I'm finally in the market for a new vehicle. My 2002 Chevy Venture is beginning to have the types of problems where it will cost more to fix than the vehicle is worth. So I'm looking for a new minivan. And I'm looking for ways to get a deal.

One idea I had was to charge the purchase to a credit card, to get the cash-back bonus. I have a card with enough credit. I've recently refinanced my home, so I don't need to worry about my credit rating for the foreseeable future. My plan would be to charge the entire purchase to a card, get the cash-back bonus, and pay off the entire balance immediately. Has anybody tried anything like this?

It sounds like it could be possible. I found a couple of articles that discussed the possibility:
Should you buy a car with a credit card?
How to buy a car with a credit card -- and when not to

The last 2 times I've purchased a car, they would not let you place the entire balance on the card. Both times they limited it to 5K. Definitely worth putting as much on a card as you can though if you would have paid cash.

Oh, and I recommend the Odyssey. Great engine, good options, and has been very reliable for me since 2005. Nothing done to it other than scheduled maint.

I tried to do that before as well with no sucess

Been a few years since I last purchased a car, but I'm pretty sure that I tried it and it didn't fly...Also limited to a max amount that could be placed on a card.

$5000 is pretty standard. See if there's some 0% financing deals for the rest of it.

I purchased my car few years ago and they limited 5k on cc and let me used 4 different cc to pay for the whole car. I paid off the cards the next period.

Best I have ever got was $5,000, but these are different times. You might have found a hungry dealer BEFORE the Cash for Clunkers funding appeared.

My van 2 years ago they only let me do 2 grand..

agree with Narc get the Odyssey wife has 06 other then her hitting poles in parking lots that jump out at the car..no problems at all

In 2002, I purchased my new CR-V using two credit cards, no down payment nor trade. I maxed out on my Amex and the rest on my Discover Card (about 40%/60% split). It depends on your dealer willing to accept credit and also from two credit cards.

Good luck.

depends on dealer. One dealer accepted 10K on CC while other dealer refuse for me. They wanted bank check caused I want to pay cash. No money to be made and they don't want to lose on cc fee.

That's the first thing that pops into my head - the cc fees the dealer needs to pay. Merchants are charged cc fees whenever a cc is used to make a purchase. If it's a 3% fee, on a $20K purchase it's $600.

please don't buy a SMART car! this is the first thing I thought of!

That's not a smart car in that picture. Smart cars have 3 lug nuts per wheel, and that car has 5.

BTW, I split the minivan discussion into a new post.