Paying for 2nd hand car from trader help please

kPATm · 23 Nov 2021 at 17:00

So Im in the market for a car and Im seeing a few dealers only accepting BT as payment. I see that even if the deposit is payed by Credit card then if things go wrong the entire cost can be claimed back. The thing is I dont have a credit card. Would it probably better just to get one for the sole purpose of paying the deposit so Im covered? Thanks

ShiWarrior · 23 Nov 2021 at 18:21

yes, i would have thought so, get VISA credit card, and put deposit on it

kPATm · 23 Nov 2021 at 18:26

Im with the Bank Of Scotland. Could I just get their Card. Not had a credit card in many years after a bad experience when I was a young lad so Im not sure how it works now?

Looks like it would be a Master card from the Bank Of Scotland?

Rroff · 23 Nov 2021 at 18:43

I've found dealers lately go out of their way to avoid credit cards - you might struggle with some and have to be more persistent before they'll accept CC if you aren't paying deposit on debit card and rest by bank transfer.

Not sure if that is due to the protection aspect or fees or what.

kPATm · 23 Nov 2021 at 19:08

Apparently its the fees but I think it could be to do with the protection you have paying with a CC. I could just be paranoid

dlockers · 23 Nov 2021 at 19:30

Don't overthink it. Apply for one and do as you are saying. If you have subprime credit then go for an AQUA or Vanquis as you won't be accepted by a big name. You just need 100 quid iirc on the credit card.

OldKitMan · 23 Nov 2021 at 19:33

Every main dealer I've bought a car from has accepted the deposit on a CC, I've paid the final balance with a debit card a few times and the last one the final balance was paid by BT.

If the dealer refused to accept a partial payment with a CC I'd walk away.

kPATm · 23 Nov 2021 at 19:42

Is a Mastercard ok?

Semple · 23 Nov 2021 at 19:52

Rroff said:
I've found dealers lately go out of their way to avoid credit cards - you might struggle with some and have to be more persistent before they'll accept CC if you aren't paying deposit on debit card and rest by bank transfer.

Not sure if that is due to the protection aspect or fees or what.

Yeah it's normally the fees. In most cases they'll let you pay by CC if you pay the fee. On a small deposit the fee isn't a great deal.

kPATm · 23 Nov 2021 at 20:15

I was only planning on spending at max 5k. With a deposit of a couple of hundred then pay the rest by BT or Debit card. Is Mastercard suitable?

DB_SamX · 23 Nov 2021 at 20:35

Getting a cc with yiur existing bank may be easiest. Alternatively try a supermarket loyalty one.

I always insist on at least paying tge deposit or a small amount on credit card, even in the days when they had associated fees. The cover is a huge piece of mind.

gc123 · 23 Nov 2021 at 20:44

i think so
Credit Card Protection | MoneySuperMarket
just says a credit card

Rroff · 23 Nov 2021 at 20:52

OldKitMan said:
If the dealer refused to accept a partial payment with a CC I'd walk away.

It isn't so much refusing - they just tend to steer away from it and in my experience at least you have to push a bit with some of them to get them to accept it.

Also possibly related I notice a lot are £99 for the holding deposit - possibly due to having to spend over £100 on the CC for section 75 cover. Though £99 also looking less than £100 might be seen as less of a barrier to people spending money (despite the overall cost of the vehicle) might be a factor.

kPATm · 23 Nov 2021 at 21:30

Rroff said:
possibly due to having to spend over £100 on the CC for section 75 cover.

Thats exactly where my head is at.

kPATm · 23 Nov 2021 at 21:33

So if it did go wrong who actually pays the money back. Im assuming the bank then they chase up the company for the money. Or am I totally wrong about that?

Uther · 23 Nov 2021 at 21:36

Visa or Mastercard CC doesn't matter, just put the £100 or so deposit on one of them for the cover they offer.

kPATm · 23 Nov 2021 at 21:49

I have applied for a CC and been accepted. The car I have my eye on will probably be gone by the time I get the card in but at least I have some protection when I do by one from a Trader. Obviously if its from a private seller then thats a different matter

DRZ · 23 Nov 2021 at 22:16

Every single person quoting the £100 figure is incorrect. You can spent just a single penny on your credit card and as long as the FULL COST of the item is over £100 and less than £30,000 you're covered by Section 75. That means an item costing £100.00 is not covered and neither is an item costing £30,000.00. £100.01 and £29,999.99 are fine though.

Iamzod · 23 Nov 2021 at 23:27

Semple said:
Yeah it's normally the fees. In most cases they'll let you pay by CC if you pay the fee. On a small deposit the fee isn't a great deal.

Fees shouldn't be much on a standard consumer credit card, £5k should cost about £16 - £22, they aren't allowed to ask you to pay the fee on their behalf either, it was banned back in 2018 I think it was.

Rroff · 23 Nov 2021 at 23:43

DRZ said:
Every single person quoting the £100 figure is incorrect. You can spent just a single penny on your credit card and as long as the FULL COST of the item is over £100 and less than £30,000 you're covered by Section 75. That means an item costing £100.00 is not covered and neither is an item costing £30,000.00. £100.01 and £29,999.99 are fine though.

Keep forgetting you don't need to pay a specific amount on the CC as long as it is part of the transaction - my bank keeps saying or inferring you have to spend £100 in their literature.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/39/section/75

Exact wording (exclusive):

"so far as the claim relates to any single item to which the supplier has attached a cash price not exceeding [F2£100] or more than [F3£30,000] [F4, or]"

Most of the articles on it are a bit misleading and/or vague on the wording.