Hammy

I have been a long time reader on this forum and thanx to all info and various opinions , I decide to purchase a rx-8:D

I test drove it (after a required credit check) and was absolutely blown away.

Hands down one of the best cars I ever driven .Well after a 30min test drive
we head back to the dealer and i agreed ill take it .
I was approved np--- my credit was great np---BUT

when they put my check for my down,thru their "check verifier" , my check was rejected.
Now mind you this check verifier is not checking for funds its only checking to see if checks are being bounced
often or are fruadulent.
Well I never bounce a check or late on my bills,the problem was that i never write checks ---I pay every thing with my debt card or money order's.
The mazda dealer said thats why i was dinged, i was like wtf .
So now im waiting for the owner of the dealership to come in a see what he says.

93rdcurrent

They should be able to call and verify funds or you can just go to your bank and get a cashiers check.

Omicron

Yes, or you could leave your deposit via credit card. Also, I'd call the check verification company personally and find out why you are flagged. They are obligated by law to tell you, and verify it's someone else if your info doesn't match their records as the bad risk. Chances are, it's someone else with your name, or one close to it.

Hammy

I got a call saying everything is fine ,
thanx everyone for the input,
I cant wait to pick my pride and joy up today :D

Texas 8

Congrats! Pics soon to come of course?

Kaliken

credit checks are not required.

from (bottom of the page)

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/carintro.html

Don't be held hostage! Don't give them your Drivers License or Social Security number!
You'll need it to break off negotiations and leave. Many new car dealers photocopy your license before a test drive. Tell them there is no reason to. They'll say insurance require it. The attorney general says NEVER let anyone copy your license. Car rental agencies don't copy your license and you're taking their car for a week! Some dealers copy your license "in case you rob the salesman". Other dealers copy your license to run unauthorized credit checks on you during your test drive. If you put up enough resistance, they'll let it slide. If not, I have the perfect solution: Make copies of your license and when they ask for your license, hand them the copy, get it back when you leave. Write on the copy the dealer may NOT run a credit check on you. Remind them the FTC fines $2500 for unauthorized credit checks. Many dealers are honest and will photocopy your license on a copier at the front desk and give it right back. But some, while you're out on the test drive, run a credit check on you. Then they give your info to local banks, who run credit checks. Now you have 5-6 credit checks on your record. This will bite you in the *** later when you buy furniture and apply for credit. You'll get rejected for 5-6 checks on your credit with no credit issued. Bottom line: Don't give up ANY personal info until you have signed the buyer's order and are doing dealer financing. How can you tell if they ran a credit check on you? Online from Equifax, Consumerinfo, or TrueCredit. Don't worry, you can run your own credit report as often as you like and it will not lower your credit score. Don't give ANY reason to prevent you from leaving. You'll have to fight to get your license or check back:

"Dave has your license, he went out to lunch. In the meantime, what can we do to make you sign?"

FTC Warns Car Dealers About Credit Checks
On 2/11/98 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reiterated that dealers are prohibited from getting your credit report while out on a test drive. Violators can be fined up to $2,500 under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Credit reports may not be obtained until you approve it in writing. By running a credit check, dealers have an unfair advantage because they know your financial status, plus it lowers your credit score by about 5 points.


otherwise congrats man..

Hammy

Thanx for the info

I hope to have pics soon
if i can pry my hands off the wheel to use my camera.

Icanrel-8

Kaliken is right on! And I love carbuyingtips.com! I used their methods to deal on my wife's Honda, and they gave us no problems. We called the shots, because we knew what was true and what was BS, and made a price offer that they accepted, rather than us trying to react to their price. Even on the 8, I was all prepared to do battle, but the dealer has been disarmingly agreeable and honest. Probably how I'll get taken... the ol' honesty ploy...

For those who have not yet bought their 8, even if you don't plan to use their advice, read the site. Forewarned is forearmed, and you need a lot of "forearms" when you go into the dealers.

Congrats on your new machine! I'm jealous!

Nubo

You can be dinged like that simply because your check's sequence number is low - indicating a lack of check-writing history as you said. Say you handed them a check with a sequence number of 0014 or something. One solution to this is to get another set of checks printed, and have them start the sequence numbers at, say, 3300 or so. Makes you look like an check-writing veteran.

Outlaws eXtreme

You should have gone to another dealership then if they were going to run a credit check just to test drive the vehicle. Each time your rating goes down. So if you didn't buy it from this dealer, and you go to another dealership to purchase, they'll just run another credit check..etc etc.

4 dealerships I went to didn't ask for ID, no Driver license, or Credit check.

Vampyr

What a funny story. Similar thing happened to me. I have impeccable credit and plenty of money in my account.

I have never, in my 12 years of having a bank account, bounced a check or been overdrawn even once.

And yet when I handed them my personal check for a down payment it was rejected. Now they had already done a credit check on me so I heard the Mgr telling the guy "don't worry about it". I offered to let him swipe my Visa-backed Check Card and he accepted.

Of course it cleared no problem.

Only thing I can think of is (a) it may not have liked the amount, or (b) I rarely write checks (since a debit card nearly makes it obsolete in conjunction with online banking) so the transaction just plain looked fishy.

Anyway just chiming in b/c I found it a bit odd as well. Sounded like they had bumped into the same problem before.

edit: typos and spelling