Dealer wants "cash only"

[vxr8mate]

A friend of mine has contacted a dealer regarding a used car. Said dealer told her they have had recent problems with stolen credit cards etc and so wants cash only for the car which is some £1500 worth.

Is this likely to be some scam or just a dealer being careful?

[EDLT]

He may not be scamming you, but avoiding paying tax.

[jamesson]

I'd want to pay that on my credit card in case there's a problem with the car. You can then get your card issuer involved. There are plenty of cars for that sort of price so personally I'd walk away.

[slipstream 1985]

dealer is on the brink of collapse and wants cash to hide?

[kentmotorcompany]

A lot of cars bought for £1500 are paid for with cash. Unlikely to be a scam.

Maybe the dealer does not have a card machine? (even though he may advertise one)

Maybe its a cheap car he wants to keep off the books?

Your friend should grow a pair, and pay cash (if he likes the car of course) or if he is really not comfortable with a few pound notes in his pocket, insist on paying by card or no deal, even though the dealer might turn him down.


Either way it sounds like the dealer might not be the best in the world, but at this end of the market that is less important. Buy the car on its own merits only.

Edited by kentmotorcompany on Tuesday 4th October 14:06

[HairbearTE]

Offer him passport, DL, utility bills and statements from the card as ID. If he still dosen't want to know he's bent and the car is probably a dog.

[Snowboy]

Don't card companies charge a few % for the transaction?
Perhaps he's on very close margins.
Or he just wants to keep it off the books.

Personally, I'd walk away.
If I was doing a cash in hand/no guarantee/no receipt sort of deal I'd be more inclined to go for a Private sale.

Edited by Snowboy on Tuesday 4th October 14:43

[Mr Roper]

I wouldn't have a problem paying in cash as long as I leave happy and with proof of purchase......I little bit of cash helps the world go round.

[skyline501]

slipstream 1985 said:

dealer is on the brink of collapse and wants cash to hide?

This ^^^

I was caught out like this a few years ago.

[Big_Kahuna]

Does the dealer look like this?

[Ozzie Osmond]

kentmotorcompany said:

A lot of cars bought for £1500 are paid for with cash. Unlikely to be a scam.

Your friend should grow a pair, and pay cash (if he likes the car of course) or if he is really not comfortable with a few pound notes in his pocket, insist on paying by card or no deal, even though the dealer might turn him down.

Either way it sounds like the dealer might not be the best in the world, but at this end of the market that is less important. Buy the car on its own merits only.

^^^^^ This

Your friend must insist upon a proper invoice for the car (make sure who is the named "seller" and that it's clearly not a private sale) and a proper receipt for the cash.

[DHE]

Snowboy said:

Don't card companies charge a few % for the transaction?
Perhaps he's on very close margins.
Or he just wants to keep it off the books.

Edited by Snowboy on Tuesday 4th October 14:43

As well as charging a % they can take an age to get the funds into the garage owners bank account, 15-20 days in some cases, which can affect cash flow for the business.

[mollytherocker]

slipstream 1985 said:

dealer is on the brink of collapse and wants cash to hide?

The most likely. Its tough times out there for these guys.

MTR

[Kevin VRs]

DHE said:

As well as charging a % they can take an age to get the funds into the garage owners bank account, 15-20 days in some cases, which can affect cash flow for the business.

Time taken usually depends on how long the dealer delays the claim for payment, not a delay by the card issuer.

[PGN 500sl]

slipstream 1985 said:

dealer is on the brink of collapse and wants cash to hide?

this

[Simon1397]

Does he have a card machine?
I'd not be surprised that he doesn't want to process a credit card, he might lose as much as 3% of the sale through charges but if they won't take a debit card transaction, which is charged at the cheque process rate for most (i.e. about 19p) then it looks much less straightforward.

[pincher]

A friend of mine has a showroom and got done for £2K on a dodgy card the other week.. Transaction went through fine at the time, without any issues but the card machine company called him up a few days later to say that the card was stolen/cloned (can't remember exactly what he said) and that they were taking the money back from him.

To say he was peeved in an understatement.

Same happened with another mate who has a furniture shop - turns out the card used was registered to someone in Australia!

So I dont blame the trader for asking for cash, personally.

[Disgusted]

kentmotorcompany said:

Your friend should grow a pair, and pay cash (if he likes the car of course) or if he is really not comfortable with a few pound notes in his pocket, insist on paying by card or no deal, even though the dealer might turn him down.

Edited by kentmotorcompany on Tuesday 4th October 14:06

...of tits, presumably (though quite how you've worked out their current size from the OP is anyone's guess).

[amg master]

pincher said:

A friend of mine has a showroom and got done for £2K on a dodgy card the other week.. Transaction went through fine at the time, without any issues but the card machine company called him up a few days later to say that the card was stolen/cloned (can't remember exactly what he said) and that they were taking the money back from him.

To say he was peeved in an understatement.

Same happened with another mate who has a furniture shop - turns out the card used was registered to someone in Australia!

So I dont blame the trader for asking for cash, personally.

i thought that if a customer uses a card and they have put the pin in then the bank guarantee the money even if the card is cloned.surely the dealer cannot do anymore checks if the pin is accepted.