Paying For a Used Car With Amex

Lmonkeydo on 05/05/2017 - 22:48
Last edited 06/05/2017 - 10:37 by 1 other user

So buying a used car at a dealership this week.

My plan was to buy it with the Amex and then do a Bank transfer with a different bank. That way I get a good 14 months interest free with no fee, nothing. And I get some good Amex points along the way. Couple of things went wrong today.

-The dealer just told me there's a 2.8% surcharge for Amex.
-The bank for the bank transfer only approved me for half of what I need.

My question then is. Is there a way I can still use my Amex to pay without any surcharges? and also, can I go to another bank and open another credit card that may approve the other half that I need for bank transfer?

The surcharge on the Amex is anything after 2000 dollars. I didn't know cos they accepted my Amex without a problem when I put the deposit.

Any help is very appreciated

Financial

Comments

  • lovetravellinginbiz on 05/05/2017 - 23:10
    +4

    I've tried this before too. Bought my car for $50k. Put $5k deposit on Amex. When I went in to pay the remainder on my card, I was told there would be a surcharge of 2.8%. I negotiated a 2nd $5k on the Amex without surcharge. So in the end, paid $10k on Amex and $40k via bank transfer.

  • monkeydo on 05/05/2017 - 23:22

    Good to know that at least you can negotiate that. I'll try that.
    The car is A$18,000 minus the 500 deposit of course. I just don't want to finance it and pay more. I'm already at my absolute maximum.

    • spackbace on 05/05/2017 - 23:27
      +3

      Why are you at your maximum? Why isn't the car within your means?

      • monkeydo on 05/05/2017 - 23:37

        Got my Amex credit limit up to 17.7k which I was comfortable paying back if I do a balance transfer. Forked out another 300 cos thought it's just that lil extra for the exact car we wanted plus more (very rare). Considering I took into account that I get insurance. That was it. The surcharge adds an extra 500 or so. I don't think an extra 500 is worth the Amex points

        • spackbace on 05/05/2017 - 23:56
          +1

          So whats the plan if you can't get out of copping the fee?

          At the end of the day the fee is less than any loan/finance, and the dealership isn't going to take the hit just because you chose that payment method.

        • chumbucket on 06/05/2017 - 10:25
          +1

          Is putting yourself at "absolute maximum" a smart thing to do? Especially considering it is a used car?
          In say 3 months from now something major fails, what then? your stuck with more debt and a broken car that you cant afford to fix? Warranty (if you have it) may not cover all issues relating to general wear and tear, etc.

  • JIMB0 on 06/05/2017 - 09:39

    Can't you put it on layaway and pay $2k each week.

    • ezz88 on 06/05/2017 - 11:34

      I wish I had whatever job you have where paying 2k a week for a used car is a viable option.

      • JIMB0 on 06/05/2017 - 11:52

        I meant pay $2k per week on amex to get the points without having to pay the surcharge. OP would get the car after 9 weeks.

  • Some Guy on 08/05/2017 - 23:56

    Tell the dealer the sale doesn't go ahead unless you can pay with your Amex. It's $500 (or so). He gets his money quickly. Or just pay in daily lots of $2k.

    I did what bkx3virgin did on a $65k car with 8 x 5k payments and $25k transfer. I would have kept going in installments but the car had to be shipped.

    • spackbace on 09/05/2017 - 16:02

      Tell the dealer the sale doesn't go ahead unless you can pay with your Amex.

      Contract has been signed and agreed to by both parties with those conditions already set out, nothing more nothing less.

      You want out? That'll be 15% of the purchase price thanks :)

      • Some Guy on 09/05/2017 - 22:47

        monkeydo on 05/05/2017 - 23:22

        Good to know that at least you can negotiate that. I'll try that.

        OP was trying to negotiate the finance, wasn't he? Plus it seems they didn't tell him about any surcharge until after he'd paid a deposit - using AMEX - without a surcharge. OP obviously didn't see a sign anywhere. Seems reasonable to think that there's no surcharge.

        Maybe it was in the fine print of the agreed conditions you know so much about and the OP just missed it, and the dealer was nice enough to remind him. Or maybe the dealer neglected to provide all the information prior to signing. Or maybe the dealer is gouging him. Who knows?

  • cashless on 09/05/2017 - 08:38
    +1

    Ask him if they'll take PayPal?

  • chumlee on 09/05/2017 - 16:10

    2.8% surcharge seems high. I thought the RBA capped the charges recently

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