Purchase car on credit card?

[sk24iam]

If I were buying a car, could I put the down payment on my credit card without any fees? I feel it would be beneficial to do this to get points. And I wouldn't be paying interest because I would just pay the credit car bill in full at the end of the month.

[tripods68]

I don't think the dealer will allow you coz of the merchant fee cost. That's taking a profit away from the sale of their vehicle. You're better off applying for car loan instead. This should minimize interest to you if you have good credit.

[kork13]

You may be able to find a dealership that will not charge you a processing fee for charging your downpayment, but I'd give it a low chance.... Visa/MC/etc. charges the dealer something like 2-3% on credit card purchases. Most places I've seen pass on this charge to you, the buyer, if you choose to pay with CC.

HOWEVER, this isn't to say it can't be done. Over the years, my father has bought 2 separate cars (both around $10k) on credit cards, and wasn't charged in either case. When I bought my car, I could have charged up to $3000, but if beyond that, that they would have charged a fee on the entire amount (I bought a $20k car, with a $10k downpayment -- so charging the DP didn't make sense for me). If you decide to do it, just make sure to ask about their policy before you do anything.

[disneysteve]

When I bought my car, I could have charged up to $3000, but if beyond that, that they would have charged a fee on the entire amount (I bought a $20k car, with a $10k downpayment -- so charging the DP didn't make sense for me).

Why wouldn't it make sense to charge the $3,000 and pay cash or check for the other $7,000? At least you would have gotten the reward points on the 3K.

I tried to charge a portion of the purchase each of the last 2 times we bought cars but the dealers wouldn't do it either time.

[kork13]

Why wouldn't it make sense to charge the $3,000 and pay cash or check for the other $7,000? At least you would have gotten the reward points on the 3K.

I tried to charge a portion of the purchase each of the last 2 times we bought cars but the dealers wouldn't do it either time.

It was all or none, an interesting tactic, I assume to try to get us to finance a higher amount. I could have paid $3k by CC and had no fee OR I could have paid the $10k by CC and paid a fee on all $10k. They wouldn't accept two separate payments. trust me..... my father and I tried. we also tried to charge it on a couple separate CC's, but again, no-go. Soooooooo, we just dropped a check for $10k and drove off.

[boosami]

They will be more open to doing it if you are charging the downpayment and financing the rest. I have tried to charge the downpayment and pay the rest by check before, but that doesn't fly. They would let me do it, though, if I went with the dealer financing option for the remainder of the cost.

Of course, one could always go with that option, get the points, and then repay the loan immediately...

[sk24iam]

I wouldn't use your credit card. Use your credit card as little as possible. Using it too often will only make things worse for you.

That makes no sense at all. How will using my credit card make things worse for me? Using my credit card has granted me a rather high credit line. I put every purchase I make on credit card and have excellent credit. I would never make a purchase on the card that I don't have the cash for in the bank. Every month, card is paid in full.

[Beccagold]

We bought a car last month and the dealer let us charge $6k! 3k deposit and 3k at pickup. We paid cash for the rest. I was surprised, but excited to get the points just the same.

[Goldy]

I was able to put 2500 down with my card for those same reasons you talked about.

[MonkeyMama]

We bought our last 2 cars from dealerships - cash - they let us put $2k on credit on one, $3k on the other (a LONG time ago).

It depends on the dealership, how much you pay, and how much you push. We asked to put the entire purchase on the card both times and they countered with $2k-$3k. We just said, "okay." Probably exhausted from the whole negotiation process by then. I am sure we could have pushed it a little further. & the last time we bought were when dealers were in their heydey. I think the customer has more negotiating power today. Would be my guess.

[disneysteve]

I was just trying to say that when you use credit cards for large expenses like that you run into credit card problems.

No. You run into credit card problems when you charge things that you can't afford. It doesn't matter if the purchase is $10, $100, or $1,000. If you can't afford to pay the bill in full each and every month, you should not be using the credit card. If you can afford to pay it in full, it doesn't matter how much you put on the card. Our credit card charges in 2008 came to about $40,000. We paid every bill in full every month and earned close to $1,000 in rewards. No problems.