Three must knows when paying CASH for a car at a dealer

When people have cash to pay for a car they think everything is going to be great but that’s not necessarily so.

The first thing you need to know when paying cash for a car is that it does not give you power. Because you are paying cash for a car does not mean the dealer is going to be falling over you and making you a great deal. What it means is that you have cash and you are buying a car. It works the same if you finance. Basically if you finance the car, they send the deal to the bank, the bank sends them a cheque for the full amount so it’s pretty much the same thing. Just be aware that it doesn’t mean you have all this mighty power as you’re paying cash.


The second thing you need to know is to listen to the finance options. It doesn’t mean you are going to finance but listen to the finance options because sometimes they’ll have say a 1.9% or a 0% or a special offer on. If they have a 0% rate, you could keep your money in the bank and maybe gain interest on it, so it is worth considering financing at that low rate. If not you can always pay it off at any time, so if you do decide you are going to finance, you can do so for 3 months, 6 months or a year and pay it off at any time.


The third thing that you need to know is do not tell them you are paying cash when you walk in. That is a big no. What the dealer likes to do sometimes is lower the price of the car and hope that they can make it up on the finance scene. If they don’t have a special rate but say a 6.9 or 7% rate, this gives them something they can make money on the interest, so they can sell the car for a lower price. They maybe also thinking when you go into the finance department you may buy an extended warranty or perhaps accessories where they can make up for it so there’s no need to tell them you are paying cash until you agree on a price for the car.


Once you have agreed a price you can then tell them you are paying cash. They may not be too happy about it but you can then leave knowing you have bought the car at the best price.