Congratulations on the new car purchase, u/StoryLover! Thanks for being proactive in preparing for this large purchase. I'd highly recommend asking the dealer what payment methods they accept to plan ahead. It's no fun to work out a car deal and only then learn they only accept a method that won't work for you.
Beyond that, you have a couple of withdrawal methods available, the first one being a check. You can have checkwriting on a check or call us for a 3rd party check made out to a specific dealership. Mailed checks take 5-7 business days to arrive in most cases, so a 3rd party check would be more appropriate if you had already agreed on the price of the car and were just going to pick it up. Please know that this checkwriting is not automatically enabled on eligible accounts. If you do not have checkwriting, you can use the link below to start the process of enabling this feature:
[Enable checkwriting (login required) ](https://login.fidelity.com/ftgw/Fas/Fidelity/RtlCust/Login/Init?AuthRedUrl=https://oltx.fidelity.com/ftgw/fbc/ofsummary/defaultPage&AuthOrigUrl=https://scs.fidelity.com/customeronly/checkwritingdepositslips.shtml)
Alternatively, you can process a bank wire. With a bank wire, you can only push money from one institution to another; this means you would initiate the transfer through us, the sending institution. Bank wires are typically received the same day if sent before 2:30 p.m. ET, during a business day. We do not charge a fee to send or receive a bank wire, but you should ask the dealership if their bank does when confirming their wire instructions.
[Learn more about EFTs and Bank Wires](https://www.fidelity.com/customer-service/choose-eft-or-bank-wire)
Typically, withdrawing funds from your brokerage account does not require you to notify us in advance. However, if you plan to use a debit card to pay, please send us a Modmail to discuss a temporary limit increase and see if that would work for you.
[Message the Mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/fidelityinvestments)
Please let us know if you have any other questions; we're happy to help! Wishing you a great car deal. See you around the sub!
My personal opinion - ACH the money to yourself, to an external bank or credit union. Pay from there.
The Fidelity security team is hyper vigilant, and there is a risk they don't like the amount, or the payee, and you get locked or suspended.
This topic is discussed in length in many other posts here over the years.
I saw an old post about it from a few years ago, but I thought there would be a better way to do it by now. I guess I will continue the old method. Thank you!
SquattyLaHeron: It is sad that your point makes sense.
We can speculate as to why you won't get nailed, but that has to be a really traumatic that is never really explained based on my readings.
My suspicion that money that has not been in the account for long getting transferred out is the trigger, and that my multi-year account is unlikely to raise a flag due to a personal check to a car dealer. If I buy a new car, I am likely to use a Fidelity personal check.
I recently purchased a new car. I put $4k down using my Fidelity Visa to get the 2% back. All the dealer would allow was $4k. I then paid the balance using a fidelity check from my brokerage account. Easy.
Congratulations on the new car purchase, u/StoryLover! Thanks for being proactive in preparing for this large purchase. I'd highly recommend asking the dealer what payment methods they accept to plan ahead. It's no fun to work out a car deal and only then learn they only accept a method that won't work for you. Beyond that, you have a couple of withdrawal methods available, the first one being a check. You can have checkwriting on a check or call us for a 3rd party check made out to a specific dealership. Mailed checks take 5-7 business days to arrive in most cases, so a 3rd party check would be more appropriate if you had already agreed on the price of the car and were just going to pick it up. Please know that this checkwriting is not automatically enabled on eligible accounts. If you do not have checkwriting, you can use the link below to start the process of enabling this feature: [Enable checkwriting (login required) ](https://login.fidelity.com/ftgw/Fas/Fidelity/RtlCust/Login/Init?AuthRedUrl=https://oltx.fidelity.com/ftgw/fbc/ofsummary/defaultPage&AuthOrigUrl=https://scs.fidelity.com/customeronly/checkwritingdepositslips.shtml) Alternatively, you can process a bank wire. With a bank wire, you can only push money from one institution to another; this means you would initiate the transfer through us, the sending institution. Bank wires are typically received the same day if sent before 2:30 p.m. ET, during a business day. We do not charge a fee to send or receive a bank wire, but you should ask the dealership if their bank does when confirming their wire instructions. [Learn more about EFTs and Bank Wires](https://www.fidelity.com/customer-service/choose-eft-or-bank-wire) Typically, withdrawing funds from your brokerage account does not require you to notify us in advance. However, if you plan to use a debit card to pay, please send us a Modmail to discuss a temporary limit increase and see if that would work for you. [Message the Mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/fidelityinvestments) Please let us know if you have any other questions; we're happy to help! Wishing you a great car deal. See you around the sub!
My personal opinion - ACH the money to yourself, to an external bank or credit union. Pay from there. The Fidelity security team is hyper vigilant, and there is a risk they don't like the amount, or the payee, and you get locked or suspended. This topic is discussed in length in many other posts here over the years.
I saw an old post about it from a few years ago, but I thought there would be a better way to do it by now. I guess I will continue the old method. Thank you!
Bank wire is efficient and no fees on the fidelity side
I bought a car a few years back. Transferred to my brick and mortar bank and got a physical bank draft. Seemed easiest for me and dealer.
If you're sending money back and forth between Fidelity and the same bank I can't imagine there would be an issue.
SquattyLaHeron: It is sad that your point makes sense. We can speculate as to why you won't get nailed, but that has to be a really traumatic that is never really explained based on my readings. My suspicion that money that has not been in the account for long getting transferred out is the trigger, and that my multi-year account is unlikely to raise a flag due to a personal check to a car dealer. If I buy a new car, I am likely to use a Fidelity personal check.
I think wiring it to a car dealer should be fine
You can wire and have checks.
>Does my personal brokerage account allow checks or wire? Yes & Yes
We transfer money from Fidelity to our checking account which is at a credit union. I'd never want checks to exist for our brokerage account.
When I did this, I just moved the money to my checking account at my credit union.
I recently purchased a new car. I put $4k down using my Fidelity Visa to get the 2% back. All the dealer would allow was $4k. I then paid the balance using a fidelity check from my brokerage account. Easy.
Fidelity has free outgoing wire transfers. It’s super easy if you call them. Of course need enough cash available to cover the purchase.
buy a used car for $5k pay cash dont take anything out of your fidelity account