One Pay vs. MSDs

Ask the Hackrs
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1

I’m leasing for the first time and am trying to decide whether to do one pay or MSDs for a 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQS. Here are some of my questions/considerations:

One pay:

  1. Can I pay the whole one pay amount using a credit card and get the points without being charged a hefty transaction fee?
  2. Will the one pay show up on my credit report as a hard pull and affect my credit? I’m considering a mortgage soon, so this matters to me.
  3. What happens to my one pay if the car is stolen or totaled?
  4. Is the money factor for one pay and MSDs negotiable?

MSDs:

  1. Can I pay the MSDs using my credit card without being charged a transaction fee?
  2. Can I pay the monthly payments using credit card without being charged a transaction fee?
  3. Will there be a hard pull on my credit if I go with MSDs and monthly payments?
  4. What happens to my MSDs if the car is stolen or totaled?

Sorry if these are basic questions. I would appreciate any advice or input.

2

how soon is soon?

3

It depends on the market and whether I can find a house, but possibly the next 4-12 months. I’m in the market for a house.

4

Every dealer has a different limit that they allow on a credit card, there is no transaction fee for using a card.

Yes you need to run a hard pull and be a well qualified buyer with top tier credit whether its a 1pay or monthly payments (This isnt a cash deal, you are driving the banks car for a contracted amount of months)

The dealer has a buy rate money factor that is available for this month on approved credit, they can not go below this besides using MSDs or 1pay

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5

  1. Depends on the dealer. Mine and others had no fees and let them put the whole amount

  2. You can explain your hard pull, it’s not a big deal. I was churning cards at a slower pace and it had no effect on the mortgage process or rates. Banks just ask for an explanation for the hard pull. DTI is what stresses underwriters out a lot more. One pay also means the account will show as fully paid instead of MSDs. I would personally do One Pay here if the mortgage application will be soon.

6

I did a onepay through Toyota Bank and it never showed up on my credit report. Not sure how MB financials reflects on your credit with onepay, but I imagine same result. Toyota also sent me a notice saying no payments were due on the account, so that would prove things for underwriter for the mortgage.

Any mortgage broker will stop you from getting a car now, they say don’t buy anything in that 6 month window.

If you go the MSD route, you will have debt under your name and it will show up on your credit report. MSD only reduces your MF not total debt due for 24/36 month term.

7

OP, it sounds like you really need to take a step back and get a better grasp of your current credit and DTI situation, and evaluate that against how much house you’re looking to buy and how much car you’re looking to lease.

A hard pull in and of itself months before a mortgage application will have virtually zero effect, and even a new auto loan won’t matter as long as your credit and income can support it.

But if this new lease causes you to go over your lender’s DTI comfort zone, that is where you’ll run into trouble. If you’re not sure of this then again, time to take a step back.

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8

Dealer that I picked my eqs up from had a sign in his office that said “$2500 max on credit card”.

When it came time to pay, I put a full $8200 on it with no questions asked. I think it’s going to depend on the dealer and how flexible they are.

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9

I’m sure someone is going to wonder where the $328 Credit Card Service Fee (4%) came from during accounting sessions.

10

At least for Mercedes, monthly payment CAN be paid by credit card with an absurd fee like 5%

But always you can use Credit Card → Visa Gift Card → Money Order to pay them by your credit card indirectly.
I heard some brand accept visa gift card as a debit so much lower fee and easier to use.

11

You really shouldn’t be making a definitive statement like that. I have dealt with many dealers who have put 5 figures on a CC with no issues. It’s YMMV and completely dependent on how the manager feels.

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12

TBH, probably depends on how you look.

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13

There’s some misunderstanding here, I mean the Mercedes Financial Service(where you pay monthly payment).

14

You can just use a service like Plastiq. There is a 2.9% fee but that should be offset by any bonus spend you are trying to meet.

15

for the visa gift card you can at least 3% off though

16

Yea but I can do Plastiq from my phone and I can automate it. Also if you are doing GC why bother paying bills at all? Just MS and pay the card lol.

Not sure why you would go through the mental gymnastics of doing MO etc to pay a bill when you have to pay the card anyway.

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17

:rofl: Because you buy GC you get some points?

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18

Huh? you would still get points for buying the GC.

Buy GC with CC → Convert GC to MO → Deposit MO into bank → Pay CC- > Back to step 1 and repeat.

19

:joy: Would they close my account?

20

We are already very off topic.

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