# Should I pay with a personal check, or a cashier's check? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 26, 2023, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618 "2023-07-26T09:58:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2023, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/21 "2023-07-26T17:55:28Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I may be paranoid You think? Do you not review/reconcile your bank account monthly or every so often? If you do and notice fraudulent transactions (at least within 90 days in the US) they are the banks responsibilitiy. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2023, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/22 "2023-07-26T18:00:02Z")
I check often and for good reason. Earlier this year somehow someone got my debit card numbers and charged $1500 worth of hay from a SF Bay area feed store. It took a couple weeks and getting the police involved and the store eventually refunded my money. Moral of the story- check your account daily. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2023, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/23 "2023-07-26T19:37:03Z")
If the dealer uses eCheck, the eCheck service verifies the bank account number, bank account status, and sufficient funds. The dealer may be using the info on your check to initiate an electronic transfer of funds rather than doing a traditional check deposit. They likely have enough background info on you to know that they can find you and come after you legally if there’s any problem with the funds going through. It’d probably be fine to use a personal check and save the hassle of getting a certified check. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2023, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/24 "2023-07-26T19:52:11Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > One difference; the certified check needs to be for the exact amount so no last minute surprise charges from the dealership? not if you pre-fill out your personal check at home & don’t bring your checkbook w/ you so you can’t write another one. > [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’d pay with a cashier’s check. Your personal check will have your routing and account numbers on it, so everyone who handles it can jot them down and clean you out later. Routing #s are public. If you tell me your bank name I can go to the ABA’s website & look up your institution’s routing number(s). Also, with the exception of a few of the biggest banks, most banks are using the core processing system of one of a very few vendors. If I know your bank uses FIS or Fiserv I know your bank’s account numbering schema. I could easily generate an acct # that is valid at your bank; it may not be your acct but it is an acct # of a real customer at your bank. > [@BobLibDem](#): > > I check often and for good reason. Earlier this year somehow someone got my debit card numbers and charged $1500 worth of hay from a SF Bay area feed store. It took a couple weeks and getting the police involved and the store eventually refunded my money. Moral of the story- check your account daily. Your money was refunded but if the store did things properly (ie. getting an approval for the sale after the ‘customer’ swiped/dipped/tapped the card) they were able to keep the funds received for selling hay; it’s the card company or your bank who refunded you. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2023, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/25 "2023-07-26T20:06:36Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Is there a difference , like that you can drive the car home if you pay with a cashier’s check but must wait for the check to clear if you pay by personal check? If there isn’t any difference is how the car is delivered , then I don’t think it matters . But I’m very surprised they will take a personal check rather than a cashier’s check or a certified check. In 2021 I got T-boned and had to buy a car in a hurry. The used car lot I ended up buying from specifically would not take cashier’s checks. I don’t know what people who haven’t had check books in years do. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2023, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/26 "2023-07-26T20:17:43Z")
What was your reasoning for that? Collecting rewards and then paying it off before it accrued interest? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2023, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/27 "2023-07-26T20:39:08Z")
Of course. I wasn’t about to pay credit card interest rates for a car that I could afford. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/28 "2023-07-26T21:45:36Z")
Cheques are hardly ever used now. For such things, including the last three cars that I have bought, I use a bank transfer which is almost instant. I can do it from my phone while at the vendors and he sees the payment into his bank come up on the screen a minute later. The bank will often do a security check before authorising the payment and asks if I am sure I want to do it. They will send a code to my phone and/or ask for three characters/digits from my password. Years since I have used any cheques. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/29 "2023-07-26T22:14:38Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > But I would suggest never filling out a credit application at a car dealership is going to be more important in protecting your bank account than using a certified check. How do you set up financing (through the dealership) if you’re not willing to provide enough info for them to check your credit history? ---
**Author:** ![Digger11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Digger11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digger11)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/30 "2023-07-26T22:22:01Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’d pay with a cashier’s check. Your personal check will have your routing and account numbers on it, so everyone who handles it can jot them down and clean you out later. And yet, oddly enough, that almost never happens. The amount of check fraud is astoundingly low compared to how easy it is. And these days, at least, a very large percentage of check fraud consists of stealing checks from the mail and altering the amount of the check. ---
**Author:** ![Digger11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Digger11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digger11)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2023, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/31 "2023-07-26T22:25:00Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > In 2021 I got T-boned and had to buy a car in a hurry. The used car lot I ended up buying from specifically would not take cashier’s checks. I don’t know what people who haven’t had check books in years do. Pay cash, at least a lot of them do. That’s what I do, and I have a check book. My current car I bought early in the pandemic, just before prices starting skyrocketing. The price plus various taxes and fees was about $4400. I paid cash. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2023, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/32 "2023-07-26T23:23:36Z")
I bought a car in April this year and paid by check. Dealership let me take the car even though the money was not yet transferred into my checking account. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/33 "2023-07-27T01:32:05Z")
People worrying about others copying the bank numbers off a check & later withdrawing money are stuck in the 1960s. That crap substantially doesn’t happen these days. Not because the banks have wised up and made that a difficult crime to commit. But because the crooks have wised up to so many better ways to steal so much more money. That’s your grand-dad’s crime. Give it a rest; the bad guys have. Or succumb to raging pointless paranoia; the choice is yours. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/34 "2023-07-27T12:29:29Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Or succumb to raging pointless paranoia; the choice is yours. I think risk-averse people often focus on the worst-case (and least likely) costs of risky behavior while simultaneously discounting the actual costs associated with their risk aversion behavior. In this context, “cost” isn’t just about money. The costs of risky behavior may be financial or health-related, and the costs of risk aversion behavior may be about convenience, time, and living a fulfilling life. In the present case, my choice is this: - Accept the risk of catastrophic, difficult-to-remedy check fraud based on me handing a personal check to an employee at a name-brand dealership, or - Accept the definite cost of a 22-mile round trip to the nearest branch of my bank and \>1 hour of my time in order to get a cashier’s check. The risk of the first seems low compared to the cost of the second. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/35 "2023-07-27T13:06:40Z")
Given that, I can understand why you want to use a personal check and since the dealer doesn’t care, you should probably go ahead and do so. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/36 "2023-07-27T13:19:12Z")
That’s seems very strange to me - I can understand why car dealers don’t take credit cards and I could understand why one would be cash only but refusing to accept cashiers checks while accepting personal checks makes no sense to me, unless they want the personal check payable to “cash”. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/37 "2023-07-27T13:42:26Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > unless they want the personal check payable to “cash”. That doesn’t work at jewelry stores anymore so I can only assume it doesn’t work at car dealers, either. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/38 "2023-07-27T16:23:44Z")
> [@Myglaren](#): > > Cheques are hardly ever used now. For such things, including the last three cars that I have bought, I use a bank transfer which is almost instant. I can do it from my phone while at the vendors and he sees the payment into his bank come up on the screen a minute later. Me too, but I gather in the US, cheques are still king for large transactions. I haven’t written a check in at least ten years. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/39 "2023-07-27T16:47:38Z")
I bought a car with a personal check a few months ago. The dealer told me they would run a credit check before they accepted it so I did have to give them my SSN and personal info. I paid for a previous car with a cashier’s check and that dealer didn’t run a credit check. Perhaps that’s one difference between a personal check and cashier’s check. Of course, dealer practices and financing risk tolerance also vary. I’ll skip the story about the time I wired full payment for a car to a dealer but then they wanted me to sign an agreement that would let them repossess it for arbitrary reasons. I did not buy the car I had already paid for from them. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2023, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618/40 "2023-07-27T21:28:07Z")
My current car cost over £20,000 back in 2015 and I paid in full with a debit card. I remember asking if I could “tap and go” but they said not. (The limit was £30 then - £100 now). The transaction was handled like any other - card in reader, PIN entered and receipt printed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-pay-with-a-personal-check-or-a-cashiers-check/987618.md?page=3)