Paying cash for a better deal, stoopid or smart?

J

Jezza21

Member
I've found "the one", this weekend I'll be making some final checks and expect to pick up my first ever Z4 3.0, at a good deal too! Car needs some work

The dealer I'm buying from is a one-man-band, when we talking about the price I suggested paying cash so he can keep it off the books, less tax. His eyes lit up and we further reduced the price of the car.

But now the purchase is potentially happening in a few days I'm thinking "is this smart?"

£3,000+ of cash is a chunk, am I being really stupid here or am I worrying for no reason? I've haggled £600 off the asking price so I kinda feel it's worth it!
 
The issue with buying cash and keeping it off the books, of course, is that I imagine by all legal standpoints it would be classed as a private sale rather than buying from a dealer, and as such you have none of the protection you would from buying a dealer car. Obviously a dealers concern is profit and moving stock, whereas buying private from an owner you get an insight into how the car has been treated.

I could be wrong, but that would be my considerations.
 
Pay cash by all means, BUT pay at least a pound on a CREDIT card. That way, if further down the line there are problems that he won't resolve, then YOUR credit card company will put it right, or reimburse you the full £3000.

Mike
 
It also depends how he's sourced it. If it's through the trade there is a good chance these days it's some form of cash less transaction as most dealers/auction houses don't like cash and charge a fee to take it. If he's paid cashlessly it means its already probably "on the books" unless of course he doesnt have books and in reality does just have one or two cars running through his own private bank account.
To be honest I wonder if you have just misinterpreted his motivation here and he would have done the same deal cashlessly on a 2 seater vert at the end of summer anyway to shift it. By all accounts zed sakes have been slow and he probably just wants rid one way or the other.
 
Ducklakeview said:
Pay cash by all means, BUT pay at least a pound on a CREDIT card. That way, if further down the line there are problems that he won't resolve, then YOUR credit card company will put it right, or reimburse you the full £3000.

Mike
Click to expand...

Is it £1 now? I always thought it was £100 to get the added cover.

And nothing wrong with a cash deal, if he doesnt pay his chunk of the cash price to the tax man, then thats his problem not yours. Just take the usual precautions, dont go alone, and bring a baseball bat (just incase you need to roll the arches :lol: )
 
Off the books means no dealer warranty of any kind but usual buyers rights still apply. As regards the £1 on the credit card the dealer only has to mention it was at your request that the deal be cash "off the books",
 
If he's keeping it off the books, he's more inclined not to sell you a pup fwiw. If it is, and you have major problems, then a reminder to him that you'll blow him up to the revenue for undeclared earnings if it is a pup will do more than make him a bit nervous. You're both taking chances, but i guess it's the same as buying privately, sold as seen etc.. You pays your money.....

:thumbsup:

FWIW, i looked at a few Z4's before deciding on mine. One was a "reputable dealer", the car looked mint, drove well but i found out that the car was Cat "D" Twice! the dealer didn't disclose and pretended to be shocked. buying an old car is always a gamble, the previous owner may have no problems with it at all, but it's sometimes sods law that when you purchase it, things start to go wrong.
 
sticky said:
Off the books means no dealer warranty of any kind but usual buyers rights still apply. As regards the £1 on the credit card the dealer only has to mention it was at your request that the deal be cash "off the books",
Click to expand...

Nope, he doesn't - As soon as he take a credit card payment, there is a contract between him and the credit card company under the sale and supply of goods act.

Mike
 
All depends how small this one man band actually is. Does he have a pitch or is he a home trader? If it's off the books is he even going to give you any form of receipt? Even if he does all he has to do is Mark it as a trade sale and your stuffed for comeback. The credit card thing isn't as easy as folks make out either in practise, especially on something as murky as an older car. Someone at work tried to go down this route on a 10+ year old car and got no where with it. I know of other cases where dealers have claimed their the agent of the actual seller amongst other things to swerve this. It's true though that you don't need to spend £100 plus on the actual card, just that the whole purchase price needs to be in excess of this. So in theory you could leave say a £50 dipper on a car and pay the rest in cash and be covered under section 75 legislation.
 
P4K1 said:
it's just £3k car , just pay cash and keep £600 you saved for potential repairs.
Click to expand...

this, if it was 10k id be wary but 3k in the grand scheme of things, even if it had a warranty it probably wouldnt be worth the paper its written on.
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^

This....

You WILL have some kind of issues with a £3k Z4....

But at the end of the day paying an extra £600 wont make him repair anything
 
Z4M-2006 said:
^^^^^^^^^^^^

This....

You WILL have some kind of issues with a £3k Z4....

But at the end of the day paying an extra £600 wont make him repair anything
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly.

Just get a signed receipt?? Every second-hand car I have ever bought, I've asked for a signed receipt for the money and what the money was for.
 
I tend to agree, it is a £3k and there will be a few issues. Probably nothing too major though.

These cars are a lot more reliable than some here think, most of what i read on here is people doing work on old cars that has to be done due to age. These cars are not new and parts get worn, if we were talking about a car that was a lot newer i would understand.

Go with your gut, personally i would buy the car and keep the £600.

:driving:
 
As others have said id take the risk, if he provides a warranty it wont be worth anything anyway.

Do your checks on the car and if happy go ahead.

They are fairly reliable things anyway and I am sure it will require some bits in the near future anyway due to age etc.
 
Ducklakeview said:
sticky said:
Off the books means no dealer warranty of any kind but usual buyers rights still apply. As regards the £1 on the credit card the dealer only has to mention it was at your request that the deal be cash "off the books",
Click to expand...

Nope, he doesn't - As soon as he take a credit card payment, there is a contract between him and the credit card company under the sale and supply of goods act.

Mike
Click to expand...

Nationwide says otherwise Mike, I"ve looked this before. On the other hand maybe other banks will cover regardless. ???
 
jamie_z4 said:
P4K1 said:
it's just £3k car , just pay cash and keep £600 you saved for potential repairs.
Click to expand...

this, if it was 10k id be wary but 3k in the grand scheme of things, even if it had a warranty it probably wouldnt be worth the paper its written on.
Click to expand...

He's including a £200 6 month warranty in the price, I was thinking it might not be worth it given the age of the car. You agree? Probably won't cover me for anything?
 
sticky said:
Ducklakeview said:
sticky said:
Off the books means no dealer warranty of any kind but usual buyers rights still apply. As regards the £1 on the credit card the dealer only has to mention it was at your request that the deal be cash "off the books",
Click to expand...

Nope, he doesn't - As soon as he take a credit card payment, there is a contract between him and the credit card company under the sale and supply of goods act.

Mike
Click to expand...

Nationwide says otherwise Mike, I"ve looked this before. On the other hand maybe other banks will cover regardless. ???
Click to expand...

Section 75 protection applies to all credit card companies for purchases between £100 be £30,000. They cannot get out of it.

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/31/creditcards-31.htm

Mike
 
Jezza21 said:
jamie_z4 said:
P4K1 said:
it's just £3k car , just pay cash and keep £600 you saved for potential repairs.
Click to expand...

this, if it was 10k id be wary but 3k in the grand scheme of things, even if it had a warranty it probably wouldnt be worth the paper its written on.
Click to expand...

He's including a £200 6 month warranty in the price, I was thinking it might not be worth it given the age of the car. You agree? Probably won't cover me for anything?
Click to expand...

whos the warranty with? The majority have a lot of get out clauses.
 
Ducklakeview said:
sticky said:
Ducklakeview said:
Nope, he doesn't - As soon as he take a credit card payment, there is a contract between him and the credit card company under the sale and supply of goods act.

Mike
Click to expand...

Nationwide says otherwise Mike, I"ve looked this before. On the other hand maybe other banks will cover regardless. ???
Click to expand...

Section 75 protection applies to all credit card companies for purchases between £100 be £30,000. They cannot get out of it.

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/31/creditcards-31.htm

Mike
Click to expand...

So the £100 on the credit card would make it safe not £1
 
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