We are about to buy a car from an out of state dealership. They insist we need to give them our S.S. numbers. I dont like to give this information out. They state they must have it on any out of state transaction. Is this true?

 

Are you financing through them? I could see them using it to run a credit check.

 

not financing

 

i read that sometimes they will still run your credit even if you pay cash. it was some random obscure webpage i read on "spot delivery scams" but i cant remember exactly where i saw it.

 

If you are not financing.

 

Dont give them that information. Its not their business You have to be careful giving that info out. You can always just lie about the number. I have done that many times.

 

There is no need for anyone except your employer and your bank to have your SIN. If any company asks you to supply a SIN number I'd for one be asking why and second don't give it to them.

 

They want to run your credit so they can say "By the way, what rate are you getting on your loan? We can give you X.XX% if you finance through ________"

Even if you are saying you want to pay cash, they want to try to get you to finance through them, tell you to put your money in some kinda interest earning account.....blah blah blah.

 

I work at a dealership and we get a cut if we can get a customer to finance through one of our lenders. If you are paying cash or have your own financing - they don't need it.

 

That's what I was told when I bought the CR.

It's a misconception that waving "cash" to a dealer is necessarily a bonus to them.

In my estimation, the best customer:
1. Has the ability to pay cash.
2. Has secured financing prior to the sale.
3. Will let the dealership see if they can beat the outside financing.

In my case, they undercut the credit union rate (4.5%) by 0.2%. I wound up not financing, but I asked them and they told me about the dealer kick back.

So don't walk in without your financing secured otherwise they might just give you a high rate. If you come in with a decent rate, they may be able to better it.