QUIKAG

I've heard the Patriot Act or some crap requires the dealership to require a credit app. of all car buyers whether they are paying with cash or financing from another bank/institution, etc.

Is this true? I wouldn't want to divulge my Social Security # and other personal information to the dealership if I didn't have to?

bkw

I believe the rule is that if you fork over $10k or more, you have to fill out forms.

Conversely, if you withdraw out of your bank account for over a certain amount, they make you fill out a form as well. Friend went to withdraw $20k from his bank and they made him wait almost an hour as he had to fill out some stuff.

DiamondDave2005

I haven't heard about that, but see if the dealership will accept a bank wire funds transfer. They shouldn't need any paperwork to process that, and your financial institution is in the loop as far as the unPatriot Act is concerned.

andy g

Any transaction over 10k will need some paper work to be done, Im not sure if that is nationwide law though.

derryck

You should not need to fill out a credit app if you're paying cash and the Patriot Act is merely data collection (forms of ID). If they require an app then it has nothing to do with the Patriot Act.

bjohnston

I dunno. That doesn't sound right. I've purchased things for over $10K and never needed any special "paperwork." I bought my wife's engagement ring with just a personal check. I've bought furniture with just a personal check. I paid for our honeymoon with just a personal check. I got a certified check from our bank for the downpayment on our house without any "paperwork." Sounds like BS. Maybe google the issue and see what you can come up with, but I'd be inclined to tell the dealership to go f themselves. Now, it is my inderstanding that banking institutions are required to notify the FDIC or some other federal agency of any transactions exceeding $10K, but that obligation falls on the banking institution, not on you, the consumer.

aklucsarits

No. Absolutely not, you should not need to fill out a credit report if you are paying cash for the car. Nothing in the PATRIOT act requires it. And if a dealer forces you to do it, walk away.

I just bought a new Lancer Evolution last fall with cash (cash meaning using a certified bank check with no loan). My bank required me to sign a form that said I was using the money to purchase a car. This they said was required by the PATRIOT act.

Andrew

QUIKAG

I'm sorry, I meant a check, not actual cash. I'm not that dumb to walk around with a huge wad of cash.

A check is basically the same as cash.

I do know if you deposit or withdraw more than $10k cash, then you do have to fill out some government form.

JonBoy

If you pay in CASH and it's over $10K, it'll require paperwork. If you pay with a personal cheque, it won't require a thing (pretty much up to any amount).

There's a big difference between writing a cheque and paying in cash (actual dollar bills). A cheque means that the money has been put in a bank, which presumes that it's been "cleared" and "approved" by the bank as not being laundered or illegal. Using cash means that the seller is taking a (significant) risk that the money is illegal.

When Dad owned a (small) exotic car dealership, he had a guy in a BMW M3 that paid for all of his parts with cash that he pulled out of a sock in his pocket. Paid over $7K one time, right out of the sock.

basscase

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