paying cash and Bank Drafts UK

hertz

Hi Guys

I'm going to buy a car in the UK and import it back.
This might sound like an obvious, silly question but do dealers consider a bank draft as Cash? As in if I say "whats the best price you can offer for cash" and then give him a bank draft plus some cash for a car?

Secondly, would a UK dealer question an Irish bank draft even if it's in Sterling? Would they normally try to ring the bank or wait until it can be cashed up before releasing the car?

hertz

ABajaninCork

In my experience the dealer will call the bank and check ANY bank draft whether it's of UK origin or not! They'll probably carry out extra checks if the bank draft's Irish. And yes, they will consider it as cash if it's a UK draft, but may not if it's foreign.

It would be a good idea to give the dealer the deposit (make it a fairly large one - maybe 10-15%) in cash to show good faith, but be prepared for a wait if they decide to hold on the the draft until it clears.

magic_murph

I have a UK bank account & debit card - if you want to transfer the cash into my account I will be glad to help out :-)

I am looking to do the same - get an Irish bank draft made out in sterling. I think having a couple of 000's in cash is advised just in case you decided to pick up a different motor and the price is slightly different than outlined on the bankdraft. Doubt they would be too keen on taking a bank draft for more than the car is worth then giving a cash refund etc

Marcusm

magic_murph wrote: »

I have a UK bank account & debit card - if you want to transfer the cash into my account I will be glad to help out :-)

I am looking to do the same - get an Irish bank draft made out in sterling. I think having a couple of 000's in cash is advised just in case you decided to pick up a different motor and the price is slightly different than outlined on the bankdraft. Doubt they would be too keen on taking a bank draft for more than the car is worth then giving a cash refund etc

Why not transfer the cash to your UK bank account and then pay by debit card; bank drafts are pretty much superseded in the UK since the debit card merchant fees are so low. Most large dealerships would pretty much insist on card payment.

hertz

I have an Irish Credit card and I could load the money onto that instead and then pay with that? That way I can give the card to any dealer if I decide to buy a different car and the transaction would be instant. Is this an option? Or could there be excessive charges?

Would a Credit card be considered a cash payment also?

magic_murph

I know CarGiant don't accept credit cards so could be the same for smaller dealers.

Prob best to ring ahead to save a wasted journey.

UK Debit card is probably the easiest - something I will do
Next best option is probably bank draft & cash.

meathstevie

Most dealers will be happy enough to go ahead once they made their checks and got confirmation from the bank that the draft is genuine. It also gives them the comfort that there's some provenance for what is effectively a relatively large amount of cash.

CiniO

Is there any way for Irish resident person to open bank account in UK bank and obtain debit card for it?
Without being resident in UK.

magic_murph

Don't think so - I believe you need to have a UK residence before you can set up an account although it could be worth calling one to double check.

keithclancy

Marcusm wrote: »

Why not transfer the cash to your UK bank account and then pay by debit card; bank drafts are pretty much superseded in the UK since the debit card merchant fees are so low. Most large dealerships would pretty much insist on card payment.

Beware doing it this way, check the maximum daily amount you can spend on the card.

At the very least I'd let the bank know before hand.

CiniO

magic_murph wrote: »

Don't think so - I believe you need to have a UK residence before you can set up an account although it could be worth calling one to double check.

I actually have an Sterling account in foreign bank (not UK or Ireland) and they provide debit card for it (Mastercard), but because it's mastercard in UK it's treated like credit card.
It's great for shopping in UK as I can avoid horrbile bank exchange rates and exchange money over the internet at average daily currency exchange rate, but as card is treated like credit card, it wouldn't be any good for buying a car.

And there definitely is money to be saved as f.e. today Irish bank rate for cheques or draft is about 0.85 sterling per 1euro, while average rate is 0.88.

So generally for 10,000 euro you can get 8500 sterling when chaning in bank, or 8800 sterling when changing online.

bazz26

Just remember that UK dealers don't drop alot on their asking price like Irish dealers. UK dealers tend to price their cars close to what they expect to get for them. You may do well to get a few hundred pounds off the asking price. If you are buying from a car supermarket then the general rule is that the price displayed is the price paid plus an admin fee, usually around £99.

Also the term cash in the motor trade means having no trade-in rather than the method of payment. You will need to check with the dealer as to what method of payment they want.

shooter88

hertz wrote: »

Hi Guys

I'm going to buy a car in the UK and import it back.
This might sound like an obvious, silly question but do dealers consider a bank draft as Cash? As in if I say "whats the best price you can offer for cash" and then give him a bank draft plus some cash for a car?

Secondly, would a UK dealer question an Irish bank draft even if it's in Sterling? Would they normally try to ring the bank or wait until it can be cashed up before releasing the car?

hertz

Op,think you would be better asking where ever you buy your car..there could be a huge difference in what might be acceptable from garage to garage

Henry Ford III

No dealer will refuse cash in my experience.

hertz

okay Thanks guys. Something to think about going forward.

bazz26

Henry Ford III wrote: »

No dealer will refuse cash in my experience.

I think they have some limitation on what they can accept in notes due to Money Laundering Regulations. The figure I heard is around £9k or £10k.

ABajaninCork

hertz wrote: »

I have an Irish Credit card and I could load the money onto that instead and then pay with that? That way I can give the card to any dealer if I decide to buy a different car and the transaction would be instant. Is this an option? Or could there be excessive charges?

Would a Credit card be considered a cash payment also?

The answer's in the question. You'd be using a credit card, and in the same manner the dealer's likely to check with the CC co. before payment's taken. They will probably treat as cash. If you're going with this method, you'd best let the CC co. know in advance there's a large £ payment going through in case of problems.

CiniO wrote: »

Is there any way for Irish resident person to open bank account in UK bank and obtain debit card for it?
Without being resident in UK.

No. You have to be UK resident. However, I still have my UK bank & BS accounts. All I've done is tell them my Irish address and that's fine. Statements are no problem as I get them online.

Victor

bazz26 wrote: »

Also the term cash in the motor trade means having no trade-in rather than the method of payment.

Generally yes, but if the dealer is losing a few per cent on a credit card, it makes a difference.

Note that BoI, ABI and UB issue STG drafts drawn on UK banks.

Marcusm

keithclancy wrote: »

Beware doing it this way, check the maximum daily amount you can spend on the card.

At the very least I'd let the bank know before hand.

Debit cards can have daily limits imposed by banks but, as you say, a simple call can change them - the max I'vespent in one transaction was £130k!

The retailer may have a lower limit although this is not generally an issue with car retailers.

Marcusm

ABajaninCork wrote: »

The answer's in the question. You'd be using a credit card, and in the same manner the dealer's likely to check with the CC co. before payment's taken. They will probably treat as cash. If you're going with this method, you'd best let the CC co. know in advance there's a large £ payment going through in case of problems.



No. You have to be UK resident. However, I still have my UK bank & BS accounts. All I've done is tell them my Irish address and that's fine. Statements are no problem as I get them online.

You don't have tobe UK resident to open a bank account but I doubt that anyone will get a bank to open one for a single transaction such as this. Credit cards are generally unattractive as the retailer will have a merchant fee and the FX rate on the card can be much less predictable than agreeing a rate for an exchange. Particularly important with current EUR/GBP volatility (albeit trend mostly in EUR favour intra day fluxes may not be so kind).

ABajaninCork

Marcusm wrote: »

You don't have tobe UK resident to open a bank account but I doubt that anyone will get a bank to open one for a single transaction such as this. Credit cards are generally unattractive as the retailer will have a merchant fee and the FX rate on the card can be much less predictable than agreeing a rate for an exchange. Particularly important with current EUR/GBP volatility (albeit trend mostly in EUR favour intra day fluxes may not be so kind).

Yes you do. To open a UK bank account, it's the same as here. You have to provide photographic ID; utility bills, rent book or mortgage statement and either a payslip or proof of benefits paid to that address.

AFAIK, some internet savings accounts don't require the same burden of proof.

EDIT: Also forgot to mention that for some bank accounts, you'll also be credit scored before the bank allow you to open the account. That is why you have to be UK resident. 'Basic' bank accounts, the bank do not credit score you.

ABajaninCork

OP, I've just thought of something else. How about using Transfermate?

Supergurrier

It's 2013 use bank transfer

ABajaninCork

Supergurrier wrote: »

It's 2013 use bank transfer

Just as you wrote that, I thought the same too!!