Pay with Plaid at time of delivery?

[SenatorSteak]

Hi Folks,

Love the forum! Looking to pick up my Model Y LR this Friday in Kennesaw, Georgia. Can I make the final payment using Plaid instantly after inspecting the vehicle? I want to arrive, inspect the vehicle, and then pay with Plaid - will this work?

My bank charges $15 for a cashiers check and would love to avoid this stupid little fee if I can do this instantaneously with Plaid. My concern is that ACH transfers always take a few days every time I've used them in the past.

Thanks,
Steak

 

[NickFie]

Tesla can draw directly from your bank account at time of purchase. Bring a check with routing and account numbers.

 

[zoomer0056]

Yes, plaid worked for me. It's been two years since I did this. I don't remember the details except that I did it with the Tesla guy in just a couple of minutes.

 

[DanDi58]

I'd rather pay the $15 fee than give a third party access to my bank account login info, tbh.

 

[zoomer0056]

I'd rather pay the $15 fee than give a third party access to my bank account login info, tbh.

I totally understand that. One can not be too safe, this protects very good. $15 is nothing compared to the price of the car. If I buy another Tesla however, I would use plaid again.

 

[Mike728]

I'd rather pay the $15 fee than give a third party access to my bank account login info, tbh.

Except you don't need to do that. There's an option to just transfer the money, which is what I did. Worked great a couple months ago.

 

[cdub]

Love the forum! Looking to pick up my Model Y LR this Friday in Kennesaw, Georgia. Can I make the final payment using Plaid instantly after inspecting the vehicle? I want to arrive, inspect the vehicle, and then pay with Plaid - will this work?

Yes that's what I did last week. I inspected car inside and out and then paid via the app There was a minor dent they're going to fix and a small scratch. Otherwise perfect. Not a big deal to not accept delivery.

Hopefully in a couple of weeks my service appointment goes well to fix.

 

[jcanoe]

Plaid is not an online payment service I recommend. If you read the full text of the Plaid Terms of Service Agreement, when you sign up for Plaid you are giving Plaid access to all of your financial information, transaction history and any linked accounts, history. Good for Plaid and their partners, not so much for you.

Instead, I recommend that people pay by wire (in advance) or obtain the final payment amount a couple of days before delivery and obtain a cashier check. Whatever the transaction fee is worth the peace of mind and added security. Tesla will accept a cashier check from a major bank or credit union. Believe me, Tesla would probably accept your payment in gold bars.

 

[Mike728]

Plaid is not an online payment service I recommend. If you read the full text of the Plaid Terms of Service Agreement, when you sign up for Plaid you are giving Plaid access to all of your financial information, transaction history and any linked accounts, history. Good for Plaid and their partners, not so much for you.

Instead, I recommend that people pay by wire (in advance) or obtain the final payment amount a couple of days before delivery and obtain a cashier check. Whatever the transaction fee is worth the peace of mind and added security. Tesla will accept a cashier check from a major bank or credit union. Believe me, Tesla would probably accept your payment in gold bars.

If you back out of the payment app, you'll see an option to just enter your routing number. No need to give them all the other personal info. It's been well documented in this forum.

 

[jcanoe]

If you back out of the payment app, you'll see an option to just enter your routing number. No need to give them all the other personal info. It's been well documented in this forum.

Yes; sometimes this does not work.

 

[Kairide]

At this point everyone already has access to all of our information. Time to take the tin foil hats off and admit it.
I paid my down payment via the app only after I inspected the car. Then my credit union paid Tesla after I verified that I accepted delivery. Unless you live in a state where Tesla isn’t allowed to sell cars, don’t pay before you inspect the car. Same is true for any car, not just Tesla.

 

[pontelaspilas]

yes i inspected before accepting delivery with plaid. the funds will be withdrawn in a bout a week.

 

[SenatorSteak]

Thanks everyone. For those that need a reference in the future. I linked my account via Plaid (but did not pay) before I went to the delivery appointment. The service center allowed me to inspect the vehicle and then I officially paid in the app (took about 10 seconds) - about 20 minutes later after all the temporary plates were on I was good to go. No need to get a cashiers check. However, I did ask them before hand if they would accept a personal check and the answer was no - either pay in the app at the time of pick or bring a cashiers check.

 

[Noflash]

Thanks everyone. For those that need a reference in the future. I linked my account via Plaid (but did not pay) before I went to the delivery appointment. The service center allowed me to inspect the vehicle and then I officially paid in the app (took about 10 seconds) - about 20 minutes later after all the temporary plates were on I was good to go. No need to get a cashiers check. However, I did ask them before hand if they would accept a personal check and the answer was no - either pay in the app at the time of pick or bring a cashiers check.

I'd go change my bank password now.

 

[jcanoe]

I'd go change my bank password now.

That is Step 1; You should also revoke/cancel any third party tokens that were granted. (Finding this option can take some time, depending on the bank's software or app.)

 

[Mike728]

I'd go change my bank password now.

Unless he means he linked his routing number in Plaid, not his PW.

 

[Predation]

Thanks everyone. For those that need a reference in the future. I linked my account via Plaid (but did not pay) before I went to the delivery appointment. The service center allowed me to inspect the vehicle and then I officially paid in the app (took about 10 seconds) - about 20 minutes later after all the temporary plates were on I was good to go. No need to get a cashiers check. However, I did ask them before hand if they would accept a personal check and the answer was no - either pay in the app at the time of pick or bring a cashiers check.

my plan is to get plaid setup, but pay the downpayment via plaid the day of pickup (after inspection), and hand them the cashiers check for the balance.

 

[kc1953]

I'd go change my bank password now.

I deleted Plaid as a payee and changed password. I’m probably getting a lot of junk email as a result of Plaid accessing my account but, it was easy, and when I took delivery in Dec 2021 the ability to do ACH from Bank account was not transparent. At the time there was a severe shortage of vehicles and I didn’t want to jeopardize my delivery.

 

[Noflash]

I deleted Plaid as a payee and changed password. I’m probably getting a lot of junk email as a result of Plaid accessing my account but, it was easy, and when I took delivery in Dec 2021 the ability to do ACH from Bank account was not transparent. At the time there was a severe shortage of vehicles and I didn’t want to jeopardize my delivery.

It's definitely not transparent. I've done it three times and each time I have to click around until I find it again. Glad it all worked out in the end. Except for the spam.

Also, to note, when you pay with an ACH from your bank account, Tesla saves it as a payment method. Thanks for the reminder. I just went into the Tesla app and remove that method. Prefer to use a credit card.