# dealer wont release car unless check clears



## thinkngrow (Dec 30, 2008)

so the dealer contacted capitol one to verify funds for this check. turns one check is valid and is ready for deposit. after booking a flight and reserving a spot on the amtrak auto train. the dealer tells me they cant release the car to me until the check finally clears. now my question is why? i understand they are not ready to go thru any hassles. But if they verified funds wouldnt the dealer atleast release the car. i mean i have seen dealers release cars before even finalizing the deal. one time a dealer gave me a car for an entire week while trying to negotiate a deal. at this point i cant get a refund for my flight and it has already been 2 business days since they deposited the check. now what can i possible say to convince the dealer to release the car. i mean after they have all my information my DL my SSN, my insurance policy and if im not mistaken the car has a theft recovery system. everything on my part has been done. they recieved the check and deposited, if the check returned or bounced they would have been notified by their bank at this point. :dunno:


----------



## adrian's bmw (Feb 14, 2003)

Sorry, but Capital One deals are the hardest to get funded. They require huge amount of paperwork be sent, verified, and a checklist from hell before they release the funds to the BMW center, so the center has every right to hold the car until they get their money.

Now, if it was a cash-cash deal, credit union check, certified check, it would be totally different.

I'd have to say some dealers are reluctant to even work Cap One loans because of all the stips you need to get funded. I've seen them get back to us and say they won't fund the deal because the client was approved under certain conditions. It can be alot of brain damage, quite frankly. 

IMO, of course. :angel:


----------



## cpv204 (Aug 24, 2005)

I feel for you thinkngrow. 

From the dealer's perspective, they may have verified that the funds existed but they have no idea what other checks you may be writing on that account.

And unfortunately, there is no mechanism in the banking system for a Depositor to know that the check has been presented to the drawer's bank and the account had sufficient funds to clear it. They may wait an arbitrary number of days just to be sure the check doesn't come back bounced.

This is why it's a good idea to use a certified check (bank check, cashier's check) when you can. Since the bank blocks the funds in your account, it's as good as cash.


----------



## flowbmw (Aug 31, 2006)

There is rarely a deal that the dealer's finance department can't do better than Cap One. Like Adrian said, Cap One is a pain to deal with from the F&I side of the house. Despite how great and official the check looks, its not really a check, its a "draft" with a lot of strings attached. It is not unheard of for dealers to refuse to accept Cap One checks, and its their right not to.

Ed


----------



## ProRail (May 31, 2006)

Learned a lot from this thread. Thanks, all.


----------



## djfitter (Sep 12, 2007)

flowbmw said:


> There is rarely a deal that the dealer's finance department can't do better than Cap One. Like Adrian said, Cap One is a pain to deal with from the F&I side of the house. Despite how great and official the check looks, its not really a check, its a "draft" with a lot of strings attached. It is not unheard of for dealers to refuse to accept Cap One checks, and its their right not to.
> 
> Ed


Deja Vu all over again. :rofl:
My deal to finance was all set up with Cap One only to find out my CA (also the General Manager) wouldn't take the Cap One 'check'. He called it a 'draft' and went on to tell me about getting the funds in a 'timely manner' being the problem. So there I sat with my new car sitting there and no funding. My CA asked what the interest rate/payment was I was getting through Cap One and said "give me a minute". This was on a Saturday and when he came back, he had financing setup with B of A for within 2 dollars of my original Cap One payment. :thumbup: It didn't hurt that my FICO score was 810. 

dj


----------



## thinkngrow (Dec 30, 2008)

gotta call from the dealer today and they agreed to release the car, and will be ready for pick up tomorrow. :drive:


----------



## Vitacura (Jul 22, 2005)

Congrats!


----------



## tturedraider (Nov 11, 2005)

flowbmw said:


> There is rarely a deal that the dealer's finance department can't do better than Cap One. Like Adrian said, Cap One is a pain to deal with from the F&I side of the house. *Despite how great and official the check looks, its not really a check, its a "draft" with a lot of strings attached.* It is not unheard of for dealers to refuse to accept Cap One drafts, and its their right not to.
> 
> Ed


+1!!! - There is a big difference between a check and a draft. A check is an order to pay upon presentation with a valid endorsement. A draft is not an order to pay and usually requires any number of factors be met before it will be paid.

Most insurance companies issue drafts rather than checks when settling claims so they can make sure the repairs were done and done properly.


----------



## edgar620 (Aug 26, 2007)

My brother used a personal check to buy a TL a few years back and the dealership wouldnt release the car. It took a few hours of waiting but they ended up releasing it after calling the bank and making sure the funds were in the account. I'd be reluctant to release anything if I wasn't sure I would get the money.


----------



## mclaren (Jan 5, 2005)

edgar620 said:


> My brother used a personal check to buy a TL a few years back and the dealership wouldnt release the car. It took a few hours of waiting but they ended up releasing it after calling the bank and making sure the funds were in the account. I'd be reluctant to release anything if I wasn't sure I would get the money.


Now most banks will not verify whether there are sufficient funds in the account. It might be because even if they said there were sufficient funds those funds might not be there later. :tsk:


----------



## tturedraider (Nov 11, 2005)

mclaren said:


> Now most banks will not verify whether there are sufficient funds in the account. It might be because even if they said there were sufficient funds those funds might not be there later. :tsk:


The standard line is "A check in that amount would clear at this time."


----------



## mtbscott (Jul 16, 2003)

Since the OP now says he's getting the car, the point is kind of moot now. IMO though, the dealer should have told him at a much earlier opportunity that there would be a "hold" on a Capital One check before allowing him to get all his ducks in a row for delivery. That said, I've never had any delay in picking up any car that I've bought regardless of the finance method, and I'd simply go to another dealer if that became an issue. I just picked up my new MINI JCW Coupe last Tuesday, outside financing paperwork had not been completed, but they still let me take the car home after signing an agreement that I had 48 hours to finalize payment. All was done the next day without a hitch. In today's electronic age, I still don't understand why bank to bank type transactions aren't almost instantaneous.


----------



## flowbmw (Aug 31, 2006)

You probably picked up your car from your LOCAL dealer, or one that is reasonably close.

Here's the way it actually goes down most of the time:

Customer: "I'm paying CASH for the vehicle"
Dealer: "ok, we'll see you when you get here"

Customer drives/ flys in from out of town or out of state, then gets mad that the dealer won't take a Cap One "you're approved" check or a personal check.

In todays age of identity theft and fraud, if you're going to get offended by the request for certified funds, alarm bells and sirens go off in the finance office. When I worked at another dealership, someone paid us for three cars with a "Certified Check" once that.....wasn't. You can buy pretty official looking checks at Office Depot and print them out at home.  The Secret Service gets involved at that stage, also.

As it was stated earlier, Capital One banks DRAFTS aren't the same as a check, its not a simple matter of depositing it at the bank. If you don't cross all the i's and dot all the t's, fax in the stip sheets and get an approval number from Cap One, the check will bounce if you try to deposit it.

Believe it or not, the finance office at the dealership isn't the devil that they are made out to be. There are enough rules and regulations that have to be met in there for the DMV, Dept of Homeland Security, and the various lenders out there to make your head spin.

Ed


----------

