Payment

[wilko]

On my 3 previous porsche’s, I paid significant deposits a few days before pickup, and then £30k on the day which is my switch card limit.
On my latest I paid £74k a few days before pickup by chaps. I was quite happy to do this, as the likelyhood of a large opc that’s been operations for >30 years suddenly going bankrupt in the few days before paying and collection is unlikely, and as there is proof of the transaction, and an order in place, whether they have handed the vehicle over or not, you own it.


If you want to pay a significant amount on the day, check your switch limit. They won’t register it to you, or tax it until you’ve paid in full, so from their perspective it is much easier to do all that prior to pickup to allow for a smooth handover.

[gtipirelli]

I paid by bank transfer a few days in advance of collection to ensure a smooth and quick handover. This was mainly at request of the OPC - Leicester

[Tramcar]

Thanks again for all the replies. There's clearly a mixture of debit card on the day and pre-payments so I will discuss with centre again.

[Tramcar]

..... this centre is in Scotland (Perth).

[BigPhil]

I paid the 3k deposit on a debit card but was asked by Hatfield OPC to pay the balance by bank transfer prior to collection. This was 63k though, so a debit payment may have been a bit more difficult.

I had no problem with this as it was a new car, if it was used I'd definitely want to check it over first.

BigPhil.

[MikeM]

I have purchased vehicles using Switch from various brand dealerships for a number of years now, however my most recent purchase from a large West Country multibrand dealership (not DL) was the first time I have come across one not accepting large sums via a debit card. When I queried this they stated “company policy was due to the cost of transfer and they couldn’t pass it on to the customer”

[Panthera]

Hi guys - I should be taking delivery of my first Porsche (Macan S) in about 10 days or so. My centre has requested that I make payment (about 40k) to them by bank transfer before delivery which, to me, seems odd and leaves me potentially out of pocket should centre go bust! I've normally paid by debit card on the day. Is this just Porsches way of doing things?
Thanks.

Welcome to the forum

I paid two separate faster payment transfers in the week of collection but TBF it was a pre-owned Macan so I had already inspected it. And the franchise is owned by https://www.agnewcars.com/ so I was confident they weren't going to do a runner

When we bought my wife's TT over the phone I'd only seen it on video (as it was 400 miles away in Cambridge) but since you get a 30 day money-back guarantee, again I was happy to transfer the funds up front.

I'd never really thought about a major dealership franchise going bust - I suppose it could happen but I've never heard of it, not with the premium manufacturers.

[Paul]

I have purchased vehicles using Switch from various brand dealerships for a number of years now, however my most recent purchase from a large West Country multibrand dealership (not DL) was the first time I have come across one not accepting large sums via a debit card. When I queried this they stated “company policy was due to the cost of transfer and they couldn’t pass it on to the customer”

?? Unless things have changed dramatically, switch or debit card payments suffered a flat fee of pence. Credt cards yes, uo to 2% of the transaction is paid in fees by the retailer to the processor so you can see why they aren't readily accepted for big transactions !

[Fairynuff]

My centre has requested that I make payment (about 40k) to them by bank transfer before delivery I've normally paid by debit card on the day.

I have also always paid by DC on the day but it sometimes has involved some lengthy security checks, I wouldn't mind doing a bank transfer from home on the morning of the day of collection and I can't see any reason why that would not be acceptable to them.

[johnd]

I wouldn't mind doing a bank transfer from home on the morning of the day of collection and I can't see any reason why that would not be acceptable to them.

Only thing that can potentially catch you out is how to do the transfer. I think most banks (unsurprisingly) have limits on how much you can do online. Unfortunately this varies with type of account, bank etc and I've found my bank to be remarkably coy about telling me what the limit actually is, but IME it's in the range £20-50K (though sometimes that's per transaction and you may be permitted to do two transfers to the same beneficiary in the same day).

The alternative is then an in-branch CHAPS transfer, which should be fine but don't underestimate the hoops you might need to jump through, eg 'would you like to make an appointment later in the week to do this - there's no-one free this morning' (admittedly in a smaller town branch).