vendor in advance and then just use your card as if you were buying groceries.

If you don't let the bank know in advance, their security process will block the transaction and you'll have to spend ages on the phone getting them to release it.

I suggest you take a short term bank loan. Annoying but better than car finance.

fizzyfood · 05/09/2022 07:30

I had this when I purchased my last car from a dealership, I didn't ask why.

User148563 · 05/09/2022 07:32

If I recall we had this when we bought our caravan which was similar sort of price to a car, we could pay up to £1k on credit card so I paid deposit on that then the rest had to be from bank or debit card

womaninatightspot · 05/09/2022 07:34

MintJulia · 05/09/2022 07:28

Credit cards charge a % of the transaction so it would cost the garage a lot. It's standard for garages not to accept credit cards when buying a car.

I bought a car last year and the norm now seems to be by chip and pin. You make sure the funds are in your bank account that morning, let the bank know you will be making a large transaction to a particular vendor in advance and then just use your card as if you were buying groceries.

If you don't let the bank know in advance, their security process will block the transaction and you'll have to spend ages on the phone getting them to release it.

I suggest you take a short term bank loan. Annoying but better than car finance.

I had this and then they still wouldn’t make the payment. Wanted me to pay on the forecourt rather than online.

User148563 · 05/09/2022 07:35

You still get section 75 protection even if you only pay a bit by credit card

BarbaraofSeville · 05/09/2022 07:44

PoliceDoctor · 05/09/2022 07:13

Garages won't accept Credit Card as you have more protection when using a credit card. The Garage would find that they had a Credit Card Company after them if they sold you a "lemon".

This is not the reason, it's to do with the fees and has been standard practice for ever.

Most garages will accept a deposit on a credit card and, providing that the car is under £30k, gives the buyer the same protection whether they pay the entire cost, or just a deposit, which can be any amount, even just a penny.

OP you can get the car spend onto a credit card, but it might need a workaround, eg put all your other spending on the credit card and use the money you've not spent to pay for the car. If you pay for all your groceries, fuel and general spending, you'll probably rack up at least £1k pm, then use the money not spent on these items towards the car.

Or you could ask your provider if they have a money transfer offer and use that instead, but there will be a fee for that, so you could look at a personal loan instead, especially if it's likely you'll be able to pay it off over a few months and can get a low rate like 3 or 4% APR.

But I think that second hand car sales are still booming so it's not like they're desperate. I've been tracking the price of cars similar to the one I bought a year ago and the same year/model I paid £8k for a year ago is now £9-10k from the same place, despite being a year older.

Lunar270 · 05/09/2022 07:49

PoliceDoctor · 05/09/2022 07:13

Garages won't accept Credit Card as you have more protection when using a credit card. The Garage would find that they had a Credit Card Company after them if they sold you a "lemon".

Not true. As long as you pay a deposit with a credit card, you're still covered. It doesn't matter I'd the deposit was £500.

Regarding the OP's question. It's standard practice IME.

cbatopainttheshed · 05/09/2022 08:01

As this is a zombie thread started 2 years ago.... I think the OP may have moved on!!

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