An expert car buyer recently posted an excerpt of a conversation with a car dealership’s salesman. The salesman is trying to convince him of a protocol that might be illegal. 

Tyler Edwards (@tylercarsells) is a professional negotiator who hosts a daily YouTube show explaining the inner workings of car sales. He says he helps manage deals “from entry-level vehicles to seven-figure exotics.” A recent TikTok video of his has been viewed over 217,800 times and garnered 625 comments. 

Dealership Insists On Running Cash-Buyer’s Credit 

In his pinned TikTok, Edwards can be heard asking an unidentified dealership salesperson, “If I paid cash for your car, you would run my credit?” 

The man answers, “Sir, yes sir, we do one credit check.” 

Edwards puts his face in his hands and shakes his head. 

Then he presses the salesman for details: “Explain why.” 

But before he plays the answer, Edwards cuts into the video, saying, “Just to let you guys know, if you are ever paying cash for a vehicle, the dealership never, ever has to run your credit.” He says that if a dealership tries to do this, they have a “hidden agenda.”  

Returning to the call, the salesperson can be heard trying to explain that the dealership has a policy requiring all buyers to have a credit check. 

“I’m not trying to be abrasive,” says the salesman. “I’m telling you so you’re not wasting your time.” 

He continues, saying that a credit check allows the dealership to see if there are any “red flags” or identity theft. It’s a thin-sounding argument that itself sounds like a red flag. 

But Edwards’ position is that if you, the buyer, are paying with a personal or bank check (essentially cash), you never need to provide this information. Edwards next asks if the salesman means an OFAC report. 

OFAC stands for Office of Foreign Assets Control. It is a financial reporting system that “the US Department of the Treasury administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security goals.” It tracks bad actors who work against the safety and security of the United States. Individuals or organizations who are “threats to the national security, foreign policy or economy of the United States.”

An OFAC check is a “screening process used by financial institutions, businesses, and government agencies in order to ensure that individuals or entities involved in a transaction are not listed on sanctions lists maintained by the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).” 

The salesman says he does not mean an OFAC report. 

Gallery: Amazing London Car Dealership

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‘They Don't Want To Sell A Vehicle For Cash’  

Users in Edwards’ comments section don’t see a good-faith attempt at national security. Instead, many see an information-harvesting scheme. 

“They're selling your information to finance companies, lenders, and data brokers,” says Lame Sasquatch (@lame.sasquatch). 

While Tim Pollack (@tpoll412) puts a fine point on the OFAC question: “OFAC needs to be ran still but not a credit check or red flag. OFAC just verifies you are legally allowed to purchase a car in USA.” 

And ThBeardeded Merchant (@thebeardedmerchant) raises a legal flag: “From my understanding it's actually illegal to require you to run a credit check if you're paying in cash. Cash being, from your bank account. That's against the Fair Credit Act.”

But KHB1870 (@khb1870) has a slightly different take: “I'm convinced they no longer deal in cars; they all just sell financing.” 

Protect Your Financial Information 

According to the credit agency Experian, Edwards' take is correct: If you are paying cash (meaning anything not dealership financed), “the dealership doesn't need to access your credit score and report.”

That same source reports that there is a good reason to resist letting the dealership run your credit report. And remember, they do need permission to run it. A peek at your finances gives them access to your spending habits and what you might be able to afford. Salespeople might also get financial incentives from financing they arrange.

Another tactic Experian warns consumers about is the false invocation of the Patriot Act. “Federal anti-money-laundering regulations do not require a dealership to pull your credit on a cash transaction,” it states. The site does note that a buyer using their own cash may “be required to fill out IRS Form 8300” for a lump-sum payment in excess of $10,000.

So if you’re planning to buy a vehicle with cash or otherwise avoid dealer financing, they don’t need to access your private credit information—no matter their “store policy.” 

Motor1 reached out to Tyler Edwards via his professional website’s email and through TikTok direct message. We will update this if he gets back to us.