Is the dealership mandated to collect your SSN if you are paying for the car in cash?

I dealt with two different dealerships while buying my 2010 Prius. The first gave me the exact same story: even though I was paying cash, they insisted on getting my SSN and running a credit check, saying that it's some kind of government regulation related to the Patriot Act. I argued for quite a while about this, but they were adament about needing my SSN, and I eventually gave it to them. The second dealer did not even ask for my SSN, and ran no credit check - it was a much smoother process.

So either the first dealer was just giving me a bunch of BS because they couldn't figure out how to deviate one iota from their script, or the second dealer violated a federal law during my sale. I do not know this for certain, but I strongly suspect that the first dealer was the one behaving wrongly, and that there is really no such requirement.

 

I purchased prius III, I was asked for S.S.#, I offered the dealer I will pick the car when the check is cleared by my bank.
Anyway, I provid them my S.S.#.
I was told by dealer that, all dealers must provid info to IRS & Department of H.L.S. for cash deal.

 

Large cash transactions are red flags for security issues and tax evasion. Here is an excerpt from the IRS regulation:

Tom

 

I paid by personal check, and have no recollection of being asked for SSN. But the banks have similar reporting requirements, even for large personal checks pre-Patriot Act, and they already have SSNs, so I'm presuming the reporting was performed from the bank, not from the car dealer.

The dealer did require some other ID from me.

 

I believe this started with the changes in laws for the War On Drugs in the late '80's, and our freedom to make legal purchases without government intervention was further eroded by the so-called "Patriot" Act.

 

Unfortunately you do have to provide a SS# for transactions over 10k, but under no circumstances does the dealer have a right to run your credit report if you are paying cash. I'd definitely complain as inquiries on your credit slightly effect your credit score (though not by much).

 

I should think it is going to help you get this deduction:

New Car (up to $49,500) Sales Tax Deduction in Obama Economic Stimulus Package plus the $4500/$3500 Cash for Clunkers Subsidy

 

I wrote a check (on a home equity line of credit) for my Gen III two months ago. I left the SSN line blank, and the finance manager had no problem with it. I don't know what I would have done if he had insisted.

Incidentally, as you can see from my location, I live in the hometown of federal regulation, and I bought my car from the biggest Toyota dealer in Fairfax City, Virginia. They obviously did not feel that they had to insist on having my SSN.

 

Here is what I did in a similiar situation. I reversed the last two numbers. In my situation everyone was happy. They got a SSN and I didn't give mine out. If they would have checked or it really mattered, then it is a common mistake that I make by getting those two last numbers confused. It happens to me all the time. Stupid me.

 

Is that a car with federal plates I see pulling into your driveway?

Tom

 

In VA the SSN's of those on the title are required along with proof of current insurance and a governmental picture ID in order to register the vehicle. If some are missing then the transaction can't continue.

As regards drawing credit we only do it when the buyer specifically authorizes us to do it. However we make it clear that if the buyer is buying the vehicle with a personal check that we are going to verify who they are via the credit bureaus. If there's a problem in doing that...then no delivery.

 

Ok, I thought I was only the one who had to provide these details. It happend with my other car purchase. Dealer insisted he need to have SSN and I filled the SSN, but I did not sign the credit check requirement. We had almost an hour argument, I said show me in print the rule and regulation ( Patriot act) where it mentions you need to run credit check for no-loan transaction. They searched some books, and gave up. I told them if that is case, if you have run credit check, I am going to walk out. So finally they did not check credit, but they will hold my personal check and want a Cashier check with-in 5 days and took the delivery. So gave them Cashier check 4 days later and collected my personal check from them.

I strongly believe that there is some mis-understanding of the rule, and they are doing it thinking better to be safe than sorry.

BTW, I would not have taken the vehicle delivery if they insisted.

 

While some of these required things are dealer-mandated, we are required by law (yes, thanks to the Patriot Act after 9/11) to have a soc sec # or passport info for cash payers. That's green cash.

A personal check is not cash. Nor is a cashier's check. Cash is green with lots of presidents on it. Anything over 9999 is reported to the IRS on a specific form we are required to do.

As a dealership, when it comes to cashier's checks and personal checks, these are documents that are, really, a piece of paper with a signature on them. They can have a stop payment done at any time before we cash 'em. Some stores prefer to guard their assets differently. Some stores will write a vehicle contract as an option contract so they have a contract to get funded by a bank if you decide to play games with the money and stop payment. Before you balk, I worked somewhere for 9 years that did things like that because it happened a few times, so a few weasels spoil the trust issue for many.
Dianne

 

Yes, dealerships are mandated to collect your SSN or TIN number if you are paying cash or cash equivalents (cashier's check, money orders, traveler's check) of more than $10,000. Here's the definition of "cash" per IRS website.

What does “cash†mean for the purposes of Form 8300?
Cash is money. It is currency and coins of the United States and any other country. Cash is also certain monetary instruments - a cashier’s check, bank draft, traveler’s check, or money order - if it has a face amount of $10,000 or less. Personal checks are not considered cash.

Cashier's check is not consider cash if it has a lien attached to it.

 

Readers should note that large personal checks are reported to the IRS by the bank, not by the dealer, according to rules that long predate the Patriot Act.

 

This is consistent with my experience. I wrote a personal check (on a home equity credit line) and was not required to give my SSN.

 

The bureaus will confirm primarily that the buyer exists and is not a dead person. Then it confirms address but most importantly to us it confirms that the buyer is capable of buying a $20000 - $40000 vehicle. If for example the buyer has been in the bureaus for 18 mo's with a high credit of $1500, all on store credit cards, doesn't own a home and looks to be 40-50 yrs old????

Hmmmm where were you for the first 39 yrs of your life?

However the credit bureau verification is done normally when the buyer is giving us a personal check for all or part of the purchase with a check from another source for the balance. If it's during working hours we can call his bank, assuming it's in-state in order to verify that the check is good. What happens if it's Sat, Sun, a holiday or after 6 PM on any weekday??

Side note: It used to be that one's SSN was the key number in all verifications. This is no longer true. The SSN and DL# are both collected, sent to the Feds via the registration process and the two numbers must match the person buying the vehicle. If one doesn't match the other and the name of the buyer then the registration will be blocked and someone will be visiting the buyer.